ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the new (2013) curriculum for senior high schools in Indonesia, with a view to eliciting the main objectives of the curriculum around multiculturalism. After a brief survey of literature on education for tolerance, with particular attention to religious tolerance, the chapter introduces the concept of a whole school approach to teaching tolerance. The socio-historical context in which the new curriculum was introduced is described, contrasting the democratic values of the contemporary era with the authoritarianism of Suharto’s New Order (1966–1998), but noting recent violence against religious minorities. The chapter introduces the education system and the justification for the second new curriculum since 1998. It then focuses on the curricula for two subjects: Character and Religious Education, and Citizenship and Pancasila Education. It finds that the two subjects are not consistently in accord with each other or with the overall objectives of education in Indonesia. While Citizenship Education strongly promotes tolerance, in accord with the overall objectives of education in Indonesia, Religion is taught within a confessional mode, aiming to enhance piety and faith rather than interreligious tolerance. The result is that there is an awkward disparity between the two subjects. The essay proposes that the curricula for these two subjects must be consistent in contributing to a whole-school approach to teaching tolerance in schools.
