The Religious Education Policy in Indonesia: Impact on Hinduism and Buddhism Religious Education Policy Formulation

Abstract

This article discusses how Hindu and Buddhist communities of Indonesia response to the national religious education policy enacted in the National Education System Act of 2003. In the Law No.20/2003 of National Education System,  Indonesian government introduced new policies in the religious education. Despite of the good intention for the equality right for getting religious education for all of six formally recognised religious adherents, the government regulation on religious education policy was a largely based on education political interest of majority religious groups. This article discussed how these religious education policies in Indonesia affected the religious education policy formulation of minority religious group in Indonesia especially those of Hinduism and Buddhism. This research employed the qualitative research approach with the content analysis method to study the impact of Indonesian religious education policy in the Law of 20/2003 NESA on the Hinduism and Buddhism institutional religious education policy formulation. Data resources for this research were from legal-formal government regulation documents regarding the legislation on national religious education policy, and both Hinduism and Buddhism institutional religious education policy

The finding indicated that the religious education policy formulation in the Law 20/2003 and the Government Regulation 55/2007 of Religious Education and Institutional Religious Education of Hinduism and Buddhism, especially those of formal pasraman of Hindu and dhamasekha of Buddhism education would not be able to be implemented immediately. The main factors were the formulation were considered too idealistic in nature, but it is not relevant with the actual potency and human resources of Hindu and Buddhist education institutions.