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KITA Discourse Series 2025/4: Divorce among Non-Muslim Communities in Indonesia
DIVORCE AMONG NON-MUSLIM COMMUNITIES IN INDONESIA
By:
DR. JENDRIUS, M.SI
Dean,
Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Universitas Andalas, Indonesia
14 July 2025 (Monday)
10.30 a.m. – 12.00 p.m.
KITA Meeting Room, Institute of Ethnic Studies (KITA), 4th Flr, Administration Block, Kolej Keris Mas, UKM Bangi
Abstract
This study investigates divorce practices within Indonesia’s non-Muslim communities, namely Protestant Christians, Catholics, Hindus, and Buddhists—groups that have received limited attention in existing empirical research. Despite the growing visibility of divorce cases registered in district courts across regions with predominantly non-Muslim populations over the past decade, academic insights into these trends remain scarce. Employing a longitudinal design, this study analyses secondary data on divorce cases recorded in district courts from 2013 to 2023 in selected regions where non-Muslim populations are demographically dominant. The research aims to identify key variables associated with divorce practices and to conduct a comparative analysis across different religious and ethnic groups based on socioeconomic status, age, gender, and marriage characteristics. Findings indicate significant variation in divorce rates across ethnic-religious communities. Divorce is notably low among Batak and Nias communities, who are predominantly Protestant, while relatively high rates are observed among the Minahasa (also Protestant), Balinese (Hindu), and Chinese-Indonesians (mostly Buddhist). Factors correlated with higher divorce rates include higher educational attainment, early age at marriage, higher socioeconomic status, and shorter marriage duration. A striking trend across all groups is the increasing number of women initiating divorce. These findings contribute to a broader understanding of the socio-cultural and structural dynamics shaping divorce among non-Muslim populations in Indonesia, offering important implications for family policy, gender studies, and socio-legal scholarship in pluralistic societies.
Presenter’s Profile
Dr. Jendrius is an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology at Universitas Andalas, Indonesia. He currently serves as the Dean of the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (2024–present). Prior to this role, he was the Chair of the Sociology Department from 2016 to 2020 and the Coordinator of the Master’s Program in Sociology from 2020 to 2024. After completing his Ph.D. at the University of Malaya in 2015, Dr. Jendrius initiated to establishes the Center for Gender, Childhood, and Family Development at Universitas Andalas. Dr. Jendrius’s academic interests include sociology of family, gender studies, and digital sociology.
Programme:
Date: 14 July 2025 (Monday)
Time: 10.30 a.m. – 12.00 p.m.
Venue: KITA Meeting Room, 4th Flr Administration Block, Kolej Keris Mas, UKM Bangi
Platform: Zoom (link below)
10.30 a.m.: Introduction & Welcoming Remarks by the Moderator
10.35 a.m.: Divorce among Non-Muslim Communities in Indonesia – Dr. Jendrius, M.Si
11.35 a.m.: Q & A Session
12.00 p.m.: End
Disclaimer: The views expressed in the presentation(s) are those of the presenter(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of KITA.
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