Religious Moderation as Good Life: Two Responses to the Ministry of Religious Affairs’ Directive on Religious Moderation in Indonesia

Abstract

Abstract In 2019, the Ministry of Religious Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia launched the book Moderasi Beragama (“Religious Moderation”) with a supplement in the form of question and answer, followed in 2020 by Peta Jalan Penguatan Moderasi Beragama (“Road Map for Strengthening Religious Moderation”), with Road Map (in English) as the main title. The Ministry of Religious Affairs aimed to establish an official governmental directive for expressing religious convictions and aspirations, both internally and in public. The directive is intended to neutralize religious radicalism through awareness of the religiously plural context of Indonesia, and the fact that all religions of Indonesia have accepted Pancasila as the state ideology. The purpose of this study is to discuss and evaluate the concept of religious moderation proposed by the Ministry of Religious Affairs. The examination will be conducted through a dialogue involving two public Christian responses to Moderasi Beragama.