What’s in a name? Agama Hindu Bali in the making

Abstract

On 5 September 1958, a Hindu Bali section was established within the Indonesian Ministry of Religion, thereby conferring official recognition on the Balinese religion as Agama Hindu Bali.1 After Indonesia’s proclamation of independence in 1945, the question of the religious foundation of the new state had rapidly come to a head, opposing the Islamic leaders (Indonesian: golongan Islam) to the ‘secular’ nationalists (Indonesian: golongan kebangsaan). The Muslims, confident that they represented an overwhelming majority of the Indonesian people, wanted to establish an Islamic state, whereas their opponents, concerned that such a decision would alienate the Christians and other religious minorities, argued in favour of a state in which religious and secular affairs would be kept separate. This confrontation resulted in a compromise: the Indonesian state put ‘belief in the One Almighty God’ (‘Ke-Tuhanan Yang Maha Esa’) first among its founding principles (the Pantja Sila), without making Islam an official or even privileged religion. As a concession to the Islamic parties, however, a Ministry of Religion (Kementerian Agama) was set up in 1946, with three sections: one for the Muslims, one for the Protestants and one for the Catholics.

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