"I Come from a Pancasila Family"

This book studies social identity transformations through interreligious relations in post- Reformasi Indonesia. It answers two questions: first, how do Muslims and Christians identify and position themselves and others; and second, what are the socio-cognitive effects of their identification and positioning? The objectives are first to gain insight into the relation between religious discourse and (the lack of) social cohesion; and second to contribute to a theory and method of studying interreligious relations. The study is based in 24 focus group discussions in Surakarta (Central Java) and making a critical discourse analysis of them. The author concludes that interviewees use various classifications to identify and position themselves and others, but that these are not fixed but fluid, depending on specific situations and interests. He advocates a shift from the ‘social identity‘ theory to a ‘multiple identity‘ theory for studying religion and interreligious relations.