Prayer House Shut Down in Indonesia Amid Church Closures, Mob Attacks (Worthy News Focus)

By Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Chief International Correspondent

JAKARTA, INDONESIA (Worthy News) – Rights activists say local authorities in Indonesia’s West Java province have shut down a Christian prayer house and evicted its evangelist leader, underscoring broader concerns about religious freedom in the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation.

On August 2, officials in Purbayani Village of Caringin District, Garut Regency, permanently closed the Immanuel Prayer House, an outpost of Bethel Tabernacle Church (GBT), confirmed advocacy group International Christian Concern.

Evangelist Dani Natanael Gunawan and his school-aged son were subsequently forced to leave the area, leaving about 100 Christians without a local worship site, according to Christians familiar with the situation. Christians said that many now must travel up to 60 miles (96 kilometers) to attend services.

The eviction followed a statement Gunawan signed with local authorities and police, said Tantowi Anwari of the Task Force on Freedom of Religion and Belief (KBB).

Ucu Cintarsih, coordinator of the religious freedom–promoting Interfaith Network, condemned the action, saying, “Restricting the right to worship to avoid conflict [with Muslims] condones discrimination and increases the trend of intolerance in society.”

BROADER PATTERN

The Garut closure reflects a broader pattern, Christian leaders told Worthy News.

“That village is indeed not allowed to have Christians. The church there has been burned down seven times. When I went there, they worshipped underground in the forests and people’s homes. Many Christians there are ex-Muslims. That area of and around Garut is indeed where you find radical Islam,” said the leader of a large underground Christian movement of ex-Muslims. Worthy News did not publish his name amid security concerns.

On June 27, a mob stormed a house in Tangkil Village of Sukabumi Regency, West Java, where Christian youth had gathered for a retreat. Windows were smashed, furniture destroyed, and a motorbike hurled into a river.

Authorities said they later arrested seven suspects and compensated the homeowner. West Java Governor Dedi Mulyadi pledged to oversee the legal process personally and ensure it is “objective and thorough.”

Earlier in March, construction of a GKJW church in Kediri, East Java, reportedly stalled amid local opposition.

Separately, the Jakarta-based Setara Institute for Democracy and Peace recorded 402 violations in 2024 involving church closures, vandalism, and mob violence — up from 329 the previous year — with West Java ranking highest among provinces.

CHRISTIAN MINORITY

Indonesia, home to more than 270 million people, ranks 42nd on the 2025 Open Doors World Watch List of the 50 countries where investigators say Christians face the most severe persecution.

While not among the most repressive nations, the country’s constitutional guarantee of religious freedom contrasts sharply with reported repeated restrictions and intimidation on the ground, Open Doors noted.

Earlier this month, the Catholic Bishops of Indonesia joined other church leaders in urging the central government in Jakarta to clamp down on “religious rights violations” and hold perpetrators accountable, especially in cases involving violence.

Roughly 28–30 million Indonesians, or about 10 percent of the population, identify as Christian — including around 7 percent Protestants (among them evangelicals) and 3 percent Catholics.

Pentecostal church leaders told Worthy News the actual number may be higher, as many Muslims are reportedly turning to Christianity despite opposition.

MOB AGGRESSION

Advocates warn that continued church closures, mob aggression, and bureaucratic obstacles threaten the “fragile harmony among Indonesia’s diverse religious communities” and demand a stronger national response.

They also fear a new criminal code, passed in 2023 and set to take effect in 2026, will expand blasphemy provisions and penalize apostasy, the act of leaving one religion or faith for another

Human rights groups say the legislation risks deepening “systemic repression of religious minorities,” noting that several Indonesians have already been fined or jailed for “blasphemy” in recent years.

Sources linked to the movement told Worthy News that Muslims who have converted to Christianity are increasingly forced to worship underground amid mounting hostility in several Indonesian regions.

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