Multi-Religious and Cultural Regionalism Integrated to Contemporary Sacred Church Buildings in Indonesia

Abstract

Indonesia demonstrates a variety of cultural expressions through foreign contacts but has never adopted other cultures fully. The country blended significant components into local circumstances to create a distinctive culture with geographic variations, and its history must be understood in its terms. The design of Maclaine Pont (1936)’s Pohsarang Church combined Hindu-Buddhist elements into a Western building. Blimbingsari stone-wooden Church destroyed by an earthquake (1976) was rebuilt in the Balinese pavilion style with a running water garden. Similarities showed in Batak Karo architecture in Berastagi’s St. Francis Assisi, and Joglo architecture in Ganjuran Church where Jesus is depicted as a Javanese King. This exceptional regional phenomenon was due to integrating tradition, ethnicity, geographical space, and belief in multicultural societies. This paper discusses a few contemporary churches in Indonesia by historical contexts.