1. Development Issues and the Role of Religious Organizations inIndonesia.
- Author
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Epley, Jennifer
- Subjects
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ECONOMICS , *RELIGION , *POLITICAL science , *RELIGIOUS institutions , *CIVIL society , *NONGOVERNMENTAL organizations - Abstract
This paper is a preliminary exploration into the intersection of economics, religion, and politics with regards to development issues in Indonesia. In specific, this paper’s hypothesis is that the Indonesian government often acts through and with religious organizations (and not as much or in the same ways as with secular civil society organizations) for economic and social development. The paper includes several sections: 1) Introduction and thesis. 2) Literature review: definition of civil society, how religious organizations fit into “civil society,” information about the political role of civil society, types of civil society organizations in Indonesia, and the extent to which civil society is really “outside” of governmental control (i.e., autonomy issues). 3) Background information about non-governmental organizations and information about their potential role in democratization processes. 4) Background for religious organizations: types of religious organizations in Indonesia and what they do. Special attention is given to Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah (two of the largest and arguably most influential groups in Indonesia). 5) The nature of the relationship between the Indonesian government and civil society. 6) Information about religious organizations and economic development. Questions: a. Do religious organizations have a comparative advantage over secular organizations in supporting economic and social development? b. What does the government get in return for supporting (or controlling) religious organizations? c. Likewise, what do religious organizations obtain for supporting the government? 7) Conclusion and recommendations for future research. Each section by no means provides an exhaustive description or explanation of the topic, but rather instead serves to offer a general framework from which to start analyzing the aforementioned thesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2004
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