RELIGIOUS LIFE

In line with the Guidelines of State Policy, the objectives of development in the religious sector are among others to improve the quality of the Indonesian people and community, who believe in the One and Only God, to be able to create harmony and balance in human life as an individual in his relation with the society and the environment.

The policies and steps taken in the development of religious sector during Repelita V covered the stabilization for the quality of faith and worships among religious followers, the enhancement of efforts to combat the negative effects of modernization as well as the progress of knowledge and technology, the broadening of religious perception, and the promotion of unity and harmony among the followers of one religion and among those of different beliefs as well as between religious followers and the government and stepping up of religious role as the structure of a dynamic spirit.

In order to support development in the religious sector, several programs have been carried out, such as : the Program for the Enhancement of Religious Life Structure; the Program for Information and Guidance in Religious Life; the Program for the Enhancement of the Services of the Haj Pilgrimage; the Program for the management of Religious Education in the Primary and Secondary School; the Program for the Management of Religious Teaching in Higher Education; the Program for Education and Training for Religious Staff; the Program for the Management of the Younger Generation; the Program of Women’s Role; the Program for the Management of Justice and Law Enforcement and the Program of Religious Research.

PROMOTION

The Program for the Enhancement of Religious Life Structure consists of : development of rehabilitation aid for places of worship, construction of marriage’s hall and the supply of holy books and donated land. Until the end of Repelita V (1003/94), the number of houses of worships was 652 thousand, consisting of 584,017 mosques, 30,192 Protestant churches, 13,415 Catholic Churches, 21,005 Hindu’s temples and 3,854 Buddhist viharas. Meanwhile, the development and rehabilitation aid given by the Government to houses of worship covered 11.4 thousand buildings.

During that period, the construction of new marriage hall amounted to 46 buildings, while the rehabilitation of old buildings covered 61. During PJP I, a total of 3,000 marriage halls had been constructed throughout the country. In the effort to boost the availability of facilities in the society, the government had supplied holy books for the various religions. In the last year of Repelita V, 808 thousand holy books were supplied by the Government, consisting of 618 thousand Kor’ans, 58 thousand Bibles for the Protestants, 56 thousand Bibles for the Catholic, 46 thousand Weda Books for the Hindus and 30 thousand Tri Pitaka Books for the Buddhists.

During Repelita V, a total of 19.5 million holy books in PJP I had been supplied by the Government. In order to improve the comprehension of religious teaching among Moslems, the Government hods the MTQ (Kor’an Recital Competition) once in every three years. In 1994, Pekanbaru, the capital of Riau Province, hosted the XVIIth-MTQ. Various competitions were conducted there, such as : Tilawah - the art of Kor’an reading; Hifzil - memorizing the Kor’an sentences; Tafsir - Explanation on the meanings of the Kor’an sentences; Syarhil - utilization of the content of the Kor’an sentences; Tartil - the sequence of the content of the Kor’an sentences and Khat - the calligraphy.

In the development of religious life, the role of donated land as one of the people’s socio-economic potential has gained more and more importance. In fiscal year 1993/94, 29 thousand plots of donated land obtained certificates, so that in Repelita V, a total of 69 thousand pieces of donated land had obtained certificates.

In 1993/94, the activities of religious guidance and counseling were conducted for 742 religious groups of Moslem, Protestant, Catholic, Hindu and Buddhist.

In Repelita V, the guidance as well as counseling for religion covered 3.2 thousand groups from various religions, so that during PJP I, this activity was conducted for 44 thousand groups and supported by the supply of 31.5 million religious brochures and more than 545 thousand religious speech structure. In order to promote harmony among religious followers, several meetings for the different religion had been held during fiscal year 1993/94 and attended by 30 participating each in Jakarta, Bengkulu, Padang and Semarang.

During PJP I, a total of 94 meetings for different religions had been implemented, attended by 7.8 thousand participants.

In the framework of anticipating at early stage the possibility of problems appearing among the religious followers in the society, the Government has established : a Religious Followers Harmony Study Institution (LPKUB) in Yogyakarta, as a further action taken from the result of the Centennial Seminar of the World Religious Parliament and the First National Congress on Religion in Indonesia held in Yogyakarta recently.

In order to enhance the social participation of the religious leaders in the development of health, various activities have been carried out, such as health counseling, training for religious prominent leaders and information officers. Health counseling covers the health of Mother & Child, immunization and improvement of Family’s Nutrition (UPGK).

HAJ PILGRIMAGE SERVICES

In the last year of Repelita V, the number of Haj Pilgrims totaled 123,000, which was an increase of 18,000 or 17% compared with that of the previous year. This increase was primarily due to the improvement of the people’s economic capability and the people’s higher consciousness towards religious worship. In line with the increasing number of Haj Pilgrims, the services are continuously improved.

The improved services include: improvement of procedures as well preparation in the area of origin before departure, the itinerary, practice of pilgrimage rituals in Mecca until the return back home.

In order to support the improvement of Haj Pilgrimage services, the accomplishment as well as rehabilitation of 5 Haj dormitories in Bekasi (West Java), Padang (West Sumatra), Jambi (Jambi), Palembang (South Sumatra) and ambon (Maluku) had been conducted during fiscal year 1993/94. Besides, upgrading for 200 Haj pilgrimage officers and the supply of 30 practical Haj ritual equipment were also implemented.

