Are You There God? Kids Share Their Beliefs

Jakarta Globe, Ade Mardiyati, August 02, 2011

Putu Ambalita Pitaloka Arsana, 5, is a Hindu who says she prays
everyday in the hopes that God will give her a baby brother. (JG Photo)

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With the start of the holy month of Ramadan, Muslims across the country are fasting, praying and reflecting on their spiritual lives. The Jakarta Globe talked to five youngsters to learn more about the next generation’s religious views and what God means to them.

From praying for a little brother to praying in different places of worship, these children open up about their personal beliefs. Coming from different religious backgrounds, their views offer an interesting glimpse into our diverse multifaith society.

Abdul Rafi Ramadhan, 10, 4th grader

I am Muslim and I believe in God. I don’t know what or who God is but I believe. From what I learned in pengajian (Koranic studies), God created the earth and the sky, the whole universe.

My teacher said that God is invisible and does not come in a form or shape.

I went to pengajian from 2007 to 2010. It was my mother who told me to learn how to read and study the Koran outside of school so that I would do well in the subject [at school].

My father doesn’t work. My mother earns money by working at people’s homes washing their clothes to pay for my school and the pengajian. I work in the evening selling celengan [piggy banks] here in Menteng with other kids. I have a little brother.

I enjoyed my activities at the pengajian because I made a lot of friends there. Another reason is because I want to go to heaven. My teacher taught us about heaven and hell, and he said that you have to pray five times a day and read the Koran, otherwise you will go to hell. But I haven’t prayed lately because I don’t have a sarong to wear.

I also have non-Muslim friends. You can tell which of my friends are not Muslims from their nails. They usually paint their nails black.

Putu Ambalita Pitaloka Arsana, 5, 1st grader

I am Hindu. I believe in God because God is nice. God is nice because I know he can give me a baby brother.

Every day I pray to God at the prayer place upstairs in our home. I have to take the stairs to go there. I don’t know what I say in my prayers but I just say what I want.

I have friends who are not Hindu. They are Muslim and Catholic. I think people have to pray to let God know that we are talking to God.

I also make a wish before I go to sleep. I usually make a wish for my father, my mother and for the baby brother that I really want to have. I don’t have any other wish when I pray. I just want to have a baby brother.

Arif Yunando, 14, 2nd year junior high

If you ask me what my religion is, I don’t know. My father is Buddhist, my mother is Catholic and I go to a Christian school where I only learn about Christianity.

My parents never taught me about religion because they think it is enough that I study about one religion at school. But maybe if I had to choose one, I would choose to become a Christian because that is what I have learned about so far.

I may not have a religion but I believe that God exists. It is all said in the Bible. I go to church by myself, but I also go to temple a lot. I pray when I am in both places and what I say in my prayers is pretty much the same. But when I pray at the temple, I speak in Mandarin a little bit.

In my prayers, I ask God to give me the ability to do well at school, I ask for a lot of good friends and I also ask God to protect me so I don’t get yelled at too much by my mother and older brother [laughs].

I think it is important for people to have a religion because it is part of them being human. A person is not complete without religion. When you don’t have a religion, you only have the bod, but you have no soul. The body decays while the soul is immortal.

Lucy Vicendese, 10, 4th grader

I don’t have a religion and I don’t believe in God. I don’t know what God is. Maybe a spirit or something like that. I don’t know. I just don’t believe in that kind of stuff.

I have friends at school who are religious. They are Muslims and Christians.

I have been to a Catholic church. I went there with my friend about a month ago.

Muhammad Hilmy, 12, 1st year junior high

Religion is our belief toward God. I am a Muslim. If you ask me why I am a Muslim, it is because Islam is the religion that I have known since I was a kid. I also learned about Islam at school. I go to an Islamic school and so does my little sister.

I believe in God because God is the one that created all the living things and the universe. Yet I have never imagined what God is like. God does exist but doesn’t have a shape. There is proof for that. We have the moon, the sun, human beings and the earth.

My parents taught me and my sister about Islam. They taught us how to pray by showing us the movements, and they taught us how to read the Koran. My parents also expect me to finish reading whole chapters [in the Koran] and I’ve done that already.

My parents told us that prayer is compulsory. It is a must and it is not right if you don’t do it. It is a sin. They also said that we go to hell if we don’t pray.

My father always emphasizes the importance of religion. There are also people with different religions from what we believe and that is OK. People who fight because other people have a different religion don’t respect the rights of others. We should all live in peace no matter what others believe.