The Transformation of Cultural Values in Depok Society in West Java

In 2014, coinciding with the year of the ban on the re-establishment of the Chastelein monument by the Government of Depok, West Java, the results of a survey by the Population and Civil Registry Office of Depok summarized the distribution of Depok residents in 11 sub-districts based on religion. The results show a comparison between the number of Protestants and Islam as follows: Depok residents who are Protestants only amounted to 105,218 people, while Muslims in 2014 totaled 1,853,898 people. This statistical data can certainly provide evidence for the transformation of societal values. Meanwhile, many historical articles, both popular and scientific, discuss the origin of the name Depok as the Dutch language acronym De Eerste Protestante Onderdaan Kerk. This illustrates the fact that Depok was actually born and grew up with strong Protestant values. Using the historical and material culture approach, this paper analyzes the value transformation that occurs in Depok society to see the shift in the meaning of the Chastelein monument and the term “Belanda Depok” (the Dutch of Depok) used the semiology of Roland Barthes. The ban on the re-establishment of the Chastelein monument by Depok’s Government and the degradation of the meaning of “Belanda Depok,” which experienced a negative denotation, can be seen as a source of discomfort for Depok's “indigenous people.” Furthermore, increasingly rapid flows of urbanization have transformed Depok’s demography into an “Islamic” city. Understanding changes in values and the essence of pluralism as a consequence of flows of urbanization that cannot be stopped is the main key to maintaining peace and tranquility in urban society, especially in the city of Depok.