Ministry of Religious Affairs (Indonesia)

The Ministry of Religious Affairs (Indonesian: Kementerian Agama) is an Indonesian ministry that administers religious affairs. It is responsible to the president, and is led by a minister.

Ministry of Religious Affairs

Kementerian Agama
Insignia of the Ministry of Religious Affairs
Flag of the Ministry of Religious Affairs
One of the Ministry of Religious Affairs headquarters building in Jakarta
Agency overview
Formed	3 January 1946; 79 years ago (1946-01-03)
Jurisdiction	Government of Indonesia
Headquarters	Jalan Lapangan Banteng Barat no. 3–4 Central Jakarta Jakarta, Indonesia
Motto	Ikhlas Beramal (Doing deeds sincerely)
Ministers responsible	Nasaruddin Umar, Minister of Religious Affairs Muhammad Syafi'i, Vice Minister of Religious Affairs
Website	www.kemenag.go.id

History

Plans for the creation of a Ministry of Religious Affairs was proposed for first time in the meeting of the Committee for Preparatory Work for Indonesian Independence by Mohammad Yamin on 11 July 1945. He proposed to create special religion-related ministry, Ministry of Islamic Affairs, which ensures Indonesian Muslim affairs. However, this proposal didn't gather much reception.^[1][2]

The creation of the Ministry of Religious Affairs was proposed for the second time in a session of the Preparatory Committee for Indonesian Independence on 19 August 1945. The proposal was accepted by six from 27 members. Johannes Latuharhary, who rejected the proposal, proposed to handle religion affairs in Ministry of Education. Abdul Abbas supported Johannes' proposal. Iwa Kusumasumatri agreed that religious affairs should be handled by the ministry, however rejected the creation of special-religion ministry because of national scope of government. Ki Hadjar Dewantara proposed that religious affairs should be handled by Ministry of Home Affairs. The session rejected the creation of Ministry of Religious Affairs. Thus, Ministry of Religious Affairs had not been created until First Sjahrir Cabinet.^[1][2]

The creation of the Ministry of the Religious Affairs was re-proposed for the third time to the Working Committee of the Central Indonesian National Committee on 11 November 1945 by K.H. Abudardiri, K.H. Saleh Suaidy, and M. Sukoso Wirjosaputro. This proposal was also supported by Mohammad Natsir, Muwardi, Marzuki Mahdi, and Kartosudarmo. The proposal was accepted during the sessions of the Committee on 25–28 November 1945. Thus, the Ministry of Religious Affairs was created on 3 January 1946, with Haji Mohammad Rasjidi appointed as the first Minister of Religious Affairs. Haji Mohammad Rasjidi was the State Minister of the Cabinet at the time that handled Islamic affairs. The Ministry of Religious Affairs took over marriage, religious court, mosque and hajj affairs from Ministry of Home Affairs, Islamic High Court from Ministry of Justice and religious education from Ministry of Education, Pedagogy and Culture. The 1946 legislation also provided for the protection of Indonesia's Catholics and Protestants under the ministry's framework.^[2]

Some people hold view that Ministry of Religious Affairs is not a new creation. The lineage of the Ministry of Religious Affairs can be traced back to the Japanese colonial period (宗務部, Shūmubu, lit. 'Religious Affairs Office') or the Dutch colonial period (Het Kantoor voor Inlandsche Zaken, lit. 'The Office for Indigenous Affairs'). Sometimes, people traced it back to the Islamic kingdoms period.^[2]

Beginning in the 1960s, the MRA expanded its scope to include Hindus, Buddhists, and Confucian Chinese Indonesians.

Portfolio and function

Under the Constitution and state legislations, in the performance of its mission, the Ministry is entitled to:^[3]

1. formulate, stipulate, and implement state policies for the religious communities of Indonesia.
2. manage and administer state properties under the Ministry's ownership.
3. supervise in the implementation of duties assigned to the Ministry.
4. implement technical guidance and supervision of the implementation of affairs of Ministerial branch offices in the country's administrative divisions.
5. implement any technical activities at all levels of society and within the administrative divisions of the nation or nationwide.
6. formation and implementation of a national Halal policy on culinary products.

Organization

According to Presidential Decree No. 12/2023 and Ministry of Religious Affairs Decree No. 25/2024, the Ministry of Religious Affairs is organized into several units.^[4]

