M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – The government and all political factions at the House of Representatives have agreed to continue listing religion on identity cards.

"We have decided that the religious reference will stay on ID cards," said Sayuti Asyathri of the National Mandate Party (PAN), who chairs the special committee on the civil registry bill. "We are all aware that compulsion in religion is a bad way to promote God, but we have come to terms with political reality," he added.

Listing religion on the cards has broad and deep support among Indonesian politicians.

Critics have questioned the practice, however, since faith is personal. They have also pointed out that it leaves followers of minority beliefs vulnerable to discrimination.

The decision to maintain the religious reference was made with little fanfare. Lawmakers reportedly discussed the issue for only a short time. They are expected to pass the bill into law later this year.

Little was known about the talks because the committee deliberated the bill far from the public eye. The last committee meeting was at a hotel in West Jakarta.

The religious reference on ID cards has long been a source of discrimination against followers of beliefs other than the five traditionally recognized by the government – Islam, Catholicism, Christianity, Hinduism and Buddhism. The government recently added Confucianism to the official list.

Indonesians embracing other faiths have been singled out for refusing to name one of the accepted religions on their ID cards. Their children have been denied basic services.

The director general for civil registration at the Home Affairs Ministry, Rasyid Saleh, denied that the disclosure of faiths led to discrimination and insisted that it was only an administrative measure. "There is not much that we can do about religions. We only record them for our population database. To recognize or not to recognize religions is not within our jurisdiction," Rasyid said.

A new compromise allows people who do not belong to one of the six recognized faiths to leave the religion column on their ID cards blank. The government would note their specific religions only for its own records.

Leaders of non-recognized faiths quickly denounced the move, however. Engkus Ruswana, a Sundanese leader who adheres to an ancient belief, said the current administration was no better than the previous authoritarian regime.

"The obligation to state one of the five official religions or leave it blank for people like us is a telling indication that we are still considered second-class citizens," he said.

A national coalition for people of other faiths has been campaigning for their right to be recognized in the civil registry bill. The committee turned down their requests to take part in the bill's deliberation.

The former chairman of the Indonesian Communion of Churches, Rev. Nathan Setiabudi, said the bill was unconstitutional. "Article 28 of the Constitution clearly states that the government must recognize all religions and faiths," he said.