Dr. Zainal Abidin Bagir

Email : zainalbagir@ugm.ac.id; zainbagir@gmail.com

Education

  • 1997 – 2005: PhD. | Department of History and Philosophy of Science, (Minor: Near Eastern Language and Culture Department, Religious Studies), Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
  • 1992 – 1994: M.A. | International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization, International Islamic University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • 1984 – 1991: B.Sc | Dept. of Mathematics, Bandung Institute of Technology, Indonesia

Honors and Fellowship:

  • 2013-2014 | Visiting Lecturer, Religious Studies Department, Victoria University of Wellington
  • 2013 present | Member, The International Society for Religion and Science, Cambridge, UK
  • 2013 present | Member of Editorial Board, Zygon International Journal for Science and Religion, Chicago, US.
  • 2009 – present | Indonesian Associate for UNESCO Chair in Interreligious and Intercultural Relations - Asia Pacific [Associated with the Chair at Monash University, Australia].
  • 2009 – 2011 | Program Leaders, Globethics.net Indonesia
  • 2008 – present | Member, Academic Board of Metanexus, Philadelphia
  • 2008 | Visiting Scholar, Pierce Program in Religion, Oxford College of Emory University, Atlanta (3 week lectures and teaching on contemporary religious expressions in Indonesia).
  • 2006 – present | Founding Member and Board of Trustees, Indonesian Consortium for Religious Studies, Yogyakarta.

 Recent and ongoing research:

  • Co-Principal Investigator, Scaling-Up Pluralism: A Project on Local-National Collaborations for Pluralist Coexistence in Contemporary Indonesia, Contending Modernities Program at the Kroc Institute at Notre Dame. (2015-2017)
  • Commissioned research on freedom of religion and belief in Indonesia (to be part of Baseline Study on FORB in ASEAN countries), Human Rights Research Center, Indonesia (2014)
  • Research and writing (with Robert W. Hefner) on Christianity and Religious Freedom in Indonesia” (part of Religious Freedom Project, the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs, Georgetown University. (2013)
  • Regional Coordinator for Indonesia of Pluralism Knowledge Programme (2008-2013), a collaborative research and advocacy project between Indonesia, India, Uganda, and Netherlands, focusing on religious pluralism and fundamentalism, connecting academia and civil society organizations, funded by Hivos (the Netherlands). Coordinating seven research in different areas of Indonesia on local practices of pluralism; publishing Annual Report on Religious Life in Indonesia (2008-2013), and organizing Civic Pluralism Schools since 2013.
  • Co-Principal Investigator – The Growth and Social Relation of Pentecostalism in Indonesia, research project in five cities in Indonesia, funded by Center for Religion and Civic Virtue, University of Southern California (co-Investigator: Christine Gudorf (Florida International University) and Marthen Tahun (CRCS UGM). 2010 – 2012
  • Principal Investigator – Religion and Science in Indonesia (series of research, national workshops and international conference) at CRCS-UGM, funded by The John Templeton Foundation, Philadelphia, US 2004 – 2010

