Indonesian Ministry Finalizes Materials to Prevent LGBTQ Culture Spread in Religious Education

Indonesia's Ministry of Religious Affairs is preparing educational materials designed to prevent the spread of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) culture within religious educational institutions. These materials will be incorporated into the religious studies curriculum across all institutions under the ministry's purview.

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It must be with their knowledge and the result of mutual agreement.

The content is being developed collaboratively by various religious education directorates, drawing upon the teachings of each respective religion while adhering to a unified policy framework from the Ministry of Religious Affairs. Vice Minister of Religious Affairs, Muhammad Syafi'i, emphasized that the final output must represent a shared policy within the ministry and requires a plenary session for cross-religious consensus before official adoption.

Syafi'i stated the program's goal is to foster awareness among students in all Ministry of Religious Affairs educational institutions, including higher education. He also stressed the importance of expanding educational efforts through religious counseling, places of worship, and religious community organizations, highlighting their strategic role in public education.

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At the very least, we have seen the very important side, building awareness of the prevention of the spread of LGBT culture in all students and learners in educational institutions within the Ministry of Religious Affairs.

The head of the drafting team, Inung, explained that while each directorate is creating draft materials aligned with its specific religious teachings for integration into existing subjects, all content will fall under a single, overarching ministry policy. These materials will be adapted to the learning objectives of each educational level and are designed to respect human dignity, avoiding any potential for bullying.

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This material will have a common umbrella. So there is a big umbrella. From this big umbrella, it will then be lowered into the material in each religious education according to their respective religious teachings.