ABSTRACT
In this chapter, I portray the development of Hinduism and Buddhism in post-colonial Indonesia, revealing a process of increasing religious bureaucratization. The process was a central part of the state-building projects by different Indonesian governments, which, despite their distinct approaches, have all sought to bring into the national fold the enormous ethnic, religious, and cultural plurality of the country. The religious policies of the various legislatures have formed an integral part of this endeavor. Initially, both Hinduism and Buddhism provided refuge for members of disparate ethnic traditions, which had come under government pressure, either because they were deemed backward and thus irreconcilable with the imagery of a modern Indonesian nation, or because they were otherwise considered to be alien to the autochthonous cultural core of that nation. Both Hinduism and Buddhism had to be reframed along the lines of the government definition of religion, which was strongly influenced by Islam; as a result, internal tensions began to mount. The chapter describes in detail the various tensions within the Hindu and Buddhist communities, which eventually resulted in heavily fragmented constituencies, particularly with the onset of decentralization after the fall of Suharto.
