Reformed Roots in the Global South: Indonesia’s Calvinist Heritage

from the Summer 2025 issue of The Forum Magazine

Last year, I presented a keynote speech at a conference organized by the Indonesian Calvin Society. Held at Aletheia Theological Seminary in East Java, one of several Reformed seminaries in Indonesia, the conference was built around a key question: “Are the Seeds Still Growing?” For the organizers of the event, “the seeds” represent a metaphor for Calvin and Calvinism. The resounding answer offered by speakers at the conference was yes, the seeds are still growing.

Then in March of this year, Calvin Theological Seminary and Calvin University, together with the host International Reformed Evangelical Seminary in Jakarta, Indonesia, staged the 2025 Abraham Kuyper Conference. Exploring the theme of “Reforming Always and Everywhere: Neo-Calvinism and the Reformed Tradition in Historical and Global Perspective,” this gathering was attended by more than 600 people from almost two dozen countries. It was the first Kuyper Conference held outside of North America. 

These recent events are only two of many such developments that demonstrate the global impact of Calvin and Calvinism, as well as Calvin Theological Seminary’s significant leadership role. There are several other key Reformed commitments in recent times, shaping  both the Indonesian churches and Calvin Theological Seminary.  

Much work already has been done on the lasting influence of John Calvin and the Genevan Reformation on worship and liturgy in Reformed churches in the Netherlands and North America. Unfortunately, far less attention has been paid to this enduring influence in the global south and east. The great majority of Protestants in Indonesia, whether they realize it or not,  have been shaped by Calvin’s thoughts and ecclesial practices and his insistence on educating the young. As a church leader in Geneva, Calvin envisioned equipping the children of the city with a solid knowledge of God’s Word at an early age. He published several catechisms for this purpose. The Genevan church  in Calvin’s day dedicated the mid-day service on Sundays to teach catechism to the children. Very often, Calvin himself led these services. Reformed churches throughout Europe placed a heavy emphasis on teaching catechism to young people throughout the 16th and 17th centuries. A large variety of catechisms emerged during that time, including the Heidelberg Catechism that was approved by the Synod in Heidelberg in 1563. Iit was also approved by the Synod of Dordt in 1618-1619. At Calvin Theological Seminary and also in the CRCNA, together with the Belgic Confession and the Canons of Dordt, the Heidelberg Catechism is a cherished part  of the trio we call the Three Forms of Unity.

Calvinism was brought  to the region now known as Indonesia by the Dutch in their quest  to monopolize spice trading in the 17th century. Dutch ministers brought the theological and ecclesiastical practices of the Reformed church they inherited from Calvin’s Geneva to the East Indian archipelago.  As the Dutch East India Company expanded its presence in the region, so did the Reformed church. These ministers converted many indigenous people to Reformed Protestantism and started congregations in numerous trading posts scattered all over the archipelago, much of it later becoming the country of Indonesia. These ministers introduced Calvinism by way of several catechisms, most notably the Heidelberg Catechism.

In 1623, Sebastian Danckaerts, one of the earliest Dutch ministers who came to the East Indies, translated the Heidelberg Catechism into Malay. Malay was a lingua franca of the people in the East Indies, and the Dutch adopted it as the language with which they communicated with the people. Understandably, it was also chosen as the language to be used in the church. The ministers learned how to speak and write in Malay. They preached in Malay, and they also used catechism books translated into Malay. As was the practice of the church in Calvin’s Geneva, the Dutch Reformed churches in Indonesia also insisted that people needed to be catechized first before making their profession of faith. Only after making a public  profession of faith would they then be allowed to partake in the Lord’s Supper. The Dutch Reformed churches strictly followed this requirement for the people in the East Indies. It continued to be the standard practice of the Protestant churches in Indonesia long after the Dutch left and Indonesia gained its independence in 1945.

Some Reformed churches in Indonesia still use the Heidelberg Catechism, while others have developed their own catechism material. Today, one can still easily buy a copy of the Heidelberg Catechism in the Indonesian language, a language that is deeply rooted in Malay. This continuity with the past is a valuable proof that underscores how extensively the influence of Calvin and Calvinism is still visible in Indonesia.

In 1542, only one year after Calvin returned to Geneva following three years of ministering in Strasbourg, he published a short liturgical volume that also contained a collection of thirty-five psalms and four canticles in metrical form titled La Forme des prieres et chantz ecclesiastiques. According to this Genevan Reformed order of worship, before delivering the sermon, the minister prays to invite the Holy Spirit to guide the people in the reading of the Scripture, and in the preaching of the word of God. At the conclusion of the sermon, the minister prays again, to ask God to guide the people to apply the teaching of God’s word in their lives. This was the ordinary practice of the Reformed churches in The Netherlands, and unsurprisingly it was also implemented in the Reformed churches in the East Indies. All the Malay translations of catechism books, including the Heidelberg Catechism that I mentioned above, contained the prayers ministers offered before reading the  word of God and after the sermon.

Churches in Indonesia today continue the liturgical practice of prayers before and after each sermon. Theologically, these prayers are significant. Before the reading of the Bible and before the minister explains the meaning of God’s word in the sermon, the entire congregation needs the guidance of the Holy Spirit. And once the sermon is preached, the congregation needs to ask God to help them live their lives in the light of the Bible’s teaching. This liturgical element in the Reformed church in Indonesia is deeply rooted in its history, and continues to be a part of the worshipping experiences of many Christians in Indonesia.

These are a pair of examples illustrating how Calvin’s practices still shape worship and liturgy in Indonesia, showing how global the Reformation and its influence are. By considering the approaches of early modern Reformed churches in both Geneva and The Netherlands and today’s practices in churches in this part of the Global South, the enduring impacts of the Reformation around the world come into sharper focus. Therefore, we can say that  we stand on common ground  with our brothers and sisters in the church universal.

For Further Reading:

Maag, Karin. Lifting Hearts to the Lord: Worship with John Calvin in Sixteenth Century Geneva. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2016

Parker, Charles. Global Calvinism: Conversion and Commerce in the Dutch Empire, 1600 – 1800. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2022

Thianto, Yudha. The Way to Heaven: Catechisms and Sermons in the Establishment of the Dutch Reformed Church in the East Indies. Eugene: Wipf & Stock, 2014