http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/04/27/opinion/edbrazier.php
In Indonesia, the Chinese go to church
Roderick Brazier International Herald Tribune
THURSDAY, APRIL 27, 2006
JAKARTA
Benny Hinn, superstar Christian televangelist and faith healer, made a
multi-city tour of Indonesia in late March. More than 100,000 arm-waving
disciples paid more than $100 each to hear his electrifying sermons and to
witness him raising cripples from wheelchairs.
Indonesia, home of the world's biggest Muslim population, seems an
unlikely destination for Hinn. But Indonesia's big cities are now part of the
international evangelical circuit, and charismatic Protestant churches are
growing apace.
Indonesia's Muslims show no interest in Hinn and his fellow Christian
preachers. But the rich, urban ethnic Chinese of Indonesia are flocking to
Christianity. Since the 1950s, when only a small elite was Christian, several
million Chinese have abandoned traditional Chinese religions in favor of
Christianity, most commonly evangelical Protestant churches.
Of the estimated five million ethnic Chinese in Indonesia, well over 70
percent are now Christian. The ebullient and staggeringly rich charismatic
churches are thriving by spreading a message of personal confidence and
material success that seems to hold special appeal for young Chinese.
The mass conversion to Christianity occurred in two waves. In the 1950s
and 60s, many Chinese converted as a response to Indonesia's official
intolerance of traditional Chinese culture.
Convinced - sometimes justly - that the Chinese were halfhearted
supporters of independence, the post-revolutionary government punished the
Chinese by severely stifling their culture. Chinese schools were banned,
pushing pupils into Christian schools. Chinese temples were stripped of
"Chinese characteristics" and worship could only be conducted discreetly.
In contrast, Christians enjoyed far greater freedom of worship. For the
ethnic Chinese, Christianity offered a life with less persecution and wider
acceptance, especially by officialdom. Between 1957 and 1969 the number of
Chinese Catholics surged by more than 400 percent.
The second phase of conversion began in the late 1970s, when the
government de-recognized Confucianism. By law, Indonesians must profess a
religion, so Confucians were forced to choose another of the five sanctioned
faiths.
At about that same time, wealthy international churches began a
stunningly successful campaign to proselytize the ethnic Chinese.
These charismatic Protestant groups deftly crafted a message that caters
to the social and cultural preferences of the Chinese. For example, in contrast
to Buddhism or Catholicism, the charismatic churches endorsed the accumulation
of wealth - a message that is attractive to a group for whom money has been a
major cushion in a boisterous and volatile society.
The charismatic churches also exhibit a modern outlook that is magnetic
to upwardly mobile young Chinese. "Happy clappy" services are marked by the
extensive use of English in sermons, songs and prayers. Fusty hymns have been
replaced by Christian pop music played live by young bands.
Across urban Indonesia, where almost all Chinese live, signs of the shift
abound. Jakarta's two cable television operators each carry two 24 hour
Christian channels; neither carries comparable Islamic content. So called "mall
churches," operating in rented space in shopping malls, have attracted a
sizeable following.
The shift of religious affiliation among the ethnic Chinese of Indonesia
follows a trend previously observed among ethnic Chinese in Singapore and
Malaysia.
As in Malaysia, the shift to Christianity among the ethnic Chinese
occurred around the same time that Muslims began to show greater piety. It
seems reasonable to conclude that Christians, including the ethnic Chinese, are
reacting to the quickening Islamization of Indonesia by showing greater outward
piety themselves.
Unlike traditional Chinese religions, the charismatic churches offer an
acceptable way for the Chinese to assert a distinct identity noisily and
passionately. Moreover, the Christian churches have links to powerful
international constituencies that eagerly defend the rights of Christian
minorities worldwide.
What does this shift mean for Indonesia? As the ethnic Chinese are
absorbed into the Christian community, the key fissures in Indonesian society
become less along ethnic or racial lines, and more along religious ones.
That need not be a problem, so long as Christian proselytizing is
confined to non-Muslims. If Christians start trying to convert Muslims, the
response might well be different.
(Roderick Brazier is the Asia Foundation's assistant country
representative in Indonesia.)
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