• Office of the Minister of Religious Affairs
• Office of the Deputy Minister of Religious Affairs
• Secretariat General
  • Bureau of Planning
  • Bureau of Employment
  • Bureau of Finance and State Properties
  • Bureau of Organization and Administration
  • Bureau of Law and International Cooperation
  • Bureau of General Affairs
  • Bureau of Public Relations and Public Communication
• Inspectorate General
  • Inspectorate General Secretariat
  • Inspectorate I
  • Inspectorate II
  • Inspectorate III
  • Inspectorate IV
  • Inspectorate V
• Directorate Generals
  • Directorate General of Islamic Education (Direktorat Jenderal Pendidikan Islam)
    • Directorate General of Islamic Education Secretariat
    • Directorate for Curricular, Infrastructures, Institutional, and Student Affairs
    • Directorate for Madrasa Teachers and Education Personnel
    • Directorate for Islamic Higher Education
    • Directorate for Islamic Education
    • Directorate for Islamic Traditional Education and Pesantrens
    • State Islamic Universities and Colleges in Indonesia
  • Directorate General of Hajj and Umrah (Direktorat Jenderal Penyelenggaraan Haji dan Umrah)
    • Directorate General of Hajj and Umrah Secretariat
    • Directorate for Hajj Fostering
    • Directorate for Domestic Hajj Services
    • Directorate for Foreign Hajj Services
    • Directorate for Umrah and Special Hajj
    • Directorate for Hajj Funds Management and Hajj Information System
  • Directorate General of Islamic Community Guidance (Direktorat Jenderal Bimbingan Masyarakat Islam)
    • Directorate General of Islamic Community Guidance Secretariat
    • Directorate for Islamic Affairs and Sharia Guidance
    • Directorate for Religious Affair Offices Fostering and Sakina Family
    • Directorate for Islamic Information
    • Directorate for Zakat and Waqf
  • Directorate General of Christian Community Guidance (Direktorat Jenderal Bimbingan Masyarakat Kristen)
    • Directorate General of Christian Community Guidance Secretariat
    • Directorate for Christian Affairs
    • Directorate for Christian Education
      • Ambon State Christian Institute, Ambon
      • Kupang State Christian Institute, Kupang
      • Manado State Christian Institute, Manado
      • Palangkaraya State Christian Institute, Palangkaraya
      • Taruting Christian Institute, Tarutung
      • Toraja State Christian Institute, Tana Toraja
      • Sentani Protestan State Christian College, Jayapura
  • Directorate General of Catholic Community Guidance (Direktorat Jenderal Bimbingan Masyarakat Katolik)
    • Directorate General of Catholic Community Guidance Secretariat
    • Directorate for Catholic Affairs
    • Directorate for Catholic Education
      • Kubu Raya State Catholic College, Kubu Raya
  • Directorate General of Hindu Community Guidance (Direktorat Jenderal Bimbingan Masyarakat Hindu)
    • Directorate General of Hindu Community Guidance Secretariat
    • Directorate for Hindu Affairs
    • Directorate for Hindu Education
      • I Gusti Bagus Sugriwa State Hindu University, Denpasar
      • Gde Pudja State Hindu Institute, Mataram
      • Tampung Penyang State Hindu Institute, Palangkaraya
      • Jawa Dwipa State Hindu College, Klaten
      • Mpu Kuturan State Hindu College, Singaraja
  • Directorate General of Buddhist Community Guidance (Direktorat Jenderal Bimbingan Masyarakat Buddha)
    • Directorate General of Buddhist Community Guidance Secretariat
    • Directorate for Buddhist Affairs and Buddhist Education
      • Sriwijaya State College of Buddhism, Banten
      • Raden Wijaya State College of Buddhism, Wonogiri
• Agencies
  • Agency of Religious Moderation and Human Resource Development
    • Agency of Religious Moderation and Human Resource Development Secretariat
    • Strategic Policies Development Center for Religious Affairs
    • Strategic Policies Development Center for Religious Education and Religions
    • Appraisal Center for Religious Books, Lectures, and Religious Literatures
    • Competency Development Center for Management Competence, Leadership, and Religious Moderation
    • Competency Development Center for Education Personnel and Religious Human Resources
    • Bureau for Checking Copies of Qur'an
    • Aceh Religious Education and Training Center
    • Medan Religious Education and Training Center
    • Padang Religious Education and Training Center
    • Palembang Religious Education and Training Center
    • Jakarta Religious Education and Training Center
    • Bandung Religious Education and Training Center
    • Semarang Religious Education and Training Center
    • Surabaya Religious Education and Training Center
    • Banjarmasin Religious Education and Training Center
    • Manado Religious Education and Training Center
    • Denpasar Religious Education and Training Center
    • Makassar Religious Education and Training Center
    • Ambon Religious Education and Training Center
    • Papua Religious Education and Training Center
    • Jakarta Religious Research and Development Center
    • Makassar Religious Research and Development Center
    • Semarang Religious Research and Development Center
• Centers
  • Center for Data, Technology, and Information
  • Center for Religious Moderation
  • Center for Confucianism Guidance and Education
  • Center for Religious Education and Religion Funding
• Expert Staffs
  • Expert Staff of Religious Bodies Relation
  • Expert Staff of Information and Communication Management
  • Expert Staff of Law and Human Rights

References

1. History of Ministry of Religious Affairs (Indonesian)
2. "sulsel1.kemenag.go.id: Lintasan Sejarah Agama-Agama di Indonesia Oleh Sudirman, S.Ag (Indonesian)". Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
3. "Peraturan Menteri Agama Nomor 10 Tahun 2010 tentang Organisasi dan Tata Kerja Kementerian Agama" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 February 2015. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
4. Sekretariat Kabinet Republik Indonesia (26 January 2023). "PERATURAN PRESIDEN REPUBLIK INDONESIA NOMOR 12 TAHUN 2023 TENTANG KEMENTERIAN AGAMA" (PDF). JDIH Sekretariat Kabinet Republik Indonesia. Retrieved 26 February 2023.