ASIA/INDONESIA – Erroneous teaching on the Christian faith: after the intervention of the Bishops, the government announces the correction

Jakarta (Agenzia Fides) – Erroneous teaching on the Christian faith, on God and the Trinity, present in an official civic education book published by the Indonesian Ministry of Education, Research and Technology (Kemendikbud Ristek) , will be revised, after consultations with the churches. This is what Agenzia Fides learned from an event that affected relations between the Christian Churches and the State in Indonesia. In recent days, the Indonesian Catholic Bishops’ Conference (KWI) issued an official note in which they asked to withdraw the text from schools and to correct a doctrinal error present in a text published in 2021, used for undergraduate students ( grade VII), on Education for citizenship, religion and ‘Pancasila’, the charter of five principles which is the basis of the nation and.
The controversy was raised on social networks by some Christian faithful and teachers who expressed their concern and surprise that an official text could contain erroneous teachings on Catholic doctrine. The text specifies that “the two religions, Protestantism and Catholicism, have the same God, the Holy Trinity, Our Lady and Jesus Christ”, a phrase considered ambiguous and erroneous, which confuses students and youth.
Father Petrus Christian Siswantoko, Executive Secretary General of the KWI, speaking to Agenzia Fides, defines it as “a disaster”, noting that “the ministry has made a serious mistake on the doctrine of Christianity”. “The state should consult with Christian authorities before writing about religion,” says Father Thomas Eddy Susanto SCJ, KWI Documentation and Information Officer. “We will definitely discuss the issue with the Protestant Churches for joint action,” says Father Heri Wibowo of the KWI Interfaith Commission.
After knowing these official notes from the Catholic Church, the Indonesian Ministry of Education issued a note stating that the agency will revise the text, correct the errors made, withdraw the texts put into circulation”, and assured that in the aftermath, the Catholic Church and the Protestant Church will be implicated. The Indonesian Ministry of Religious Affairs has also successfully intervened in this case and urged the Ministry of Education to review the text and withdraw it from schools ( MH/PA) (Agenzia Fides, 07/29/2022)

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