PROMOTION OF RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

In order to improve the quality of religious education in the primary school, the equalization of diploma 2 (D2) for teachers of MI-Ibtidaiyah primary school as well as Islamic religious teacher of the state primary school are pursued.

In fiscal year 1993/94, the number of teachers taking the D2 equalization education was 73 thousand, consisting of 17 thousand MI teachers and 56 thousand Islamic teachers of the primary school (SD). Apart from that, the equalization of D2 diploma was also conducted for the teachers of Protestant, Catholic, Hindu and Buddhism, joined in by 4 thousand participants. Through this program, the upgrading for 325 MI teachers, the supply of 174 thousand text-books and teacher guidance and the availability of 447 sets of practical equipment were also undertaken. Besides, 332 thousand religious text-book and the supply of 3 thousand sets of religious practical equipment for the primary school were added. In the framework of enhancing the accommodation capability of education, expansion as well as rehabilitation programs of 108 classrooms were materialized. Meanwhile, the quality of the private Ibtidaiyah primary school MIS- through Presidential Instruction aid for SD, was also improved, particularly by rehabilitating old MIS buildings and supplying the cost for operation and maintenance. In fiscal year 1993/94, the rehabilitation aid for 5.8 thousand MIS buildings and the supply of operational cost for more than 21 thousand MIS buildings were provided.

The promotion of religious education in the secondary school covers the enhancement of educational quality at the state Tsanawiyah secondary school (MTsN), the state secondary school (SLTP) and the management of Pondok Pesantren-Islamic boarding schools. The last year of Repelita V saw, the expansion as well as rehabilitation for 176 MTsN classrooms, the supply of 180 thousand text-books and teacher guidance, the availability of 3,160 sets of practical equipment and upgrading for 457 MTsN teachers and managers. The enhancement of religious education quality in the lower secondary schools was conducted through upgrading for 200 teachers and managers, supply of 55 thousand religious text-book and 10 thousand sets of practical equipment and 15 thousand places of worship. In order to improve the quality of Pondok Pesantren education, the Government had allocated fund aid to supply 5 thousand text-books and library’s books, to construct workshops, to rehabilitate 14 Pondok Pesantren buildings, to provide added skills and practical equipment for 39 Pondok Pesantren and to organize upgrading for 40 managers and 30 motivators.

The promotion of religious education at the upper secondary schools, both aliyah high secondary school (MAN) and the state secondary high school (SLTA) has been implemented through upgrading for teachers and managers, the supply of books and practical equipment, rehabilitation as well as expansion of classroom aid construction of worship’s facilities. In fiscal year 1993/94, the availability of 17 thousand books and teacher guidance, the supply of 24 sets of practical equipment and expansion as well as rehabilitation of 120 classrooms were executed. To better enhance the quality of MAN, since the fiscal year 1990/91, the Government had arranged a special MAN Program, with emphasis on the study science of the religion and Arabic. This program was already conducted in 17 province in Indonesia. Apart from that, the vocational MAN was also developed with its specification in the field of computer, administration, designer and electronic as well as automotive workshops. This vocational MAN had been already implemented in 8 locations.

The improvement of religious education quality in SLTA was pursued through the availability of 50 thousand religious text-books and upgrading for 120 religious teachers. Thus, during Repelita V, a total of 240 teachers and managers attended upgrading courses, and 272 thousand religious text-book were distributed. Meanwhile, the promotion of religious education in the higher learning institute level covers the supply of aid for the state Islamic Religious Institutes (AIN), the Private Religious Institute (PTASs) (Islam, Protestant, Catholic, Hindu, and Buddhism) and the state public institute (PTU). In fiscal year 1993/94, the expansion of 22 thousand square-meters of class-rooms, the availability of 51 thousand science books for 14 IAINs, the scientific research for 100 titles, education for 264 post graduate/magisters and 84 students of doctor’s program held at home and abroad were conducted.

The enhancement of religious education quality at the private religious institute (PTAs) was conducted through the rehabilitation of 16 PTAs of Islam, 5 PTAs of Catholic, 14 PTAs of Protestant and 6 PTAs of Hindu and Buddhism. Besides, the Government also provided research aid for 20 titles and offered the cost of education for S2 and S3 programs to 60 religious lecturers in PTUs. In order to promote the younger generation’s role in the field of religion, a skill training for 120 young Moslem speakers was organized, and the supply of 1,600 Islam speech material books executed. Besides, the training for women’s leadership participated by 30 persons, upgrading of the welfare and happy family for 4,000 pesantren’s girl students, the supply of module guidance books, 37,000 leaflets and 750 worship structure packets took place as well.

In the field of judiciary and religious law enforcement, the rehabilitation and expansion of 43 religious court buildings education for 248 religious judge candidates as well as 50 senior religious judges and upgrading for 230 confiscators were implemented. Besides, the counseling of religious judiciary laws for 12 thousand government’s apparatus and community’s prominent leaders and the supply of 22 thousand library books and Islamic law compilation were undertaken. In the framework of formulating the principal policies in the development of the religious sector, religious research has been continuously carried out. Those research activities cover the study on religious anticipation against modernization’s negative effects, formation of religious map, the study on religious guidance, research on old manuscripts of Islam and evaluation of D2 equalization program. Besides, the studies on performance development of children’s life as well as children’s development through Islamic education institution has been also conducted. In order to improve researchers’ quality, training for 20 religious researchers was organized.

During Repelita V, the studies on 15 titles and the training for 80 religious researchers had been successfully executed.

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