33 s u ISBN 978-2-88931-114-9 c F o o F c u s 3 3 Religion, Public Policy MR and Social Transformation in Southeast Asia anelig Religion, Public Policy agio ingn, P Managing Religious Diversity Vol. 1 Reub and Social Transformation liglic io P uo s Dlicy iv a in Southeast Asia en This book series deals with religion and its interface with the state and society in Southeast rsitd S yo Achsaian. gIet ienx raemlaitnioens ttoh ec omntueltmidpimoreanrysi ofonraml sf aocfe tres liogifo npso, lriteilcigs,i opuus bcloicm pmoulicniietsie sa, ntdh inskoicniagl, | Vol. 1cial Tran Managing Religious Diversity Vol.1 praxis and ethos. All articles in this Book Series were a direct result of a policy-relevant sfo rm research collaboration conducted by investigators from the participating countries from atio Editor: Dicky Sofjan 2013–2016. The issues under examination in this Series include: state management of n in diversity, multicultural policies, religious social activism and state-society relations. All of S o u the analyses in this Book Series are fixed within the context of a rapidly changing society th e a in Southeast Asia. st A s ia Dicky Sofjan (isE ad Ciotorer D)octoral Faculty in the Indonesian Consortium for Religious E d Studies (ICRS), located in the Graduate School of Universitas ito r Gadjah Mada (UGM) in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. He is currently the : D ic k Principal Investigator for a nine-country program entitled “Religion, y S o fj Public Policy and Social Transformation in Southeast Asia”. Dicky is a n a member of the Asian Public Intellectuals (API) network, where he served as its Regional Project Manager between 2008 and 2011. G lo b e th ic s .n e t Religion, Public Policy and Social Transformation in Southeast Asia Managing Religious Diversity Vol. 1 Religion, Public Policy and Social Transformation in Southeast Asia Managing Religious Diversity Vol. 1 Dicky Sofj an (Editor) Globethics.net Focus No. 33 Globethics.net Focus Series editor: Christoph Stückelberger. Founder and Executive Director of Globethics.net and Professor of Ethics, University of Basel Globethics.net Focus 33 Dicky Sofjan (Editor), Religion Public Policy and Social Transformation in Southeast Asia: Managing Religious Diversity Vol. 1 Geneva: Globethics.net, 2016 ISBN 978-2-88931-114-9 (online version) ISBN 978-2-88931-115-6 (print version) © 2016 Globethics.net Sponsored by: Henry Luce Foundation and Indonesian Consortium for Religious Studies (ICRS) Managing Editor: Ignace Haaz Globethics.net International Secretariat 150 route de Ferney 1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland Website: www.globethics.net/publications Email: [email protected] All web links in this text have been verified as of April 2016. This book can be downloaded for free from the Globethics.net Library, the leading global online library on ethics: www.globethics.net. © The Copyright is the Creative Commons Copyright 2.5. 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TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface and Acknowledgments ......................................... 7 1 Introduction: Managing Religious Diversity in a Multicultural Southeast Asia ................................... 13 Dicky Sofjan, Indonesian Consortium for Religious Studies (ICRS) 2 Religion, Multiculturalism and Managing Diversity in Singapore ................................................................... 27 Bilveer Singh, National University of Singapore and Rajaratnam School of International Studies 3 Managing Ethnic and Religious Diversity in Malaysia: Implications for Public Policy and Social Transformation ................................................................. 43 K.S. Nathan, KITA (Institute of Ethnic Studies), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 4 Managing Religious Diversity in Indonesia: Policy and Reality ............................................................. 71 Jeanny Dhewayani, Indonesian Consortium for Religious Studies (ICRS) 5 Introduction to Secular Buddhism ............................... 99 Atiporn Lorthong, International Network of Engaged Buddhists, Bangkok 6 Buddhist Monks and Public Health Promotion in Thailand ...................................................................... 131 Phramaha Boonchuay Doojai, Mahachulalongkorn Rajavidyalaya University, Chiang Mai 7 Religion and Civil Society Development in Myanmar ..................................................................... 167 Maung Maung Yin, Myanmar Institute of Theology 8 Vietnam’s Policy on Religious Affairs since 1990: A Cultural-Religious Viewpoint .................................... 193 Nguyen Quang Hung, National University of Vietnam 9 Catholic Electoral Partisanship in the Philippines: A Threat to Religious Pluralism? ................................. 225 Eleanor R. Dionisio, John C. Caroll Institute of Church and Social Issues 10 A Constructive Engagement: Muslims and U.S. Policies on Religion in Southeast Asia .......................... 