Indonesian Americans

Indonesian Americans are people who immigrated to the United States from the multiethnic nation of Indonesia and their descendants who were born in the United States. They were recognised as the 15th biggest group of Asian Americans in the United States during the census taken in both the year 2000 and the year 2010, and they were also one of the groups with the quickest growth rate.

Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Confucianism, Buddhism, and Hinduism are only some of the religions practised by Indonesian Americans; nonetheless, Islam, Protestantism, and Catholicism are the three most prevalent.

Christianity is the most quickly developing religious tradition among these populations, despite the fact that Islam is gaining popularity among Indonesian Americans since Indonesia is one of the biggest Islamic nations in the world. The first Indonesian church in the United States was a Seventh-day Adventist Church that was established in Glendale, California in 1972 with a predominantly Indo congregation (now located in Azusa, California); however, as more pribumi migrants joined the church, racial tensions arose, and the Indos withdrew to other churches. The church is now located in Azusa, California. The second Indonesian church to be established in the United States was a Baptist congregation. It was created by a pastor of ethnic Chinese descent, and the majority of its members were also of Chinese descent. By the year 1988, there were a total of 14 Indonesian Protestant congregations; by the year 1998, that number had increased to 41, and there were also two Indonesian Catholic congregations. It is in places like California, Georgia, New Jersey, or Pennsylvania where masses are provided weekly or monthly in the Indonesian language where Catholicism is practised the most among communities of Indonesian Americans who identify as Catholic. The majority of Chinese immigrants to Indonesia in the late 1990s were Christians who, fearing for their lives on their home continent, made the decision to immigrate to Indonesia.

In the 1990s, around 15% of the Indonesian American community was composed of Muslims who were originally from Indonesia. The Al-Hikmah Mosque, which was established in Astoria, New York, and is now led by Shamsi Ali, was the first Indonesian mosque to be established in the United States. At-Thohir Mosque was established in 2017 after the Indonesian Muslim community in Los Angeles bought and renovated a building that had once served as a church at 1200 Kenmore Avenue. The IMAAM Center is the name of the Indonesian place of worship that may be found in Silver Spring, Maryland. As an essential centre for Indonesian Muslim life in the United States, this mosque is highly active today via the regular services that it holds as well as the community outreach that it participates in. Many members of Indonesia's upper class have made the decision to become more assimilated into American society as a result of the economic and cultural pleasures that it offers. This might be perceived as a departure from the identity of Indonesian Muslims from the point of view of those who are already a part of this group.