The Constitutional Court of Indonesia has ruled that all marriages must be conducted according to religious principles. Marriages not based on religious laws will not be recognized as valid by the state.
The Court emphasized that the Marriage Law must be interpreted holistically, not selectively. It stated that requiring marriages to adhere to religious principles is not discriminatory. This aligns with the 1945 Constitution (UUD 1945) as the nation’s legal foundation and Pancasila as its guiding ideology, which is rooted in the belief in God.
Constitutional Court Justice Arief Hidayat emphasized that a valid marriage cannot be established without adherence to a religion or a recognized belief system. He cited Article 28B (1) of the 1945 Constitution, which mandates that forming a family and continuing a lineage must occur through lawful marriage.
“Without religion or belief in God Almighty as embraced by the citizens intending to marry, there can be no valid marriage,” said Arief when delivering the verdict on the judicial review of Article 2(1) of the Marriage Law on Friday, January 3, 2025, as reported by Tempo.co.
Court Rejects Petition to Remove Religious Column from IDs
The Court also rejected a petition to eliminate the religious column on national ID cards (e-KTP) and upheld the requirement for religious affiliation in marriage. One of its key considerations was that the petitioners’ argument about the unconstitutionality of Article 2(1) of the Marriage Law lacked legal merit.
“Religion and belief in God Almighty are indispensable elements of a valid marriage,” the Court stated.
The case was initiated by citizens Raymond Kamil and Indra Syahputra, who challenged several laws, including the Population Administration Law. They argued that these regulations infringed on the constitutional rights of individuals who do not adhere to any religion.
The petitioners claimed that their constitutional rights were violated, alleging that the laws created legal uncertainty and failed to protect citizens who chose not to practice a religion or belief system.
“The constitutional rights of the petitioners, who do not adhere to any religion or belief, are harmed by the enforcement of the laws in question. This harm is actual or reasonably foreseeable, with a clear cause-and-effect relationship,” the petitioners stated during a court session on Wednesday, October 23.
Marriage as Religious Expression
Justice Arief also described marriage as a form of worship and an expression of religious or spiritual belief.
“Marriage can be categorized as forum externum, where the state has the authority to establish procedures and requirements,” he explained.
The Court ruled that the specific implementation of marriage laws would depend on each religion or belief system, leaving these matters outside state regulation.
“With Article 2(1) in place, the state entrusts the legitimacy of marriage to religious laws and beliefs in God Almighty, as the requirements for valid marriages are determined by the respective religious or belief systems,” he added, as reported by Detik.com.
Faith as a National Identity
The Constitutional Court reaffirmed that religion and belief in God Almighty are integral to the nation’s character. As outlined in the 1945 Constitution, Indonesia is a religious state with a “godly constitution,” and citizens cannot choose to abstain from religion or belief.
“Since there is no provision allowing Indonesian citizens to opt out of religion or belief in God Almighty, the legal norms that validate marriages based on religion or belief cannot be considered discriminatory,” concluded Justice Arief Hidayat, as cited by Detik.com.
Source: tempo.co, detik.com
Image credit: mkri on adjar.grid.id
