Indonesia (International Christian Concern) — A new penal code, applicable to both Indonesian nationals and foreigners, will take effect in January 2026. Part of this new code consists of updated blasphemy regulations.  

Indonesia has had a blasphemy law since 1965. Multiple attempts have been made — including one by a former Indonesian president — to remove it from the nation’s legal code. But the blasphemy law has proven a resilient survivor. 

With more than 285 million people, Indonesia is the world’s largest majority-Muslim country. And though Muslims comprise more than 85% of the population, there is no official state religion, and Indonesia’s constitution has provisions intended to safeguard freedom for six religions, including Protestantism and Catholicism.  

Indonesia has received praise for maintaining a religiously diverse society. But its 38 provinces can vary heavily in their degree of extremism and willingness to act on it.  

“There are several notorious provinces where church closings and attacks happen more frequently,” said “Andreas,” an Indonesian Christian whose name we changed to protect his identity. He added that one reason behind such hostility is “the fear of Christianity,” which saw significant growth in Indonesia during the second half of the previous century.  

As the 21st century arrived, Indonesia saw an increase in the frequency of lethal religiously motivated attacks, including church bombings. During the last decade, however, Indonesia has seen somewhat of a decline in religiously based violence. 

Andreas credited the former president, Joko Widodo, who served from 2014 to 2024, with having made some relevant improvements. Under his oversight, Indonesian authorities successfully disbanded such extremist groups as the Islamic Defenders Front. 

But their ideology lives on. So does the presence of a blasphemy law, which has been used to target members of its sizable Christian minority, roughly 11% of the total population. 

One notable example involved a former governor of the capital city of Jakarta, who was the first Christian to hold the position in more than half a century. He received a two-year prison sentence for blasphemy offenses in a case that many saw as politically motivated.  

Some of these “blasphemy” cases seem petty to an absurd degree, even though the consequences can be serious. In 2019, a Buddhist woman was convicted of blasphemy for complaining about the noise level of loudspeakers at a local mosque. Indonesia’s Supreme Court upheld her 18-month jail sentence.  

The updated law, taking effect in 2026, will expand the blasphemy code from one to six articles. The new blasphemy regulations will also recognize “any living law” — a vaguely-worded provision that intolerant or exploitative local officials could quite easily abuse, especially in locations that have extremist sympathies.  

And yet the issue seems curiously off the radar of many Indonesian Christians.  

Fr. Franz Magnis-Suseno, a Catholic Jesuit priest in Jakarta, admitted he had forgotten about the new blasphemy law and that he had never discussed the matter with other priests. From what he can determine, the majority of Indonesian Christians don’t know anything about it.  

Most Indonesian Christians only know about famous blasphemy cases, like the one involving the Christian ex-governor of Jakarta, Andreas said. He is not sure exactly who is pushing for these updated blasphemy regulations. He added that the current blasphemy law has already seen several judicial reviews, and “human rights organizations are always critical of it.” 

Andreas believes the blasphemy law was updated “because of the new digital environment” and ubiquitous social media. He acknowledged there is some need to regulate hate speech on social media, as such content “can easily go viral and potentially harm inter-religious relations.” At the same time, he said that parts of the updated law “are still open to interpretations that favor the majority religion.” 

Magnis said he is not concerned that the updated law will make it easy for extremists to use blasphemy accusations as a weapon, like in Pakistan.  

“The situation [here] is very different,” said Magnis, who knows several Pakistani seminarians. He added that people in Pakistan are far more likely to unleash a blasphemy accusation.  

“I do not see a high level of persecution of Christians in Indonesia,” Magnis said, though he acknowledged that “cases of intolerance” continue to take place in places where Christians are a small minority. However, he added, “We now have excellent relations with the two big Muslim civil society organizations [Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah], which help us to resolve conflicts.” 

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) takes a more critical view of Indonesia for several reasons, including its blasphemy law. In fact, the USCIRF 2025 annual report recommended that Indonesia appear on a Special Watch List of countries that either partake in or tolerate severe violations of religious freedom.  

Meanwhile, Andreas said, “We still need to see whether the new regulations will bring a positive or negative impact to Indonesian society.”  

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