257 Robert W. Hefner, CURA (Institute on Culture, Religion and World Affairs), Boston University PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This book series is part of a nine-country collaborative research program entitled “Religion, Public Policy and Social Transformation in Southeast Asia” (2013-2016), which involves Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar and the United States of America. The three-year program was developed and led by the Yogyakarta-based Indonesian Consortium for Religious Studies (ICRS), and supported by the Henry Luce Foundation based in New York. The three-part book series deals with religion and its interface with the state and society in Southeast Asia. It examines the multidimensional facets of politics, public policy and social change in relation to contemporary faith-based communities and movements together with their complex religious thoughts, praxes and ethos. The initial idea of the program begun when the ICRS Core Doctoral Faculty members, including myself, discussed in 2012 with the executives from the Henry Luce Foundation, namely Toby Volkman and Helena Kolenda. We agreed that gaps were prevalent in both knowledge and understanding between the U.S. and Southeast Asia, and among knowledge producers, policymakers and media reporters on the subject of religion and social transformation. These gaps became noticeably clear when the September 11, 2001 tragedy occurred and the then promising Arab Spring in the Middle East started to unfold. Religion henceforth came to dominate public, academic and media discourses. The discussion with the Henry Luce Foundation was then brought to the attention of officials from the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta and the State Department in Washington, D.C. The ICRS team also consulted with its long-time partners in the U.S. as well as those in Southeast Asia. From 8 Religion, Public Policy & Social Transformation in Southeast Asia our consultations with partners, all found the idea to be exciting, timely and highly strategic. The conversation with the Henry Luce Foundation then progressed into an idea of convening a series of Planning Workshops with prospective program partners in both the U.S. and Southeast Asia. In the U.S., we contacted our colleagues at CURA (Institute on Culture, Religion and World Affairs), namely Robert W. Hefner, and the professors and officers at the Regional Office of the Asian Public Intellectuals (API) Fellowships Program based in Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand, namely Ajarn Surichai Wun’Gaeo and Ms. Michiko Yoshida. The plan was to get together in Yogyakarta, Boston and Bangkok with selected prospective partners and researchers to discuss the likelihood of a multinational collaborative research program that would seriously focus on the interplay between religion and public policy, and how it impacts society. Upon completion of the Planning Workshops and after incorporating the inputs and feedback from prospective partners, the task at hand was to design and draft a proposal to be submitted to the Henry Luce Foundation, which fell upon my lap. After undergoing a review process by the Henry Luce Foundation, the proposal received an approval with minor modifications. I then slightly adjusted the proposal, and turned it into what I called the Framework Document, which served as a basis for collaboration between ICRS and its partners. The Framework Document detailed the rationale of the program, overarching theme and annual subthemes of the planned collaborative research. Furthermore, it contained the basic strategy in delivering the outputs and achieving the program outcome. One of the most important decisions agreed by ICRS and the Henry Luce Foundation was the number of participating countries, which increased from the previously seven to nine countries, including the U.S. Preface and Acknowledgements 9 As outlined in the Framework Document, the intended outcome of the collaborative research program was to bring Southeast Asian and American religion experts, policy makers and analysts closer together in mutual understanding, partnership and engagement on issues pertaining to religion, public policy and social transformation. Thus, the program was meant to serve as an effective platform for greater intellectual engagement, mutual learning and collaboration in policy-relevant research, as well as advocacy through the media on issues pertaining religion in Southeast Asia. Meanwhile, the specific objectives of the program encompass the following: 1) To produce and enhance policy- relevant knowledge, understanding and expertise on the role of religion and its impact on public policy and social transformation in Southeast Asia; 2) To inform and educate policymakers, stakeholders and the public through the media on how religion can influence public policy and have a complex interplay with social change; 3) To build a platform for intellectual and policy engagement as well as inter-governmental collaboration, if and where possible, between the US and its Southeast Asian counterparts in the areas of religion, public policy and social transformation. All articles in this book series are therefore a result of what one might call policy-relevant research, conducted by investigators from the nine countries. The issues under examination in this book series include: state management of diversity, multiculturalism, socio-religious change and activism, state-society relations, shifting notions of gender, identity and ethnicity, cyber religion and many more, all of which are contextualized within the contemporary society of Southeast Asia. Being the Principal Investigator, I must confess that the task of managing a nine-country collaborative research program has been challenging, to say the least. The program planning, organizing, actuating and controlling alone proved to be a test for my managerial skills and competency throughout the three-year period. After all, the