Critics warn the new material to discourage the spread of ‘LGBT culture’ could backfire with consequences for young people
4-MIN READ4-MINResty Woro YuniarPublished: 7:17pm, 14 Jul 2026Indonesia’s Ministry of Religious Affairs is drafting educational material aimed at discouraging what officials call the spread of “LGBT culture”, after a presidential regulation listed the issue among the country’s non-military security threats.Officials said the content, which was still under discussion, could be included in religious education in regular and Islamic schools, as well as Friday prayer sermons, family development programmes and other religious events.
The government has said the presidential regulation is not meant to be the basis for criminalising any group, but experts and queer activists note that bringing the issue into classrooms risks deepening stigma around sexual orientation.
They also argue there is no scientific proof that anti-LGBT education can change a person’s sexual orientation, while warning that such teaching could harm children’s mental health.
Romo Muhammad Syafi’i, vice-minister of religion, said the material was a follow-up to the 2025 presidential regulation that included the spread of homosexuality as a non-military threat to national security, alongside separatism, terrorism and online gambling.
