Legal Protection for Marriages of Traditional Beliefs Adherents in Indonesia

Abstract

Sunda Wiwitan is one of the largest traditional religious belief systems in Indonesia, though it is not recognized by the state. Consequently, the State does not recognize marriages of Sunda Wiwitan adherents as legal and valid. The Authors will examine the legal protection given to marriages of Sunda Wiwitan adherents. This study uses a juridical-sociology approach method, which examines facts directly in the field and incorporate findings into legal research. Further amendment to Article 2 paragraph (1) of the Marriage Law is required to ensure legal protection for marriages carried out by adherents of traditional beliefs, including Sunda Wiwitan adherents, by adding acknowledgment of and recognition to marriages carried out according to the law of these traditional beliefs. Meanwhile, children from marriages of Sunda Wiwitan adherents receive the legal status of ‘children out of wedlock’, due to non-recognition of the religious belief and the marriages carried out under it, thus the Decision of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Indonesia No. 46/PUU-VIII/2010 applies, which states that a child born out of wedlock enjoys a civil relationship with its mother and its mother's family as well as with its biological father and its father’s family, which blood relations can be proven using science and technology and/or other evidence according to the law.