Catholicism in Indonesia refers to Roman Catholicism in Indonesia, where it is one of the five approved religions. It began with the arrival of the Portuguese in search of the Spice Islands in the 16th century. The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ... Spice Islands most commonly refers to the Maluku Islands (formerly the Moluccas), which lie on the equator, between the Celebes and the New Guinea islands in what is now Indonesia. ... (15th century - 16th century - 17th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 to 1600. ...

History

Portuguese era

Portuguese explorers arrived in Indonesia in the Maluku Islands in 1534, with the goals of converting the natives to Roman Catholicism and to obtain the spices. Francis Xavier visited the islands from 1546 to 1547, and baptised several thousand locals. See also explorations, sea explorers, astronaut, conquistador, travelogue, the History of Science and Technology and Biography. ... The Maluku Islands (also known as the Moluccas, Moluccan Islands or simply Maluku) are an archipelago in Indonesia, and part of the larger Malay Archipelago. ... External links Wikibooks Cookbook has more about this subject: Spice Food Bacteria-Spice Survey Shows Why Some Cultures Like It Hot Citat: ...Garlic, onion, allspice and oregano, for example, were found to be the best all-around bacteria killers (they kill everything). ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Baptism is a water purification ritual practiced in certain religions such as Christianity, Mandaeanism, Sikhism, and some historic sects of Judaism. ...

The VOC era

The Dutch East India Company (VOC) came to Indonesia in 1619 and took over control from the Portuguese traders. Having come from a Protestant country, the company banned the Catholic church from operating in Indonesia, reducing Roman Catholicism to areas of the island of Flores and East Timor, still under Portuguese influence at the time. Dutch colonial possessions, with the Dutch East India Company possessions marked in a paler green, surrounding the Indian Ocean plus Saint Helena in the mid-Atlantic. ... Protestantism is a general grouping of denominations within Christianity. ... Map of Flores Island Flores (Portuguese for flowers) is one of the Lesser Sunda Islands, an island arc with an estimated area of 14,300 km² extending east from the Java island of Indonesia. ...

The Catholic priests were replaces with Protestant priests from The Netherlands. Many Christians at the time converted to Protestantism. For some time, Catholic priests were threatened with capital punishment if found to be residing in VOC territory. In 1624, Father Egidius d'Abreu (SJ), was executed in Batavia during the administration of Governor General Jan Pieterszoon Coen for celebrating Mass in prison. Motto: Je Maintiendrai (Dutch: Ik zal handhaven, English: I Shall Uphold) Anthem: Wilhelmus van Nassouwe Capital Amsterdam1 Largest city Amsterdam Official language(s) Dutch2 Government Parliamentary democracy Constitutional monarchy  - Queen Beatrix  - Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende Independence Eighty Years War   - Declared July 26, 1581   - Recognised January 30, 1648 (by Spain... The Society of Jesus (Latin: Societas Iesu), commonly known as the Jesuits, is a Roman Catholic religious order. ... Look up Batavia in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Jan Pieterszoon Coen Jan Pieterszoon Coen (8 January 1587 – 21 September 1629) was an officer of Dutch East India Company (VOC) in the early seventeenth century, holding two terms as its Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies. ... Mass is a property of a physical object that quantifies the amount of matter and energy it is equivalent to. ...

Father A. de Rhodes, a French Jesuit who invented the Vietnamese westernized alphabet system, was forced to watch his cross and Mass accessories burned underneath where two convicted thieves were just hung to their deaths. De Rhodes was then expelled from VOC territories in 1646. A Specimen of typeset fonts and languages, by William Caslon, letter founder; from the 1728 Cyclopaedia. ...

Yoanes Kaspas Kratx, an Austrian, was forced to leave Batavia due to difficulties with the administrators due to the help he gave to Catholic priests who were in transit in Batavia. He was moved to Macao, joined the Jesuit Order, and died as a martyr in Vietnam in 1737.

At the end of the 18th century Western Europe saw intense warfare between France and Great Britain and their respective allies. The sympathies of the people of the Netherlands were divided, and the Netherlands lost its independence. In 1806 Napoleon Bonaparte assigned his brother Louis Napoleon, a Catholic, to the throne of the Netherlands. In 1799 the VOC went bankrupt and was dissolved. A common understanding of Western Europe in modern times. ... Bonaparte as general Napoleon Bonaparte ( 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821) was a general of the French Revolution and was the ruler of France as First Consul (Premier Consul) of the French Republic from November 11, 1799 to May 18, 1804, then as Emperor of the French (Empereur des Français... ...

The East Indies era

The Van Lith era

The independence war era

The post-independence era

Demographics

According to the 1998 census the adherents in Indonesia consist of Muslim 88%, Protestant 5%, Roman Catholic 2%, Hindu 3%, Buddhist 1%, other 1%.

The Constitution guarantees of religious freedom apply to the five religions recognized by the state, namely Islam (87%), Protestantism (5%), Catholicism (2%), Hinduism (3%) and Buddhism (2%), and In some remote areas, animism is still practiced.

See also

• Islam in Indonesia
• Demographics of Indonesia

Islam in Indonesia is the dominant religion by far with the greatest number of religious adherents. ... Indonesias 242 million people make it the worlds fourth-most populous nation. ...