«Public Religion» and the Pancasila-Based State of Indonesia: An Ethical and Sociological Analysis analyzes the public role of religion in Indonesian society from the pre-independence period to the end of Suharto’s New Order government. It offers constructive suggestions regarding how Indonesian religion can play a significant role within the framework of Pancasila, Indonesia’s national ideology. Based on a Christian-Muslim dialogue, it is only within the realm of civil society that Indonesian religion will be able to promote the ideas of democracy, tolerance, and human rights in Indonesian public affairs. In short, far from being anti-pluralist, Indonesian religion evolves as a liberating force in the life of society, nation, and state.

The Author: Since 1998 Benyamin Fleming Intan has been teaching social and political ethics at the Reformed Institute, Jakarta, Indonesia. He has written several chapters in books on public religion and numerous popular articles on social ethics in various magazines and newspapers in the country. Dr. Intan received his M.A. in theological studies at Reformed Theological Seminary (Jackson, Mississippi), his M.A. in religion from The Divinity School of Yale University (New Haven, Connecticut), and his Ph.D. in social ethics from Boston College (Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts).