Protestantism ( id, Protestanisme) is one of the six approved

religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatur ...

s in Indonesia, the others being

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

, and

Confucianism Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a Religious Confucianism, religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, ...

. It constitutes the bulk of

Christianity in Indonesia Christianity is Indonesia's second-largest religion, after Islam. Indonesia also has the second-largest Christian population in Southeast Asia after the Philippines, the largest Protestant population in Southeast Asia, and the fourth ...

, which is the second largest religion in the country after Islam. According to

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

statistic, in 2000 5.7% of the population of Indonesia were

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

. A nationwide census of 2018 noted that 7.6% (20,250,000) of the population considering themselves Protestant, largest in

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...

Protestantism Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

is largely a result of Dutch Reformed and

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched ...

missionary efforts during the country's colonial period. The

Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( nl, Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the VOC) was a chartered company established on the 20th March 1602 by the States General of the Netherlands amalgamating existing companies into the first joint-stock ...

regulated the missionary work so it could serve its own interests and restricted it to the eastern part of the Indonesian archipelago. Although these two branches are the most common, a multitude of other denominations can be found elsewhere in Indonesia. The

Batak Protestant Christian Church The Huria Kristen Batak Protestan (''HKBP''), which translates in English as ''Batak Christian Protestant Church'', is a Lutheran church that is oriented towards Protestant among the Batak people, generally the Toba Batak in Indonesia. With ...

, founded in 1861 by

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

Lutheran missionary Ludwig Ingwer Nommensen, is the largest one.

History

Protestantism arrived in Indonesia during the Dutch East Indies colonization. By the mid-1700s a significant

presence was found in

Jakarta Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital city, capital and list of Indonesian cities by population, largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coa ...

, with a Lutheran church built by the Lutheran Governor General Gustaaf Willem van Imhoff in 1749. In 1817, the Dutch founded the Protestantsche Kerk in Nederlandsch-Indie ("Indische Kerk") as a union of Reformed,

Baptists Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul com ...

Arminian Arminianism is a branch of Protestantism based on the theological ideas of the Dutch Reformed theologian Jacobus Arminius (1560–1609) and his historic supporters known as Remonstrants. Dutch Arminianism was originally articulated in the '' ...

and

Mennonite Mennonites are groups of Anabaptist Christian church communities of denominations. The name is derived from the founder of the movement, Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland. Through his writings about Reformed Christianity during the R ...

denominations. In 1835, the Dutch king decreed that one church council would fuse and oversee the Protestant denominations in the Dutch colony.

Demographics

On the island of

Sulawesi Sulawesi (), also known as Celebes (), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the world's eleventh-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Mindanao and the Sulu ...

, 17% of the citizens are Protestants, particularly in Tana Toraja and

North Sulawesi North Sulawesi ( id, Sulawesi Utara) is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the Minahasa Peninsula of Sulawesi, south of the Philippines and southeast of Sabah, Malaysia. It borders the Philippine province of Davao Occidental and Socc ...

. Up to 65% of the Torajan population are Protestant. In some parts of the country, entire villages belong to a distinct denomination, such as

Adventist Adventism is a branch of Protestant Christianity that believes in the imminent Second Coming (or the "Second Advent") of Jesus Christ. It originated in the 1830s in the United States during the Second Great Awakening when Baptist preacher W ...

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their n ...

Salvation Army Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its ...

. Two provinces have Protestant majorities: North Sulawesi (64%) and Papua (60%).

Christian Evangelical Church in Minahasa The Christian Evangelical Church in Minahasa (Gereja Masehi Injii di Minahasa) is a Protestant, Calvinist and Reformed church in Indonesia. It was founded in North Sulawesi on 30 September 1934. Christianity was introduced to Minahasa by Johann Fr ...

is the largest

church in North Sulawesi. Gereja Injili di Tanah Jawa is a Mennonite-related denomination.

Huria Kristen Batak Protestant The Huria Kristen Batak Protestan (''HKBP''), which translates in English as ''Batak Christian Protestant Church'', is a Lutheran church that is oriented towards Protestant among the Batak people, generally the Toba Batak in Indonesia. With a b ...

is a Lutheran denomination founded by Ludwig Ingwer Nommensen. It is the largest Protestant denomination in Indonesia and has over 4 million congregants. The relatively large number of "denominations" per capita in Indonesia may be due to the significant number of different

ethnic groups in Indonesia There are 1,340 recognised ethnic groups in Indonesia. The vast majority of those belong to the Austronesian peoples. Based on ethnic classification, the largest ethnic group in Indonesia is the Javanese who make up about 40% of the total pop ...

