Religion in the new order: 1965-1998;

Tri Harmaji
History of Religions in Indonesia Part II: from c. 1900 to the Present
Religion in the new order: 1965-1998; Robert W. Hefner, Civil Islam: Muslims and democratization I Indonesia, Lorraine V. Aragon, Fields of the Lords: animism, Christian minorities, and state development in Indonesia
New order is Indonesian political era that is so particular than other era in term of its fixed concept. If two other eras, the old order and reformation era, are undergone in unexpected situation and almost without fixed concept, the new order era is apparently well planned. It is why in this era the government is effectively using of political, social and economic resources for the state development. The term ‘effectively using’ here mea that the government encourage active participation all resources that is considered could give good contribution to government development programs, but on the contrary the government also discouraged and even coercively marginalized all political resources that was considered as a threat for government development programs. One of the most important political resources that was seriously considered was religion. From the time of old order and even far time before the independence, religion, and especially slam, was great political resources that had proved its strength and effectiveness to lead the people to whatever direction the religion wanted.
The chief priority of new order government was clearly economic growth. And for this goal the government had sacrificed many ideologies that had been competing in the previous era. The government forced all legal organizations to acknowledge the sole government ideology of Pancasila as their basic principle. Any suspected organization was closely controlled. This policy had severely ruined Islamic political parties that strived for Islamic state in Indonesia. Along their history, the new order government considered Islam as apolitically dangerous thread for the nation-state based on Pancasila the government deserved. Some of prominent figures of the already banned Islamic party of Masyumi were strongly forbid to be active in political affair. Most of Islamic people especially from the modernist groups felt the new order had intentionally reduced and even tried to kill Islamic political potency in Indonesia.
If the attitude toward Islam was so negative, it was somewhat different from the attitude toward other minor religions such as Christianity. Like was shown by Aragon in his research on Christian mission in tobaku highlanders in central Sulawesi, the government positively shows Christianity as the agent of modernity that was so useful in developing the ‘backward’ tribes in Indonesian interiors to whom the government itself did not have much resources to bring the modernity, and so helping the government to advance this country. This positive attitude, Aragon argues, is part of, actually, the government strategy to deal with Islamic great potency. By allowing Christian mission worked in the area, the government hoped Islam would not gain more followers that will certainly increase their political power.
From this strategy (reducing the more powerful and increasing the weaker) the government tried to balance the power of any political power so that there was no too dominant political power, especially Islam, which can effectively challenge the new order government authority. This all policy was directed the only goal, that is economic growth that definitely requires political stability. In this idea religion was not the important concern of the new order government, and their existence was seen just as powerful energy that should be rightly controlled and directed to the government purposes.