4.

The Factors behind Religion Crisis These Days

A. Introduction
Maybe some people say that the term crisis of religion sound really pessimist, and there’s
no indication of religion crisis. And if there’s no religion crisis, no need to search for it. We
indicate that that objection isn’t valid and if there is a religion crisis, the effect isn’t really
impacting in Indonesia.
Symptoms of atheism shown up at all century and all places and it isn’t a big symptoms
from XX century. But, now days atheism become a serious symptoms at all places which many
people used as their way of life, not only one or two smart people, but even the commoners. In
Europe, North America, Cuba, Ethiopia, Afghanistan, Vietnam, China, and others, many people
leave their faith and religion and become atheism.

According to religion statistics on FABC Newsletter no.93, 1995, page 4, the amount of
the adherents of atheism in the world shown enhancement :
In 1900 : 255,600 people
In 1970 : 169,309,000 people
In 1995 : 242,590,000 people
In 2000 : 232,088,000 people
In 2025 : 236,370,000 people (Expectation)

Maybe we mostly like to close our eyes for this truth and pointing communist country
that with only a force, they can erase the religion. But, they need a lot of support from all people
especially from the commoners. The common tool for communication is to make a subjective
selection from the news, so from the television or the newspaper only getting information about
the rebellion to fight the communist. But beside that, maybe there is a lot of people that support
the communist.

Maybe some people try to amuse their self with a opinion that there’s no way that
atheism can grow in Indonesia because they think that Indonesia is a religion country, as listed
on the precepts I.

According to us, this kind of entertainment is just a semi entertainment. Atheism won’t
stop at the door of Indonesia. The soul of Indonesian is come from the others region in XIX is
also tend to be really religious, like Russian, Cuba, South East Asian, etc. But nowadays, some
of them already held the atheist point of view. The mind of Indonesia people doesn’t have a
magic immunity against atheism, like the truth of a big impact in atheism is here before 1965.
The effect already become a big issues, so government legitimate Nasakom as an ideology and
practical guidelines for political in Indonesia.
 Because of a lot of people disagree with the atheism in Indonesia; Atheism can be
blocked in to Indonesia. But, the history keeps rolling and in our opinion, it is only a matter of
time for atheism to come back into Indonesia. And if the people in Indonesia want to hold and
support their religion, so better not to be so proud of it and don’t be relied but better learn the
background of the atheism in some country. Then, take some wise preventive action to the
factors that affecting the religion crisis or Atheism.

B. Social injustice
Social injustice and other factors below are not automatically creating a crisis in religion
or atheism. Moreover, it is a huge seduction for people to release their faith and religion. Social
injustice not only occurs in economic sector, it also occurs in law sector, education sector,
culture sector, health sector, politic sector, etc.

In the outlines of state policy year 1978 state that there are eight tracks equalization:

(1) Fair distribution of basic needs requirement

(2) Fair distribution of opportunity to get education and health service
(3) Fair distribution of salaries allocation
(4) Fair distribution of job opportunities
(5) Fair distribution of opportunities
(6) Fair distribution of participation in construction
(7) Fair distribution in spreading the construction
(8) Fair distribution of getting equality opportunities

If this process can be conducted seriously, one important factor which leads to atheism
can be minimized. All of us know that this condition become one of big seduction to make us to
release our religion.

The reasons are:

(a) Inequality condition that force people to use all of their time and energy to find
money that make they have no time to participate in religion activities
(b) Inequality condition that create frustration and hate towards God which viewed as bad
luck giver
(c) The communication with people who have higher knowledge about spiritual become
lesser because ordinary people feel ashamed or start to hate those people who have
higher knowledge about spiritual

Conclusion:
 If we still want to state that Indonesia is religious nation, we should give a focus on
social equality that should be concern and strive for. Moreover, there are other factors that play
important roles in creating atheism that makes social equality can’t be one tool to resist atheism. On the
other hand, with realization of social equality at least power of atheism can be reduced.

C. The Unwise Attitude of Religionist and its Leader

When Religionists (person adhering to a religion) are acting too fanatic, only thinking
about the happiness in afterlife or only want to know about religious rule while throwing away
all other opinions from science and technology, then we do not have to wonder if many people
start to feel irritated with that religionist and then hate the religion. Of course every action will
raise reaction: every over-acting will cause over-reacting. Maybe we can use the situation in Iran
to explain this point. There, people who against the fundamental regime maybe will become
radical and atheist because of the behaviour of some religionists.

D. Horizontal and Vertical Transmigration

Horizontal transmigration here defined as resettlement (moving from one residence to
another residence), examples from Java to Borneo. Vertical transmigration here defined as the
shift in social layer, examples from a farmer become an office worker or an owner of small
workshop become director of big company.

