1. The first principle of Indonesia's philosophical foundation, Pancasila, is: "belief in the one
and only God". A number of different religions are practiced in the country, and their
collective influence on the country's political, economic and cultural life is
significant.[1] The Indonesian Constitution guarantees freedom of religion.[2] However, the
government only recognizes six official religions
(Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Confucianism)[3][4][5] and
Indonesian law requires that every Indonesian citizen hold an identity card that identifies that
person with one of these six religions. Indonesia does not recognize agnosticism or atheism,
and blasphemy is illegal.[6] In the 2010 Indonesian census, 87.18% of Indonesians identified
themselves as Muslim (including Shias, Sunnis and Ahmadis), 6.96% Protestant,
2.91% Catholic, 1.69% Hindu, 0.72%Buddhist, 0.05% Khong Hu Chu, 0.13% other, and
0.38% unstated or not asked. Historically, immigration from India, China, Portugal, Arabia,
and the Netherlands has been a major contributor to the diversity of religion
and culture within the country.[9] However, these aspects have changed since some
modifications have been made to suit the Indonesian culture.
Islam - Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim-majority country, with 87 percent of
its citizens identifying as Muslim.[16] Traditionally, Muslims have been concentrated in the
more populous western islands of Indonesia such as Java and Sumatra. In less populous
eastern islands, the Muslim population is proportionally lower.[17] Most Indonesian Muslims
are Sunnis. Around one million are Shias, who are concentrated around Jakarta.
Christianity - The Government of Indonesia officially recognizes the two
main Christian divisions in Indonesia, Protestantism and Roman Catholicism, as two separate
religions.
Hinduism - Hindu culture and religion arrived in the Indonesian archipelago in the first
century, roughly coinciding with the arrival of Buddhism.[28] This resulted in a number of
Hinduism-Buddhism empires such as Kutai, Mataram and Majapahit. The Prambanan
Temple complex was built during the era of Hindu Mataram. The greatest Hindu empire in
the archipelago was Majapahit. The age of Hindu-Buddhist empires lasted until the sixteenth
century, when the archipelago's Islamic empires began to expand. This period, known as the
Hindu-Indonesia period, lasted for sixteen centuries.[29] The influence of Hinduism and
classical India remain defining traits of Indonesian culture; the Indian concept of the god-
king still shapes Indonesian concepts of leadership and Sanskrit is used in courtly literature
and adaptations of Indian epic poetry.
Buddhism - Buddhism is the second oldest religion in Indonesia, arriving around the sixth
century.[36] The history of Buddhism in Indonesia is closely related to the history of
Hinduism, as a number of empires based on Buddhist culture were established around the
same period. Indonesian archipelago has witnessed the rise and fall of powerful Buddhist
empires such as Sailendra dynasty, Srivijaya and Mataram Empires. The arrival of Buddhism
was started with the trading activity that began in the early of first century on the Silk
Road between Indonesia and India.

2. Confucianism - Confucianism originated from China mainland and brought
by Chinese merchants and immigrants. It is estimated as late as the 3rd century AD that the
Chinese arrived in Nusantara archipelago.[3] Unlike other religions, Confucianism evolved
more into loose individual practices and belief in the code of conduct, rather than a well-
organized community religion, or way of life or social movement. It was not until the early of
1900s that Confucianists formed an organization, called Tiong Hoa Hwee Koan (THHK) in
Batavia (now Jakarta).
Other Religious Beliefs – Kebatinan, Animism & Judaism
Politics –
Politics of Indonesia takes place in a framework of a presidential representative
democratic republic, whereby the President of Indonesia is bothhead of state and head of
government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the
government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two People's
Representative Councils. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.
The 1945 constitution provided for a limited separation of executive, legislative,
and judicial power. The governmental system has been described as "presidential with
parliamentary characteristics."[1] Following the Indonesian riots of May 1998 and
the resignation of President Suharto, several political reforms were set in motion via
amendments to the Constitution of Indonesia, which resulted in changes to all branches of
government.
A constitutional reform process lasted from 1999 to 2002, with four constitutional
amendments producing important changes.[2]
Among these are term limits of up to two five-year terms for the President and Vice
President, and measures to institute checks and balances. The highest state institution is
the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), whose functions previously included electing the
president and vice president (since 2004 the president has been elected directly by the
people), establishing broad guidelines of state policy, and amending the constitution. The
695-member MPR includes all 550 members of the People's Representative Council (DPR)
(the House of Representatives) plus 130 "regional representatives" elected by the twenty-six
provincial parliaments and sixty-five appointed members from societal groups[3]
The DPR, which is the premier legislative institution, originally included 462 members
elected through a mixed proportional/district representational system and thirty-eight
appointed members of the armed forces (TNI) and police (POLRI). TNI/POLRI
representation in the DPR and MPR ended in 2004. Societal group representation in the MPR
was eliminated in 2004 through further constitutional change.
Having served as rubberstamp bodies in the past, the DPR and MPR have gained
considerable power and are increasingly assertive in oversight of the executive branch. Under

3. constitutional changes in 2004, the MPR became a bicameral legislature, with the creation of
the Dewan Perwakilan Daerah (DPD), in which each province is represented by four
members, although its legislative powers are more limited than those of the DPR. Through
his appointed cabinet, the president retains the authority to conduct the administration of the
government.[5]
A general election in June 1999 produced the first freely elected national, provincial, and
regional parliaments in over forty years. In October 1999 the MPR elected a compromise
candidate, Abdurrahman Wahid, as the country's fourth president, and Megawati
Sukarnoputri — a daughter of Sukarno, the country's first president — as the vice president.
Megawati's PDI-P party had won the largest share of the vote (34%) in the general election,
while Golkar, the dominant party during the Soeharto era, came in second (22%). Several
other, mostly Islamic parties won shares large enough to be seated in the DPR. Further
democratic elections took place in 2004 and 2009.
The president (Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono) and vice president (Boediono) are selected by
vote of the citizens for five-year terms. Prior to 2004, they were chosen by People's
Consultative Assembly. The last election was held 8 July 2009. The president heads
the United Indonesia Cabinet (Kabinet Indonesia Bersatu) The President of Indonesia is
directly elected for a maximum of two five-year terms, and is the head of state, commander-
in-chief of Indonesian armed forces and responsible for domestic governance and policy-
making and foreign affairs. The president appoints a cabinet, who do not have to be elected
members of the legislature.[6]
Judicial Branch –
The Indonesian Supreme Court (Indonesian: Mahkamah Agung) is the highest level of the
judicial branch. Its judges are appointed by the president. The Constitutional Court rules on
constitutional and political matters while a Judicial Commission oversees the judges.[12]
Foreign Relations –
During the regime of president Suharto, Indonesia built strong relations with the United
States and had difficult relations with the People's Republic of China owing to Indonesia's
anti-communist policies and domestic tensions with the Chinese community. It received
international denunciation for its annexation of East Timor in 1978. Indonesia is a founding
member of the Association of South East Asian Nations. Since the 1980s, Indonesia has
worked to develop close political and economic ties between South East Asian nations, and is
also influential in the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. Indonesia was heavily criticized
between 1975 and 1999 for allegedly suppressing human rights in East Timor, and for
supporting violence against the East Timorese following the latter's secession and
independence in 1999. Since 2001, the government of Indonesia has co-operated with the
U.S. in cracking down on Islamic fundamentalism and terrorist groups.