Indonesia and the United States: Diversity and democracy in turbulent times

The world's second and third largest democracies by population, the United States and Indonesia, are far apart, at opposite ends of the world. They wrestle today, however, with eerily similar questions about religious difference. Religious diversity is, for both societies, a founding principle and a source of national pride. Today, however, tensions among religious communities, especially when expressed through political processes, indicate that cherished patterns of religious tolerance simply cannot be taken for granted.

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