. Many Indonesian Protestants tend to congregate based more on ethnicity than liturgical differences.

Reformed denominations

The Reformed faith brought by Dutch missionaries in the 17th century. Many of these churches are members of the

World Communion of Reformed Churches The World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC) is the largest association of Calvinist churches in the world. It has 230 member denominations in 108 countries, together claiming an estimated 80 million people, thus being the fourth-largest Chris ...

: * Christian Evangelical Church in Sangihe-Talaud (GMIST) *

(GMIM) *

Christian Church in East Timor Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...

Christian Church in Luwuk Banggai The Christian Church in Luwuk Banggai is a Reformed denomination in Indonesia, a member of the World Communion of Reformed Churches. Christianity came to Luwuk Banggai in 1912, brought by Dutch missionaries, and established the Protestant Church i ...

Christian Church in Central Sulawesi The Central Sulawesi Christian Church ( id, Gereja Kristen Sulawesi Tengah) is the largest Christian church in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. It belongs to the Reformed family of churches. The church was established in the early 1893 through the mis ...

* Christian Church of Southern Sumatra * Christian Church of Sumba * Church of Toraja Mamasa *

East Java Christian Church The East Java Christian Church (''Greja Kristen Jawi Wetan'' (GKJW) in the Javanese language) is a congregation of Christian and Reformed churches based on Indonesian Javanese ethnicity, located in Java, Indonesia. History There were two mi ...

Evangelical Christian Church in Halmahera The Evangelical Christian Church in Halmahera (GMIH) represents the half of the population in the island of Halmahera. The denomination was a mission established by the Netherlands Reformed Church, and become autonomous in 1949. It has 300,000 membe ...

* Evangelical Christian Church in Papua * Evangelical Church in Bolaang Mongondow *

Evangelical Church in Kalimantan The Rheinische Missiongesellschaft zu Bremen (RMG) started missions in Kalimantan, now known as Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southea ...

Indonesian Christian Church The Indonesian Christian Church (''GKI'', originally: Gereja Kristen Indonesia) is an Indonesian church of Presbyterian denomination. It adheres to Calvinist theology. :id:Gereja Kristen Indonesia#Pengakuan Iman History GKI was established in ...

Indonesian Protestant Church in Buol Toli-Toli Indonesian Protestant Church in Buol Toli-Toli ( id, Gereja Protestan Indonesia di Buol Toli-Toli) is a Protestant Church group in Buol and Toli-Toli, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. In the 19th century Europeans and Indonesians immigrated to this pa ...

* Indonesian Protestant Church in Donggala * Indonesian Protestant Church in Gorontalo *

Javanese Christian Church The Synod of the Christian Churches of Java ( id, Sinode Gereja-gereja Kristen Jawa, GKJ), founded on 17 February 1931, is a mutual bond of Javanese Christian Churches which amounts to 307 churches in 32 Presbyterian polity#Presbytery, presbyteri ...

(Sinode Gereja-gereja Kristen Jawa, GKJ) *

Karo Batak Protestant Church The Gereja Batak Karo Protestan or Karo Batak Protestant Church is the largest church among the largely Christian Karo people of North Sumatra, Indonesia. It was established formally in 1941. The first Christian evangelism was conducted among the ...

* Pasundan Christian Church *

Protestant Christian Church in Bali The Protestant Christian Church in Bali is a Reformed church, Reformed denomination established on 11 November 1931 in Bali, Indonesia. It was a fruit of the efforts of the Christian and Missionary Alliance, but the Dutch Reformed Church and the Ch ...

* Protestant Church in Indonesia * Protestant Church of Maluku *

Protestant Church in Southeast Sulawesi The first missionaries came to Southeast Sulawesi in the 1880s. Around 1900 the Protestant church had congregations in this part of the island, consisting of army officers and military. The Protestant mission effort began in 1916, but only a small ...

Protestant Church in West Indonesia The Protestant Church in Western Indonesia ( id, Gereja Protestan di Indonesia bagian Barat, abbreviated as GPIB) is a Reformed Church, and its theology is based on the teaching of John Calvin. It was established on 31 October 1948. It was called ...

