Citizenship Without Belonging: Legal Identity and the Continuing Marginalization of Indigenous Belief Communities in Indonesia

Abstract

Formal citizenship does not necessarily guarantee substantive equality for communities whose religious or spiritual identities fall outside dominant religious categories. This article examines the gap between formal legal recognition and lived citizenship among indigenous belief communities in Indonesia. It focuses on how administrative systems concerning civil registration, marriage, education, and public services may continue to reproduce exclusion despite constitutional and statutory recognition of the right to religious and spiritual freedom. Using a normative and socio-legal methodology, the study analyzes constitutional provisions, administrative regulations, relevant judicial developments, and selected cases involving indigenous belief communities. The article conceptualizes citizenship as extending beyond possession of legal identity documents to include equal recognition and effective access to public institutions. The analysis demonstrates that administrative neutrality may become discriminatory when institutional categories are designed around dominant religious assumptions. Although legal reforms have expanded formal recognition, implementation gaps continue to create unequal burdens for communities whose beliefs do not fit conventional administrative classifications. The article argues that substantive citizenship requires the state to redesign administrative practices according to principles of equality, dignity, and freedom of belief rather than merely adding formal recognition. It contributes to minority justice scholarship by connecting citizenship theory with everyday administrative exclusion and demonstrating how bureaucratic practices can sustain marginalization even after legal recognition has been formally achieved.