Publications

I. Journal Articles:

  • "Kepercayaan" dan "Agama" dalam Negara Pasca-Reformasi, Prisma Journal (ISNN 0301-6269), Vol. 39 (2020), 41-52
  • Limitations to Freedom of Religion or Belief in Indonesia: Norms and Practices, Religion and Human Rights Journal, (ISSN 1871-0328) Vol. 15 (2020), 39-56
  • Religious Freedom in a Non-Liberal Democratic State: the Case of Indonesia, Quaderni di diritto e politica ecclesiastica (ISSN 1122-0392), Vol. XXVI, No. 1 (2018), 219 – 228.
  • Beyond Religious Freedom: The New Global Politics of Religion (Book Review). Interreligious Studies and Intercultural Theology, vol. 2, No. 1 (2018), 118-121
  • “The Relation between Science and Religion in the Pluralistic Landscape of Today’s World”, Zygon, Journal of Religion and Science,  50, No. 2 June 2015. (pp. 403-417).
  • “The Importance of Religion and Ecology in Indonesia”, Worldviews 19 (2015) 99–102
  • “Advocacy for Religious Freedom in Democratizing Indonesia”, The Review of Faith and International Affairs, v. 12 no. 4 (December, 2014)
  • “Combating Intolerance Resolution and the Prospect to Revise Defamation of Religion Regulations”, Human Rights Research [2014] HRR 9: 9 (accessed at http://www.victoria.ac.nz/law/centres/nzcpl/publications/human-rights-research-journal/previous-issues/volume-nine,-2014).
  • “Defamation of Religion Law in Post-Reformasi Indonesia: Is Revision Possible?”, Australian Jounral of Asian Law, 2013, Vol 13 No 2, Article 3: 1-16
  • “Practice and the Agenda of “Islam and Science”. Zygon, Jurnal Religion and Science,  47, No. 2 June 2012. (pp. 354-366)
  • “Pluralisme, Identitas, dan Tantangan Politik Identitas”, (Pluralism, Identity and the Challenges of Identity Politics), Al-Wasatiyyah, Desember 2010.
  • “Pluralisme Indonesia: Mendamaikan ketegangan antara keragaman dan kesetaraan” (Indonesian pluralism: negotiating the tensions between diversity and unity), Al-Wasatiyyah, Edisi 16, Juni 2010, 16
  • “Some Ethical Issues around Organ Transplantation, with an Illustration of Islamic Perspective”, Renai, Percik-Salatiga (September 2006).
  • Book Review of Bas van Fraassen, Empirical Stance (2002), in Philosophy of Science (Philosophy of Science Association, US): v. 71, n. 3, 2003.
  • “Pluralism of Understanding in Science and Religion Discourse: Some Notes on Recent Development in Science and Religion”, Relief – Journal of Religious Issues, vol. 1, no. 1 (2003).

II. Chapters in books:

  • Religion, Democracy, and Citizenship, Twenty Years after Reformasi ini Indonesian Pluralities -- Islam, Citizenship, and Democracy (Editor) University of Notre Dame Press, (ISBN 9780268108618) 2021.
  • The Politics and Law of Religious Governance", in Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Indonesia. Edited by Robert W. Hefner (Routledge, New York, 2018). ISBN: 978-1-315-62883-7 (ebk) ISBN: 978-1-138--64442-7(hbk) https://www.routledge.com/Routledge-Handbook-of-Contemporary-Indonesia/Hefner/p/book/9781138644427
  • “Demokrasi, Pluralisme dan Agama Konservatif” dalam Costly Tolerance: Tantangan Baru Dialog Muslim-Kristen di Indonesia dan Belanda. CRCS UGM: Yogyakarta,  2018,  149-175. ISBN: 988-6-025-044564
  • “Islam and Ecology: Norms and Practices”, in Mary Evelyn Tucker, John Grim, and Willis Jenkins, eds., Routledge Handbook of Religion and Ecology, Routledge: London and New York, 2017, 79-87.
  • “Pengelolaan Keragaman Pada Masa Reformasi:Antara Kebebasan, Kerukunan, dan Keadilan” dalam ----- [Seminar Kebudayaan Nasional 2015]
  • “Study on Freedom of Thought, Conscience and Religion – Indonesia”, in Jaclyn Neo, ed., Keeping the Faith: A Study of Religious Freedom in ASEAN Countries (Forthcoming, January 2015) ISBN: 9786021798621
  • “Christianity and Religious Freedom in Indonesia Since 1998: Plurality and Coexistence in an Age of Revival and Democratization” (co-authored with Robert W. Hefner), in Allen D. Hertzke and Timothy S. Shah, eds., Christianity and Religious Freedom, (Cambriedge University Press, 2015), 191-221.
  • “Reading the Many Faces of Indonesian Islam” (Membaca Beragam Wajah Islam Indonesia), Introduction to the Indonesian translation of Martin van Bruinessen, ed., Contemporary Developments in Indonesian Islam: Explaining the “Conservative Turn” (Singapore: ISEAS, 2013) (Mizan, 2014)
  • “Democracy, Pluralism and Conservative Religion”, in Anindita Balslev, ed. On World Religions: Diversity, Not Dissension (Sage Publications, India, March 2014)
  • “Interfaith Dialogue and Religious Education”, in Stefan Hammer and Fatimah Husein, eds. Religious Pluralism and Religious Freedom, CRCS and Universitat Wien, 2013, 174-190
  • “Indonesia, Interfaith Dialogue in”, Oxford Islamic Studies Online (2012), <http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t343/e0025>
  • “The Roles of Religious Studies in Indonesia”, in Kamaruzzaman and Patrick Jory, eds., Voices of Islam in Southeast Asia, Kuala Lumpur, 2011.
  • “Evolution and Creation in the Muslim World: Ambiguities and Politics of Identity” in a book commemorating 150 years of Charles Darwin’s Origins of Species (ATF Press, March 2011)
  • Rethinking The Secular – Pluralism Working Paper No. 1 - 2009, (Promoting Pluralism Knowledge Programme, Netherlands, December 2009) Writing one response to Abdullahi an-Na’im
  • “The Uses and Limits of Feminist Conception of Science” (in an anthology published by the State Islamic University, Yogyakarta, 2008)
  • “Islam in Contemporary ‘Science and Religion’ Discourse”, in God, Human, and Cosmos, a Fetschchrift for Louis Leahy, Kanisius, December 2007
  • “Islam, Science, and ‘Islamic Science’: A Critical Survey of Muslims’ responses to Modern Science”, in Science and Religion in the Post-colonial World: Interfaith Perspectives (2005), ATF Press, Australia.

