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Abstract
This article investigates the nature of local regulations on tolerance in Indonesia. Focusing on considerations that shape the primary rationales of such local regulations, this article explains the repressive approach that local governments in Indonesia have persistently used in responding to religious intolerant incidents. Applying a conceptual framework concerning the social conflict prevention-management and human rights approach and drawing on a content analysis of 12 local regulations, the consideration of preventing and managing social conflicts has dominated the primary rationales of local regulations on tolerance in Indonesia. In contrast, human rights considerations, particularly those focused on protecting freedom of religion and belief to promote greater religious diversity, remain marginal across the regulatory corpus. Instead of serving as a tool for promoting individual freedoms and diversity, existing local regulations on tolerance function as instruments that suppress diversity, working on the assumption that religious differences inherently pose a threat of social friction. Drawing on a critical understanding that pro-tolerance regulatios may be used as repressive tools to suppress religious diversity, we argue for human rights-based approach, as well as individual freedoms, to promote religious diversity and as a reference point for developing tolerance regulations in Indonesia.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Sahid Hadi, Heronimus Heron
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References
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Bagir, Zainal Abidin, Asfinawati, Suhadi, and Renata Arianingtyas. “Limitations to Freedom of Religion or Belief in Indonesia: Norms and Practices.” Religion and Human Rights 15, nos. 1–2 (2020): 39–56. doi:10.1163/18710328-BJA10003.
Buehler, Michael, and Dani Muhtada. “Democratization and the Diffusion of Shari’a Law: Comparative Insights from Indonesia.” South East Asia Research 24, no. 2 (2016): 261–82. doi:https://doi.org/10.1177/0967828X16649311.
Butt, Simon, and Tim Lindsey. Indonesian Law . Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018.
Coser, Lewis A. “Social Conflict and the Theory of Social Change.” Source: The British Journal of Sociology 8, no. 3 (1957): 197–207.
Crouch, Melissa. “Criminal (in)Justice in Indonesia: The Cikeusik Trials.” Alternative Law Journal 37, no. 1 (March 2012): 54–56. doi:https://doi.org/10.1177/1037969X1203700115.
———. “Legislating Inter-Religious Harmony Attempts at Reform in Indonesia.” In Religion, Law and Intolerance in Indonesia, edited by Tim Lindsey and Helen Pausacker. London: Routledge, 2016.
Dalferth, Ingolf U. We. Humanity, Community, and the Right to Be Different. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2024.
Freedom House. “Indonesia Freedom in the World,” 2024. https://freedomhouse.org/country/indonesia/freedom-world/2024.
Grzeszick, Bernd. “Rationality Requirements on Parliamentary Legislation Under a Democratic Rule of Law.” In Rational Lawmaking under Review. Legisprudence According to the German Federal Constitutional Court, edited by Klaus Meßerschmidt and A Daniel Oliever-Lalana. Switzerland: Springer, 2016.
Hadi, Sahid, Heronimus Heron, and Vania Lutfi Safira Erlangga. Langkah Awal Yang Suram: Performa Hak Asasi Manusia Dalam Peraturan Perundang-Undangan Pemerintahan Prabowo-Gibran Pada 100 Hari Pertama. Yogyakarta, January 2025.
Hamayotsu, Kikue. “The Limits of Civil Society in Democratic Indonesia: Media Freedom and Religious Intolerance.” Journal of Contemporary Asia 43, no. 4 (2013): 658–77. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/00472336.2013.780471.
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Hoecke, Mark Van. “Methodology of Comparative Legal Research.” Law and Method, no. 12 (2015): 1–35. https://doi.org/10.5553/REM/.000010.
Hurriyah. “Dynamics of Shrinking Religious Freedom in Post-Reformasi Indonesia.” Journal of Southeast Asian Human Rights 4, no. 2 (2020): 335–56. doi:https://doi.org/10.19184/jseahr.v4i2.19546.
Konsińka, Anna Magdalena, and Barbara Mikołajzyk. “Does the Right to Migration Security Already Exist? Considerations from the Perspective of the EU’s Legal System.” European Journal of Migration and Law 21, no. 1 (2019): 83–116.
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Luoyi, Zhang. “Legal Semantics and Linguistic Features of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: An Empirical Research and Text Analysis.” Science of Law Journal 3, no. 6 (2024): 93–102. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.23977/law.2024.030614.
