The Ministry of Culture and the Leimena Institute Discuss Cross-Faith Cultural Literacy

Fadli Zon receives the Leimena Institute at the Ministry of Culture, Jakarta, Wednesday, August 5. (IST)

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Culture supports the development of the Cross-Cultural Religious Literacy or CCRL program initiated by the Leimena Institute. The support is directed at the cultural aspect, not entering the realm of religion which is the authority of the Ministry of Religion.

This was discussed in a meeting between Minister of Culture Fadli Zon and the Leimena Institute at the Ministry of Culture, Jakarta, Wednesday, August 5. The meeting discussed cultural literacy, recognition of belief streams, protection of cross-religious cultural heritage, and the use of local culture as a social glue.

Fadli said Indonesia has a very large cultural diversity. He called this diversity a strength that can maintain social cohesion.

According to Fadli, Indonesia has about 1,340 ethnic groups. This diversity is a unifying force that has taken root in Indonesian culture.

He emphasized that the protection of cultural heritage was carried out without distinguishing the background of religion and tradition.

"In Maluku, for example, we are also improving various cultural sites, including the old mosque in Kaitetu and the Immanuel Church in Hila, which is one of the oldest churches in the archipelago. This shows that the protection of our cultural heritage is carried out without distinguishing the background of religion and tradition," said Fadli.

Fadli also touched on the establishment of the Day of Trust in God Almighty on July 13. He said that trust is part of the reality of Indonesian culture and has a constitutional basis.

"In our constitution it is clearly stated about religion and belief. Therefore, in my opinion, this is a constitutional right that should be respected," he said.

Program Director of the Leimena Institute Daniel Adipranata said that CCRL was developed since 2021 as a competence for living together in a heterogeneous society.

According to Daniel, the program has three pillars. First, understanding one's own religion. Second, studying other religions from authoritative sources or their adherents. Third, building collaboration in differences.

Daniel gave an example of the Pela Gandong local culture in Maluku. He said that culture has a great power in strengthening social cohesion.

"Local culture is a common language that makes people feel like a family. Therefore, we see that culture has great potential to strengthen the lives of diverse communities," said Daniel.

Senior Fellow of the Leimena Institute Alwi Shihab conveyed his experience promoting Indonesian harmony in international forums in 2017-2018. This experience gave birth to the idea of strengthening tolerance education in the country with an approach that is sensitive to cross-faith diversity.

"The acculturation between religion and local traditions is part of the history of Indonesia, where traditions are maintained in their form but filled with the values of tauhid," said Alwi.

The Leimena Institute also conveyed the plan for the International Conference on Cross-Cultural Religious Literacy in December. The forum is designed to share Indonesia's good practices with ASEAN countries and global partners.

The meeting was also attended by the Director General of Cultural and Traditional Protection Restu Gunawan, the Expert Staff of the Minister for Inter-Institutional Relations Ismunandar, the Special Staff of the Minister for Law and Intellectual Property Rights Putri Woelan Sari Dewi, and representatives of the Ministry of Culture and the Leimena Institute.