III. Books

  • Aspirations for Modernity and Prosperity: Symbols and Sources Behind Pentecostal/Charismatic Growth in Indonesia, Australasian Theological Forum Press, Forthcoming (December 2014) (Co-editor with Christine Gudorf and Marthen Tahun; contributing one chapter: “Pentecostal-Muslim Relations in Indonesia: Indifference, Potentials for Conflict , and Prospects for Harmony”)
  • Mengelola Keragaman dan Kebebasan Beragama - Buku Satu: Teori dan Advokasi (Managing Religious Diversity and Freedom of Religion – Book One), CRCS-UGM, January 2014. (Editor)
  • Mengelola Keragaman dan Kebebasan Beragama - Buku Kedua: Refleksi atas Beberapa Pendekatan Advokasi (Managing Religious Diversity and Freedom of Religion – Book Two), CRCS-UGM, January 2014. (Editor)
  • Kosmologi dan Dialog: Karakter Antropologis Pengetahuan (a book resulting from Public Lecture by the Indonesian philosopher Karlina Supelli, and seven responses), Paramadina, December (Editor)
  • Pluralisme Kewargaan: Arah Baru Politik Keragaman di Indonesia (Civic Pluralism: A New Direction in the Politics of Diversity in Indonesia). (Editor and writer of two chapters, Mizan Publisher and CRCS, March 2011).
  • Dialog Antarumat Beragama: Gagasan dan Praktik (Inter-religious Relations in Indonesia: Ideas and Practices); Mizan Pustaka, 2010. (Co-editor with J.B. Banawiratma)
  • The State of Pluralism in Indonesia, 1998 – 2008 (Pluralism Working Paper Series No. 1), Kosmopolis Institute and Hivos, 2009 (co-author: Suhadi Cholil)
  • Science and Religion in the Post-colonial World: Interfaith Perspectives, Australasian Theological Forum Press, Adelaide, Australia, 2006 (Editor)
  • Ilmu, Etika dan Agama (Science, Ethics and Religion), Program Studi Agama dan Lintas Budaya, UGM, 2007. (Co-editor)

Paper Presentations (2007-2012, Selected)