Marzuki, Suparman, Despan Heryansyah, and Sahid Hadi. “Neglecting Laws and Rights of Local Communities: A Human Rights-Based Approach Analysis of the Development of Indonesia’s New Capital City.” Brawijaya Law Journal 11, no. 2 (2024): 215–41. doi:https://doi.org/10.21776/ub.blj.2024.011.
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———. Qualitative Content Analysis: Theoretical Foundation, Basic Procedures and Software Solution. Klagenfurt, 2014. https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:0168-ssoar-395173.
Pamplona, Danielle Anne. “Article 3 – The Right to Life, Liberty and Security.” In The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. A Commentary, edited by Humberto Cantú Rivera. Leiden-Boston: Brill/Nijhoff, 2024.
Powell, Rhonda. “The Interest Protected by the Right to Security of Peron.” In Rights as Security: The Theoretical Basis of Security of Person. Oxford: Oxford Academic, 2019.
Rohidin, Rohidin, M. Syafi’ie, Despan Heryansyah, Sahid Hadi, and Mahrus Ali. “Exclusive Policy in Guaranteeing Freedom of Religion and Belief: A Study on the Existence of Sharia-Based Local Regulations in Indonesia and Its Problems.” Cogent Social Sciences 9, no. 1 (2023): 1–18. doi:10.1080/23311886.2023.2202939.
Ropi, Ismatu. Religion and Regulation in Indonesia. Religion and Regulation in Indonesia. Springer Singapore, 2017. doi:10.1007/978-981-10-2827-4.
Setara Institute. “SETARA Institute: Kondisi Kebebasan Beragama Berkeyakinan 2024,” May 23, 2025. https://kbb.id/2025/05/23/indeks-kota-toleran-2024-setara-institute/.
———. “Tren Peristiwa Dan Tindakan,” 2024. https://bebasberagama.id/.
Sieckmann, Jan. “Rational Lawmaking, Proportionality and Balancing.” In Rational Lawmaking Under Review: Legisprudence According to the German Federal Constitutional Court, edited by Klaus Meßerschmidt and A Daniel Oliever-Lalana. Switzerland: Springer Cham, 2016.
Smith, Rhona K.M., Njäl Høstmælingen, Christian Ranheim, Satya Arinanto, Fajrul Falaakh, Enny Soeprapto, Ifdhal Kasim, et al. Hukum Hak Asasi Manusia. Edited by Knut D. Asplund, Suparman Marzuki, and Eko Riyadi. Pertama. Yogyakarta: Pusham UII, 2008.
Suaedy, Ahmad. “The Inter-Religious Harmony (KUB) Bill vs Guaranteeing Freedom of Religion and Belief in Indonesia Public Debate.” In Religion, Law and Intolerance in Indonesia, edited by Tim Lindsey and Helen Pausacker. London and New York: Routledge, 2016.
Tim Koordinasi Pengawasan Aliran Kepercayaan dan Aliran Keagamaan. “Siaran Pers Tim Koordinasi Pengawasan Aliran Kepercayaan Dan Aliran Keagamaan Dalam Masyarakat (PAKEM) Kabupaten Garut Nomor: 01/PAKEM-KAB.GARUT/07/2024,” 2024. https://kbb.id/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/SIARAN-PERS.pdf.
Villegas, Luis Carlos Arbeláez. “The Contradictory Relationship between Safety and Human Rights.” Revista Criminalidad 65, no. 2 (2023): 145–58. doi:https://doi.org/10.47741/17943108.484.
Wahid Foundation. Laporan Tahunan Kemerdekaan Beragama/Berkeyakinan (KBB) 2022. Jakarta: Wahid Foundation, 2023.
Wibye, Johan Vorland. “Reviving the Distinction between Positive and Negative Human Rights.” Rasio Juris 35, no. 4 (December 2022): 363–82. doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/raju.12363.
References
Adams, N.P. “Bare Statistical Evidence and the Right to Security.” Journal of Ethics and Social Philosophy 24, no. 2 (March 2023): 291–314. doi:https://doi.org/10.26556/jesp.v24i2.1650.
