Can People of Different Religions Marry in Indonesia? This is the Law

PERTANYAAN

I am a bank employee (23 years old/male/Islam), with a girlfriend (22 years old/female/Catholic). However, we have a problem with different religions to continue our relationship to the level of marriage, while we want to stick to our respective religions. Can we get married while we have different religions? If so, what is the procedure that we have to do? Because if we follow the way of celebrities with different religions to get married, we have to go abroad. We obviously can't afford that. Then, I've read that there is a jurisprudence from the Supreme Court (MA) that interfaith marriages can be registered in the civil registry and are legitimate. Is this true? Thank you for your help.

INTISARI JAWABAN

If asked about whether it is permitted to marry different religions, the short answer is that Indonesian marriage law does not explicitly regulate the marriage of couples of different religions, so there is a legal vacuum.

Historically, there was a jurisprudence in Supreme Court Decision No. 1400K/PDT/1986 which used to be a reference that allowed couples to marry different religions and be registered at the Civil Registry Office.

However, at present, the Supreme Court issued a circular letter on the law of interfaith marriage through Circular Letter of the Chief Justice of Supreme Court 2/2023 on instructions for judges in adjudicating cases of applications for marriage registration between people of different religions and beliefs. How does it read?

Please read the review below for a further explanation.

ULASAN LENGKAP

This article is an English translation of Bolehkah Nikah Beda Agama di Indonesia? Ini Hukumnya written by Nafiatul Munawaroh, S.H., M.H, and was published on Monday, 31 July 2023.

This article is the third update of the article entitled Interfaith Marriages Under Indonesian Law written by Diana Kusumasari, S.H., M.H., and was first published on 4 March 2011, and updated for the first time by Justika.com on Wednesday, 29 December 2021, and updated for the second time on 30 March 2023.

All legal information available on Klinik hukumonline.com has been prepared for educational purposes only and is general in nature (read the complete Disclaimer). In order to obtain legal advice specific to your case, please consult with Justika Partner Consultant.

Legal Requirements for Marriage

To answer your question, regarding the law of marriage between different religions, we will refer to the conditions for the legality of marriage as stated in the Marriage Law, namely:[1]

1. a marriage is legitimate, if it is carried out according to the law of each religion and belief;
2. every marriage shall be registered in accordance with the prevailing laws and regulations.

Answering your question regarding whether it is allowed to marry a person of different religions, basically, the marriage law in Indonesia does not explicitly regulate the marriage of couples of different religions so there is a legal vacuum.

The requirement for the validity of the marriage is that the marriage is carried out in accordance with the religion and belief as stipulated in Article 2 section (1) Marriage Law. This means that the Marriage Law leaves it to the teachings of each religion regarding the law of interfaith marriage.

The Law of Interfaith Marriage According to Islam

Regarding the law of interfaith marriage, in Islamic teachings, women and men may not marry non-Muslims (Q.S. Al Baqarah [2]: 221).

Furthermore, Article 40 letter c Compilation of Islamic Law emphasizes that it is prohibited to marry a man and a woman who is not Muslim. Similarly, Article 44 Compilation of Islamic Law states that a Muslim woman is prohibited from marrying a man who is not Muslim.

In addition, the Indonesian Ulema Council Fatwa 4/2005 also emphasizes that interfaith marriages are haram (forbidden or proscribed by Islamic law) and illegitimate (p. 477).

Is it Allowed to Marry a Person with Different Religion?

Historically, interfaith marriages could be registered based on the jurisprudence of the Supreme Court, namely Supreme Court Decision No. 1400K/PDT/1986, which explained that the Civil Registry Office at that time was allowed to perform interfaith marriages. This case arose from a marriage that a female Muslim applicant wanted to register with her Christian spouse.

In its decision, the Supreme Court stated that by applying for marriage registration at the Civil Registry Office, the applicant had chosen not to have her marriage solemnized according to Islam. Thus, the applicant no longer considered her religious status (Islam), and the Civil Registry Office had to perform and record the marriage as a result of the interfaith marriage.

However, at present, a Circular Letter of the Chief Justice of Supreme Court 2/2023 has been issued on guidelines for judges in adjudicating cases of applications for marriage registration between people of different religions and beliefs.

The Circular Letter explains that judges must be guided by the following provisions:

1. A legitimate marriage is one that is conducted according to the laws of each religion and belief, in accordance with Article 2 section (1) and Article 8 letter f Marriage Law.
2. The court does not grant the application for registration of marriage between people of different religions and beliefs.

Thus, the impact of an interfaith marriage is that it cannot be registered because if it is submitted to the court, the judge cannot grant the application for marriage registration.

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These are the answers we can provide, we hope you will find them useful.

Legal Basis:

1. Law Number 1 of 1974 on Marriage as amended by Law Number 16 of 2019 on the Amendment to Law Number 1 of 1974 on Marriage;
2. Regulation of the Government Number 9 of 1975 on the Implementing Regulation of Law Number 1 of 1974 on Marriage;
3. Presidential Instruction Number 1 of 1991 on the Dissemination of the Compilation of Islamic Laws;
4. Circular Letter of the Chief Justice of Supreme Court Number 2 of 2023 on Guidelines for Judges in Adjudicating Cases of Application for Registration of Marriages between People of Different Religions and Beliefs

Court Decision:

Decision of the Supreme Court Number 1400K/PDT/1896.

Reference:

Fatwa of the Indonesian Ulema Council Number 4/MUNAS VII/MUI/8/2005 concerning Interfaith Marriage.

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[1] Article 2 Law Number 1 of 1974 on Marriage.