* Protestant Evangelical Church in Timor * Toraja Church

Members of the International Conference of Reformed Churches

* Gereja-Gereja Reformasi Calvinis * Gereja-Gereja Reformasi di Indonesia

Members of World Reformed Fellowship

* Reformed Evangelical Church in Indonesia

Lutheran denominations

Indonesian churches recognized by the

Lutheran World Federation The Lutheran World Federation (LWF; german: Lutherischer Weltbund) is a global communion of national and regional Lutheran denominations headquartered in the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, Switzerland. The federation was founded in the Swedish ...

as Lutheran or affiliated with Lutheran are: *

Banua Niha Keriso Protestan The Protestant Christian Church of Nias or Banua Niha Keriso Protestan is a Lutheran denomination in Nias, North Sumatra. The Rhenish Missionary Society The Rhenish Missionary Society (''Rhenish'' of the river Rhine) was one of the largest Prot ...

(BNKP) – The Protestant Church in Nias Island * Gereja Angowuloa Masehi Indonesia Nias (AMIN) – Christian Communion of Indonesia in Nias * Gereja Kristen Luther Indonesia (GKLI) – Indonesian Christian Lutheran Church * Gereja Kristen Protestan Angkola (GKPA) – Christian Protestant Angkola Church * Gereja Kristen Protestan di Mentawai (GKPM) – Protestant Christian Church in Mentawai * Gereja Kristen Protestan Indonesia (GKPI) – Christian Protestant Church in Indonesia * Gereja Kristen Protestan Pakpak Dairi (GKPPD) – Pakpak Dairi Protestant Christian Church *

Gereja Kristen Protestan Simalungun Gereja Kristen Protestan Simalungun (GKPS - Simalungun Protestant Christian Church) is a Lutheran and Reformed Protestant church formally founded to spread Christianity among the Simalungun people, a tribe living in Simalungun, North Sumatra, Indo ...

(GKPS) – Simalungun Protestant Christian Church * Gereja Punguan Kristen Batak (GPKB) – Batak Christian Community Church * Gereja Protestan Persekutuan (GPP) – The United Protestant Church * Huria Kristen Batak Protestan (HKBP) – Protestant Christian Batak Church
Huria Kristen Indonesia (HKI)
– The Indonesian Christian Church (a.k.a. Christian Church in Mentawai) * Orahua Niha Keriso Protestan (ONKP) - Communion of Protestant Christian Church HKI, GMB, GKPS, GKPI, GKLI, GKPA, GPP, and GKPPD all split from HKBP. GKLI maintains a strong relationship with the Norwegian Lutheran Church. GKPM was founded by HKBP missionaries. Although the BNKP and HKBP have historically cooperated, no official relationship exists between those entities. AMIN split from BNKP and retains more of a Lutheran identity. Gereja Lutheran Indonesia (GLI) is affiliated with the Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference. GLI is closely associated with the

Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod The Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS), also referred to simply as the Wisconsin Synod, is an American Confessional Lutheran denomination of Christianity. Characterized as theologically conservative, it was founded in 1850 in Milwauk ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. GLI has offices in Jakarta and operates a seminary, Sekolah Tinggi Teologi Lutheran (STTL), in

Yogyakarta Yogyakarta (; jv, ꦔꦪꦺꦴꦒꦾꦏꦂꦠ ; pey, Jogjakarta) is the capital city of Special Region of Yogyakarta in Indonesia, in the south-central part of the island of Java. As the only Indonesian royal city still ruled by a monarchy, ...

. GLI has large congregations on Java and in

West Timor West Timor ( id, Timor Barat) is an area covering the western part of the island of Timor, except for the district of Oecussi-Ambeno (an East Timorese exclave). Administratively, West Timor is part of East Nusa Tenggara Province, Indonesia. The ...

, as well as posts in Papua and

Kalimantan Kalimantan () is the Indonesian portion of the island of Borneo. It constitutes 73% of the island's area. The non-Indonesian parts of Borneo are Brunei and East Malaysia. In Indonesia, "Kalimantan" refers to the whole island of Borneo. In 2019, ...

References

External links

{{Churches in Indonesia Protestantism in Indonesia,

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Gui ...

History of the Dutch East India Company de:Christentum in Indonesien#Protestantismus