Aminudin, Muhammad. “Hasil Mediasi Penolakan Gereja Di Malang, Pembangunan Tetap Dihentikan.” Detik.Com, March 8, 2023. https://www.detik.com/jatim/berita/d-6608346/hasil-mediasi-penolakan-gereja-di-malang-pembangunan-tetap-dihentikan.
Anaya Muñoz, Alejandro. “International Human Rights Regimes.” Sur - International Journal on Human Rights 14, no. 25 (2017): 171–88.
Bagir, Zainal Abidin, Asfinawati, Suhadi, and Renata Arianingtyas. “Limitations to Freedom of Religion or Belief in Indonesia: Norms and Practices.” Religion and Human Rights 15, nos. 1–2 (2020): 39–56. doi:10.1163/18710328-BJA10003.
Buehler, Michael, and Dani Muhtada. “Democratization and the Diffusion of Shari’a Law: Comparative Insights from Indonesia.” South East Asia Research 24, no. 2 (2016): 261–82. doi:https://doi.org/10.1177/0967828X16649311.
Butt, Simon, and Tim Lindsey. Indonesian Law . Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018.
Coser, Lewis A. “Social Conflict and the Theory of Social Change.” Source: The British Journal of Sociology 8, no. 3 (1957): 197–207.
Crouch, Melissa. “Criminal (in)Justice in Indonesia: The Cikeusik Trials.” Alternative Law Journal 37, no. 1 (March 2012): 54–56. doi:https://doi.org/10.1177/1037969X1203700115.
———. “Legislating Inter-Religious Harmony Attempts at Reform in Indonesia.” In Religion, Law and Intolerance in Indonesia, edited by Tim Lindsey and Helen Pausacker. London: Routledge, 2016.
Dalferth, Ingolf U. We. Humanity, Community, and the Right to Be Different. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2024.
Freedom House. “Indonesia Freedom in the World,” 2024. https://freedomhouse.org/country/indonesia/freedom-world/2024.
Grzeszick, Bernd. “Rationality Requirements on Parliamentary Legislation Under a Democratic Rule of Law.” In Rational Lawmaking under Review. Legisprudence According to the German Federal Constitutional Court, edited by Klaus Meßerschmidt and A Daniel Oliever-Lalana. Switzerland: Springer, 2016.
Hadi, Sahid, Heronimus Heron, and Vania Lutfi Safira Erlangga. Langkah Awal Yang Suram: Performa Hak Asasi Manusia Dalam Peraturan Perundang-Undangan Pemerintahan Prabowo-Gibran Pada 100 Hari Pertama. Yogyakarta, January 2025.
Hamayotsu, Kikue. “The Limits of Civil Society in Democratic Indonesia: Media Freedom and Religious Intolerance.” Journal of Contemporary Asia 43, no. 4 (2013): 658–77. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/00472336.2013.780471.
Hefner, Robert W. “Religion, Law and Intolerance in Indonesia. Edited by Tim Lindsey and Helen Pausacker. London: Routledge, 2016.” Journal of Law and Religion 33, no. 1 (April 2018): 117–21. doi:https://doi.org/10.1017/jlr.2018.19.
Hoecke, Mark Van. “Methodology of Comparative Legal Research.” Law and Method, no. 12 (2015): 1–35. https://doi.org/10.5553/REM/.000010.
Hurriyah. “Dynamics of Shrinking Religious Freedom in Post-Reformasi Indonesia.” Journal of Southeast Asian Human Rights 4, no. 2 (2020): 335–56. doi:https://doi.org/10.19184/jseahr.v4i2.19546.
Konsińka, Anna Magdalena, and Barbara Mikołajzyk. “Does the Right to Migration Security Already Exist? Considerations from the Perspective of the EU’s Legal System.” European Journal of Migration and Law 21, no. 1 (2019): 83–116.
Lazarus, Liora. “Insecurity and Human Rights.” In Human Rights and 21st Century Challenges: Poverty, Conflict, and the Environment, edited by Dapo Akande, Helen McDermott, Dominic Roser, and Jaakko Kuosmanen. Oxford: Oxford Academic, 2020.
Lindsey, Tim, and Simon Butt. “State Power to Restrict Religious Freedom An Overview of the Legal Framework.” In Religion, Law and Intolerance in Indonesia, edited by Tim Lindsey and Helen Pausacker, 19–41. London and New York: Routledge, 2016.
