EDUCATION FOR TOLERANCE IN 'RELIGIOUS AND CHARACTER EDUCATION' IN INDONESIA

Indonesia introduced Character Education in its new 2013 Curriculum, incorporating it into the subject 'Religious and Character Education'. This paper reviews the literature on CE internationally and then examines the Curriculum for the new subject, focussing on Islam and Character Education (ICE) for senior secondary school in the light of the literature survey. The main aim is to see if and how religious tolerance is introduced to students, as a means to educating them on the need for religious tolerance for social harmony. The main finding is that Indonesia's version of CE is similar to traditional CE in the US, but that 'tolerance' is not a character trait typical of CE. A second, more disappointing finding is that tolerance is a very minor component of the Curriculum for ICE, and is basically a missed opportunity for teaching the need for tolerance, the philosophical justification for religious tolerance, and how to practise tolerance in everyday life. Nevertheless, the innovation is praiseworthy, and there is potential to do more.