Pancasila and Covenantal Pluralism in Indonesia: A Historical Approach

Indonesia is the fourth of the most populous nations in the world behind China, India, and United States. Based on Worldometer elaboration of the most recent United Nations information, the current population of Indonesia is 276,596,273 people as of Sunday, July 26, 2021. One of the most concentrated populated islands in the world is Java island. In addition to its population, Indonesia is also enriched with its diversity. Greetz, for instance, speaks of its diversity, “There are over three hundred different ethnic groups in Indonesia, each with its own cultural identity, and more than two hundred and fifty distinct languages are spoken . . . nearly all the important world religions are represented, in addition to a wide range of indigenous ones” (Geertz, 1963, 24). Then, Soekarno’s as the first president of Indonesia established Pancasila as Indonesian’s ideology and foundational theory to embrace the diversity in Indonesia (bhinneka tunggal ika). Therefore, this article argues that Pancasila promotes a covenantal pluralism in Indonesia. To achieve this goal, this research will briefly use a historical approach.