Indigenous Religions
This course will discuss existences of indigenous religions as a subject of religious studies. It will explore how they have been represented. Theories about them will be examined. Some scholars have argued that indigenous religions have been misrepresented in academia, crossing the disciplines, and so this will also elaborate alternative theories to those that have been dominantly used. To explore, this course will compare cases represented in the literature, but emphasize cases of Indonesia. This course is built up from the understanding that religion has been socially and politically constructed, and so perceives religious studies as an academic engagement in socio-political discourses. It will therefore engage in not only describing socio-political histories of indigenous religions, especially in Indonesia, but also thinking about alternative ways of bringing them as equally socio-cultural and political subjects. Advocacy for full inclusion, religious freedom, and community development will be among the issues to explore.