This article investigates the challenges of ensuring equal religious education (REFAL) for all religions in Indonesia's multireligious public schools. Indonesia, with its predominantly Muslim population (87.67%) alongside five other legally recognized religions, presents a unique case. While not a theocratic state, religious education is mandated in the curriculum, creating potential tensions around equality. The Indonesian Constitution (No. 20/2003) mandates religious education based on students' beliefs, aiming for equal access and peaceful interreligious relations. The study compares Yogyakarta (a diverse area) and Bangka Island (a less diverse area) to examine how REFAL is implemented in different contexts. The research questions focus on whether RE is provided to all students, whether strategies for RE delivery in rural Bangka meet equality requirements, whether Yogyakarta serves as a good model for less diverse areas, and the connection between interreligious competence, tolerance, and religious inherency in promoting REFAL.

The literature review discusses religious education equality, highlighting its importance as a fundamental human right. It examines varying approaches in different countries: Australia's focus on Christian religious education; Canada's Quebec Ethics and Religious Culture program addressing multiculturalism; and multifaith education initiatives in Sub-Saharan Africa (Malawi and Ghana), facing challenges such as teacher competence and pedagogical skills. Previous research in Indonesia shows positive results for RE at the senior high school level, but this study addresses gaps by focusing on elementary and junior high schools in diverse and less diverse areas to provide contextual findings. The review further explores interreligious competence and religious inherency, noting the importance of interreligious communication and tolerance in managing diversity and preventing conflict. It introduces the concept of religious inherency as a strong individual connection to religion, distinct from mere religious identity.

This study employs a case study approach, using purposeful random sampling to select six elementary and six junior high schools each from Yogyakarta Province (Sleman Regency, a diverse area) and Bangka Island (Central Bangka Regency, a less diverse area). The selection considers religious history, population diversity, and cultural factors. Data collection involves interviews with principals, multireligious teachers (11), and students (15), alongside focus group discussions and observations. The interviews focus on RE delivery strategies, teacher distribution and availability. Observations and focus group discussions explore interactions among multireligious students. Data analysis classifies interview transcripts into themes related to RE delivery, teacher distribution, and teacher availability to answer the first two research questions. The observations and focus group discussions address the third research question.

The findings contrast with previous research focusing on senior high schools, which reported positive outcomes. While Yogyakarta schools largely provided RE based on students' religions, Bangka schools presented a different scenario. In Bangka's rural schools, many non-Muslim students received integrated Islamic religious education due to several factors: (a) the minimum number of students required to justify a separate religious education class for each religion; (b) the lack of human resources to provide teachers for minority religions; (c) budget constraints limiting the schools' ability to hire additional religious education teachers; and (d) the geographical challenges of providing teachers for minority religions in remote areas. Even in schools that attempted to provide separate religious education classes for non-Muslim students, the lack of sustained human resources and collaboration with religious institutions outside the school hampered the provision of equal opportunities in religious education. The absence of parental complaints and the acceptance of the situation by both Muslim and non-Muslim students suggest a passive tolerance to preserve a peaceful school environment. This tolerance, however, is influenced by the unequal conditions and stems from a lack of power as a minority group.

The contrasting findings between Yogyakarta (where REFAL was largely successful) and Bangka (where significant barriers exist) highlight the contextual nature of RE equality in Indonesia. The study shows that even with national policies aiming at REFAL, implementation faces numerous challenges, especially in rural areas with limited resources and small minority religious populations. The observed tolerance in Bangka is not necessarily indicative of genuine interreligious harmony, but rather a coping mechanism born of unequal circumstances. The acceptance of the situation by both teachers and students highlights the need for a more robust system to guarantee equal access to religious education across diverse regions and communities. The findings highlight the limitations of focusing solely on school factors, necessitating further research into community factors. The interaction between Muslim and non-Muslim students in both areas showed that a relatively peaceful school environment could still be achieved despite barriers to equal religious education.

This study reveals the critical barriers (minimum student numbers, human resource scarcity, budget limitations, and geographical constraints) that impede equal religious education in Indonesia, particularly in less diverse, rural settings. While Yogyakarta exhibits better implementation of REFAL, Bangka reveals the prevalent passive tolerance driven by power imbalance and resource limitations. This highlights the need for a more contextually aware and resource-rich approach to national policies. Future research should explore community involvement and local government roles to better understand the multifaceted nature of achieving REFAL. A more robust framework is needed to guarantee equitable religious education that extends beyond merely peaceful co-existence to actively support the religious beliefs of all students.

This research has limitations. First, information from local governments about their efforts in providing REFAL was limited, hindering a complete analysis of policy interpretation and implementation. Second, the focus primarily on school-level factors neglects the broader community context that could play a larger role. The conclusions are primarily based on school-level data, with limited insight into community dynamics that might influence religious education access and practices. Further research incorporating community-level data would enhance the understanding of religious inherency and the effectiveness of interventions aimed at achieving religious education equality.