  • Paper presentation, “Defamation of Religion in Indonesia: Old Issues in the New Politics of Religion”, Conference on Law and Religious Pluralism on Contemporary Asia, 16-18 November 2011 jointly organised by Asia Research Institute and the Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore
  • Two presentations at “Belief in Dialogue – Science, Culture and Modernity”, Conference, Organized by International Society for Science and Religion, American University of Sharjah, U.A.E. and British Council, 21-23 June 2011:
  • “Muslim Evolution vs. Creation Controversy and Politics of Identity” [In English]
  • “Competing Responses to Natural Disaster : Science-Religion-Local Culture in Practice (An account of a research project in Indonesia)” [In English]
  • Speaker, Conference on Civic Pluralism in Indonesia, Jakarta, April 27, 2011.
  • Expert speaker, National Dialogue on the Indonesian Ahmadiyah, Ministry of Religious Affairs, March 2011
  • International Conference on Resurgence of Religions in Southeast Asia, 198-2011, Yogyakarta, January 2010. [In English]
  • “Knowledge and Change”, International Workshop of Knowledge Programme, Hivos, Utrecht, September (A presentation on mapping of challenges of religious pluralism in Indoensia [In English]
  • “HIV/AIDS from the perspective of human rights and pluralism”, Interfaith Youth Training Aksi Lintas iman untuk HIV/AIDS, Kaliurang, DIY, February 3, 2010
  • Presentation at the Launching of Annual Report on Religious Life in Indonesia 2009, CRCS, Graduate School, Gadjah Mada University, February 1, 2010.
  • Indonesia – US Conference on Interfaith Cooperation, organized by Indonesia Foreign Ministry, Jakarta, January 25-28, 2010. [In English]
  • “Human and Technology”, Philosophy Course at Universitas Katolik Parahyangan, Bandung, 11 December 2009.
  • Seminar on Law on Building of Houses of Worship and Inter-religious Forum (“Pelaksanaan PBM Mendagri dan Menag No. 9/8 Tahun 2006” (Forum Kerukunan Umat Beragama), Ministry of Religious Affairs, Bekasi, 9-11 December 2009.
  • “Rethinking Secularism”, Regional Workshop of Promoting Pluralism Knowledge Programme, Center for the Study of Culture and Society (Bangalore) and Kosmopolis Institute (Utrecht), Bangalore, November 16-17, 2009. [In English]
  • “Religious Education and Interfaith Dialogue”, paper presented at Asia-Europe Meeting on Interfaith Dialogue, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, June 2008 [In English]
  • “Interfaith Action for Peace and Security: Challenges and Opportunities”, paper presented at Third Asia-Pacific Regional Interfaith Conference, Waitangi, New Zealand, 29-31 May 2007. [In English]
  • “Transformation of Muslim Intellectualism in Indonesia: From IAIN to UIN”, presentations at Oxford College of Emory University, Atlanta (March 2008) and at International Institute of Islamic Thought, Washington D.C (April 2008) [In English]
  • “Alliance of Civilization Symposium”, Auckland, New Zealand, May 23, 2007. (As representative of Indonesia)
  • “Bioethics Education and Religious Values”, Regional Workshop on Bioethics Education, Medical School, Gadjah Mada University, April 4, 2007.
  • Religion and Public Reason”, in the Seminar “Religious Freedom in Indonesia: Nurcholish Madjid Memorial Lecture”, Institute for the Study of Religion and Philosophy, Yogyakarta, 18 September 2006.
  • “The Renaissance and Decline of Science in Islamic Civilization”, a lecture at Center for Islamic and Philosophical Studies and Information (CIPSI), 6 September 2006.
  • “Some Ethical Issues around Organ Transplantation, with an Illustration of Islamic Perspective”, in the Seminar “Bioethics: Problems and Challenges”, organized by Listhia dan Percik, Salatiga, 12-13 April 2006.
  • “International Conference on Interfaith Dialogue and Cooperation”, Cebu, the Philippines, March 2006, (Indonesian representative, sponsored by the Indonesian Foreign Minister) [In English]
  • “The Roles of Religious Studies in Indonesian Religious Life”, presented at the International Workshop “Voices of Islam in Europe and Southeast Asia”, 20-22 January 2006, University of Walailak, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand (co-written with Irwan Abdullah) [In English]