These two types of transmigration often occur together, happen in urbanization: people
move from village to city (Latin word: Urbs) and at the same time change their social position,
for example from a prominent farmer become a low labour. These two types of transmigration
loosen the bond between people with their environment and fellow believers. The influence and
control from environment and religion becoming less strong. And if in a new milieu there is no
encouragement and support in religion, then religious life might languish until vanish. For
example, a giant port named Rotterdam in Netherlands. Decades ago, many Catholic people from
Brabant province move to Rotterdam and many of them lose their faith there. From the religion
chart in page 26 we know that religion in general have a social component which are structure,
organization and institutional. Sometimes the social components are very strong to make a fellow
believer who dare to convert are often expelled from the neighbourhood. So, in the
transmigration phenomenon, we can see that people are leaving their original environment in
exchange of losing the support, supervision, and entertainment enjoyed before they wander
about. Socially, that kind of people becomes unstable in a new environment which often causes
instability in religion too.

E. The Tendency of Materialism

 Human is materialist and not like an angel that spiritualist. This means that humans are
need materials to stay alive. So, the tendency toward material things and use of the material is
normal and reasonable. But other than that, human have spiritual characteristic also wise so, they
can direct their attention and their favourite to things that are perhaps less pleasant their stomach,
but lifting their heart and moral.

Means that there are two tendency within human and not easy to make it balance between
these tendencies that sometimes contradicting each other. If the tendency of ephemeral things are
given too much space and function, it says, that the people have been infected by materialism
that resulting in the “stepchild-ing” of the spiritual tendency.

Materialism is not a modern phenomenon from our time. Is said that the first human,
Adam and Eve, has been prefer to eat the forbidden fruit rather than serving the God. But, it is
true that in our time now there are more goods and worldly facilities that can dazzle the human
heart so that the appeal from example of the religious ceremonies and religious teaching been
defeated. For example: people more like to watch the world champions boxing match, or other
interesting shows rather than go to a worship; the young generation are more interest in listen to
a pop song rather than listen to a preachment; a family that doesn’t have a car generally go to a
worship in Sunday for example, but family that have a car often tempted to go picnic in the
beach for example. This means the increasing of material facilities and worldly amusements truly
is a challenge for every religious person and religion position is weakened, so often lost.

Nearly 2000 years ago, Jesus Christ said: “And again I say unto you, it is easier for a
camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.”
(Matthew 19:24). Is our living facilities compared with the living facilities of a rich man in
Jesus’ time, perhaps it should be said that we are all now “very rich man”. Nowadays, even the
poor people can leave today from Jakarta and the next day arrived in Surabaya; the poor people
can talk by phone with their friends that 1000 kilometres away; the poor people can watch
television, take malaria medicine, see their expression in the mirror, turn on the house light, ask
their girlfriend’s or boyfriend’s picture and so on. All these facilities even from Jesus’ time until
1900, not yet owned by the richest and most powerful person.

Although today we consider ourselves as poor or modest, when we compare ourselves to

the rich, but our hearts could be so addicted to worldly facilities. Just compare our attitude if one
day suddenly blackouts or the plane is late arrived.

F. Educational Improvement

Nowadays, most of people get education, in certain sense can weaken the position of a
religious mufti. If formerly the mufti have a great authority, but this time public will not
understand the dignity and ability, so that what is a religious leader said is just as a mere hoax. In
the process of democracy they think that sometimes religion is good and sometimes not. People
begin to understand that the leaders are simply ordinary human beings with weaknesses and the
possibility of them mistakenly. The attitude of feudalism is the religious is slowly vanishing. In
many places the mufti tries to defend the religion, for example in Iran, religion still get a place
but from the other party was not given a freedom to regulate the life of the nation and the state.

In summary, the increase of education makes a lot of smart people able to issue an
opinion on its own. These factors reduce the role of religion in public life. There is another factor
which aspects influenced the physical development of science as religion, etc.

G. Closing: The Rise of Religious Crisis

If we look at the factors behind the rise of the religious crisis can be concluded that the
factors that have started are now evident in the Earth Indonesia anyway, so presumably religious
crisis will not stop at the front gate of the Republic of Indonesia. Although, the soul of Indonesia
is still a religious nature, but this does not provide sufficient assurances that the crisis of religion
will not appear here. Perhaps the soul of the past century other nations are more religious, more
of the Indonesian nation, but could not prevent the crisis.

And when we begin to realize the Indonesian nation that also can be marked by
indifference to religion, even by the current atheism, it is not wise to say: "We'll see". Now we've
got a better eye and we said: "Now we see", we immediately take precautions to reduce the
strength of these factors. Also 1001 per day attitude expressed in the sentence "so be it!", Not in
place, because we are still able to do something. The factors was not a force of nature that
inevitably must lead to a crisis that religion, rather it is a factor that can still be overcome
humans. The danger of dry season now can be overcome by man with artificial rain, flood
hazards can be prevented in general if the irrigation system is well maintained and the
preservation of nature are not overlooked.

By Group 5 and 6:
014201400038 / Devi Siswani
014201400057 / Geovany
014201400062 / Hillery Melisa
014201400109 / Richard Keane
014201400118 / Sembel Julio E. Reinaldo
014201400132 / Vina Ariefa
014201400165 / Li Tian Hao
014201400171 / Peng Song
014201400187 / Liang Cong Cong
014201400188 / Lin Yuan Jun