RELIGIOUS DEMOCRATIZATION IN INDONESIA: Strengthening the Procedural and Substantial Religious Democracy

Inspired by the book of Michael Mann about the dark side of democracy that dis-cusses the paradox between the ideality of democratic values and empirical real-ities of violence in the name of freedom (democracy), this paper begins with the exposure of the paradox, such as the rise of the violent conflict between groups of people (both ethnic and religious-based) and the high prevalence of violence between religious groups in Indonesia. Even worse, a very wrenching violence involves state actors (rulers). This paper tries to understand the roots of the par-adox, with a look at how the relationship between state and religion and the reli-gious community trend of Indonesia (especially Muslims). The author argues that the democratization of religion is a solution to the issues. To answer what kind of religious democracy lives in Indonesia, the author analyzes through a religious procedural (or constitutional) democratic dimension and religious substantial democratic dimension. The phenomenon of disobedience of law and system and the euphoria of law-making that reflects “intolerance ” in several places in In