Indonesian Constitutional Court Requires Recognition of Indigenous Religions

According to an AP report, yesterday Indonesia's Constitutional Court handed down a ruling that will require recognition of adherents of the country's indigenous religions.  In the past, Indonesian law has required citizens in obtaining an identity card to select one of six religions-- Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Buddhism, Hinduism or Confucianism.  If they selected none of these, they risked prosecution under Indonesia's blasphemy law for being an atheist. Yesterday's ruling concluded that this arrangement is discriminatory.  According to the Jakarta Globe: "The Court recommended the creation of a seventh category – 'believers of the faith,' or penghayat kepercayaan.a'"