Hinduism, Buddhism and Confucianism Revivals: the Meaning of “Religion”
Kristanto Budiprabowo (TATOK)

The historical and anthropological study on Hinduism, Buddhism and Confucianism Revivals in Indonesia gives some new meaning of religion. To gain that, we need some consideration to collect the trajectory of it meaning. First, talking about religion in Indonesia should refer to the government regulation about the official religions because all of the religious practice often sees in the view of this regulation. On one side, this regulation makes some religious groups feel comfortable practicing some variations in ritual and feel free to express their faith so far as a common practice of official religion. On the other side, this regulation often uses to prejudice some minority groups as false and fake. Discussing this problem we can see that religion is not only influences the state to control religious practice but also how religions competes each other using the power they get from the state. But, this regulation also causes some of the religious revival. It is happened in some groups whether as a social solidarity or as a national commitment. The question is, how far the idea of the state influences the religious formation and creates a revival movement?

Second, since the majority of Indonesian religious people are monotheistic people it also often causes people see religion in the view of monotheism. If there is still stereotyping to the non-theistic religion such as Hinduism, Buddhism and Confucianism, it seems like the effort to make a classification to the religion that monotheism is the first class and the other is the lower class. In this classification religion categorize in term of modern religious organization. Commonly say that more organized and more systematized a religion is more effective to survive. The revivals of religion happen in the combination between social class struggle and the form of solid organization. What is the necessary of the non-theistic religions revival in Indonesia accommodate oneself to the socio-political situation? What benefit they get?

Third, in the case of Hindu-Bali and Hindu-Tengger we see a kind of religious transformation that happens not only in the adherent awareness but also in the religious system. In those communities Hinduism as a name of religion is not always refer to the origin where the religion comes from. It is more an identification to the set of community belief that closes to the Hinduism as stated by the government. Again the intervention of the government has a big role on this situation. But in practice, although the ritual that held by certain community transformed to the more look like an official religion common practices, in the community awareness this kind of ritual is still seem strange. In this case we can see that the religious transformation that affects the community awareness occur parallel with the transformation of the religious system to be more organized.

Non-theistic religious revival in Indonesia happens in certain circumstance, caused by specific reason, influences people awareness, and make them more well organized. So far we see that the role of the state is powerful in attracting the religious transformation. Only if it is a part of the government reason to establish Religious Department, this country is really the religious country.