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

Friday, 29 July 2022 education school faith christianity

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Jakarta (Agenzia Fides) - An erroneous teaching on the Christian faith, on God and the Trinity, present in an official book of civic education published by the Indonesian Ministry of Education, Research and Technology (Kemendikbud Ristek), will be revised, after specific consultations with the Churches. This is what Fides has learned about an event that has affected the relationship between the Christian Churches and the state in Indonesia. In recent days, the Indonesian Catholic Bishops Conference (KWI) published an official note in which it asked to withdraw the text from schools and correct a doctrinal error present in a text published in 2021, used for junior school students (Grade VII), on Citizenship Education, religion and ‘Pancasila’, the charter of the five principles that is the basis of the nation and.
The controversy was raised on social media by some Christian faithful and teachers who expressed concern and surprise that an official text may contain erroneous teachings on Catholic doctrine. The text states 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 induces confusion in students and young people.
Father Petrus Christian Siswantoko, Executive Secretary General of the KWI, speaking to Fides defines it "a disaster", noting that "the ministry has made a serious error on the doctrine of Christianity". "The state should consult with the Christian authorities before writing about religion", says Father Thomas Eddy Susanto SCJ, head of the Documentation and Information of the KWI. "We will certainly discuss the matter with the Protestant Churches for a common action", explains Father Heri Wibowo of the KWI Interfaith Commission.
Upon learning of 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 process the Catholic Church and the Protestant Church will be involved. The Indonesian Ministry of Religious Affairs also intervened fruitfully in the matter and urged the Ministry of Education to review the text and withdraw it from schools. (MH/PA) (Agenzia Fides, 29/7/2022)