Luoyi, Zhang. “Legal Semantics and Linguistic Features of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: An Empirical Research and Text Analysis.” Science of Law Journal 3, no. 6 (2024): 93–102. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.23977/law.2024.030614.
Marzuki, Suparman, Despan Heryansyah, and Sahid Hadi. “Neglecting Laws and Rights of Local Communities: A Human Rights-Based Approach Analysis of the Development of Indonesia’s New Capital City.” Brawijaya Law Journal 11, no. 2 (2024): 215–41. doi:https://doi.org/10.21776/ub.blj.2024.011.
Mayring, Philipp. “Qualitative Content Analysis.” Forum: Qualitative Social Research 1, no. 2 (June 2000): 1–10. http://nbnresolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs0002204.
———. Qualitative Content Analysis: Theoretical Foundation, Basic Procedures and Software Solution. Klagenfurt, 2014. https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:0168-ssoar-395173.
Pamplona, Danielle Anne. “Article 3 – The Right to Life, Liberty and Security.” In The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. A Commentary, edited by Humberto Cantú Rivera. Leiden-Boston: Brill/Nijhoff, 2024.
Powell, Rhonda. “The Interest Protected by the Right to Security of Peron.” In Rights as Security: The Theoretical Basis of Security of Person. Oxford: Oxford Academic, 2019.
Rohidin, Rohidin, M. Syafi’ie, Despan Heryansyah, Sahid Hadi, and Mahrus Ali. “Exclusive Policy in Guaranteeing Freedom of Religion and Belief: A Study on the Existence of Sharia-Based Local Regulations in Indonesia and Its Problems.” Cogent Social Sciences 9, no. 1 (2023): 1–18. doi:10.1080/23311886.2023.2202939.
Ropi, Ismatu. Religion and Regulation in Indonesia. Religion and Regulation in Indonesia. Springer Singapore, 2017. doi:10.1007/978-981-10-2827-4.
Setara Institute. “SETARA Institute: Kondisi Kebebasan Beragama Berkeyakinan 2024,” May 23, 2025. https://kbb.id/2025/05/23/indeks-kota-toleran-2024-setara-institute/.
———. “Tren Peristiwa Dan Tindakan,” 2024. https://bebasberagama.id/.
Sieckmann, Jan. “Rational Lawmaking, Proportionality and Balancing.” In Rational Lawmaking Under Review: Legisprudence According to the German Federal Constitutional Court, edited by Klaus Meßerschmidt and A Daniel Oliever-Lalana. Switzerland: Springer Cham, 2016.
Smith, Rhona K.M., Njäl Høstmælingen, Christian Ranheim, Satya Arinanto, Fajrul Falaakh, Enny Soeprapto, Ifdhal Kasim, et al. Hukum Hak Asasi Manusia. Edited by Knut D. Asplund, Suparman Marzuki, and Eko Riyadi. Pertama. Yogyakarta: Pusham UII, 2008.
Suaedy, Ahmad. “The Inter-Religious Harmony (KUB) Bill vs Guaranteeing Freedom of Religion and Belief in Indonesia Public Debate.” In Religion, Law and Intolerance in Indonesia, edited by Tim Lindsey and Helen Pausacker. London and New York: Routledge, 2016.
Tim Koordinasi Pengawasan Aliran Kepercayaan dan Aliran Keagamaan. “Siaran Pers Tim Koordinasi Pengawasan Aliran Kepercayaan Dan Aliran Keagamaan Dalam Masyarakat (PAKEM) Kabupaten Garut Nomor: 01/PAKEM-KAB.GARUT/07/2024,” 2024. https://kbb.id/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/SIARAN-PERS.pdf.
Villegas, Luis Carlos Arbeláez. “The Contradictory Relationship between Safety and Human Rights.” Revista Criminalidad 65, no. 2 (2023): 145–58. doi:https://doi.org/10.47741/17943108.484.
Wahid Foundation. Laporan Tahunan Kemerdekaan Beragama/Berkeyakinan (KBB) 2022. Jakarta: Wahid Foundation, 2023.
Wibye, Johan Vorland. “Reviving the Distinction between Positive and Negative Human Rights.” Rasio Juris 35, no. 4 (December 2022): 363–82. doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/raju.12363.