Evangelical Activities
Since converting to Christianity in 1990, James has been an avid evangelical. He has established foundations, charities and Christian-inspired schools to spread the message in Muslim-majority Indonesia. Inevitably, his zeal has clashed with Muslim fundamentalists in the country. On 23 July 2001, Fortune published an interview with the Lippo director in which he espoused his vision of converting poor villages to Christianity. The second biggest Muslim organization in Indonesia, the 28 million strong Muhammadiyah, quickly assembled mass protests and demonstrations against him..
Under the organization Yayasan Pendidika Pelita Harapan, Riady helped to established a Christian university named Universitas Pelita Harapan (UPH). This university is one of the highest-quality schools in Indonesia, with a beautiful campus and high tuition rates. He recruits students from all around Indonesia to attend the school's "Teachers College" (TC) on a scholarship program, training them to be teachers and sending them out to bring education to the remote areas of Indonesia. Graduates of Teachers College are often placed in schools owned and run by the organization: Sekolah Pelita Harapan, Sekolah Dian Harapan, and Sekolah Lentera Harapan. He is involved quite personally in this particular college, enforcing a strict code of discipline as well as requiring these students to attend weekly chapel and his own church. He is well-known at the university for his sermons at weekly chapel, in which he focuses extensively on a chapter-by-chapter exegesis of Romans. Riady adheres to Reformed theology, often referred to as Calvinism.
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