Being Non-Religious in a Godly Society—Respect and the Negotiation of Social Relations in Indonesia

Abstract

This article examines the life of an atheist Chinese Indonesian living in a society where citizens are expected, both legally and socially, to profess belief in God. Occupying a doubly marginalized position as both a member of a historically stigmatized ethnic minority and a non-believer in a religiously defined nation, he must continually negotiate suspicion, belonging, and social acceptance in everyday life. Drawing on a Goffmanian framework and a biographical study of one individual, the article explores how different forms of stigma generate different strategies of management. While visible ethnic difference requires responses to actual stigmatization, atheism remains a concealable but potentially more consequential source of moral suspicion. The analysis shows how these intersecting stigmas are navigated through practices of adjustment, passing, and anticipatory self-presentation. In particular, it identifies the local practice of hormat (respect) as a key moral orientation through which social relationships are maintained despite difference. Attention to hormat reveals how people may navigate stigma as a deeply social and historically shaped condition through practices that prioritize relational harmony and recognition of others’ agency.