Religious Moderation as Social Praxis: Religion as a Need in the Lived Experience of Pesantren (Islamic Boarding School)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.64420/jismb.v3i2.450Keywords:
Religious Moderation, Pesantren(Islamic Boarding School);, Social Praxis, Lived ReligionAbstract
Background: Discourse on religious moderation is frequently understood normatively and regulatively through top down policy programs that risk becoming detached from the actual experiences of believers. Objective: This study aims to analyze how perceiving religion as a human need contributes to the formation of religious moderation as a social praxis within the pesantren environment. Methods: This study employs a reflective qualitative method grounded in an insider position, with data collected through continuous observation, interviews, and literature study. Results: The findings reveal that religious moderation is experienced as a social praxis emerging from everyday religious experience (lived religion). Moderation values are manifested through the moral leadership of scholars (kiai), persuasive language, and prudent institutional role boundaries to maintain social harmony. Although effective in dampening open conflicts, this strategy of self restraint leaves boundaries in addressing structural problems. Conclusion: This study concludes that religious moderation is a dynamic and contextual social process rather than a completed normative indicator. Contribution: This study contributes to enriching religious studies by offering a new framework for religious moderation grounded in lived religion and social praxis in society.
References
Al-Jayyousi, O., Hasan, W. N. W., Saniff, S. M., Sever, S. D., & Tok, E. (2023). A Critical Discourse Analysis on Climate Change in a Globalized World: The Nexus of Islam and Sustainable Development. Sustainability, 15(19), 14515–14515. https://doi.org/10.3390/su151914515
Almedy, T. H. (2025). Religious Tolerance as a Lived Experience: A Phenomenological Study of Adolescents’ Interfaith Engagement in Rural Indonesia. Jurnal Fuaduna Jurnal Kajian Keagamaan Dan Kemasyarakatan, 9(1), 42–57. https://doi.org/10.30983/fuaduna.v9i1.9596
Asad, T. (1993). Genealogies of religion: Discipline and reasons of power in Christianity and Islam. Jhu Press.
Berger, P., & Luckmann, T. (1966). The social construction of reality. In The Social Construction of Reality. Anchor Books. Routledge.
Burga, M. A., & Damopolii, M. (2022). Reinforcing Religious Moderation through Local Culture-Based Pesantren. Jurnal Pendidikan Islam, 8(2), 145–162. https://doi.org/10.15575/jpi.v8i2.19879
Buton, L. H., Susiati, S., & Taufik, T. (2021). Konstruksi Sosial Masyarakat Namlea atas Pola Hidup Bertoleransi Antara Umat Beragama. Sang Pencerah Jurnal Ilmiah Universitas Muhammadiyah Buton, 7(4), 618–629. https://doi.org/10.35326/pencerah.v7i4.1554
Creswell, J. W., & Poth, C. N. (2016). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches. Sage publications.
Denzin, N. K., & Lincoln, Y. S. (2011). The Sage handbook of qualitative research. sage.
Dewi, H. P., Yusri, M., & Ridani, R. (2023). Peran Pesantren Modern Dalam Menjawab Tantangan Moderasi Beragama Saat Ini. Jurnal Ilmiah Pendidikan Dan Keislaman, 3(1), 29–34. https://doi.org/10.55883/jipkis.v3i1.45
Dhofier, Z. (1982). Tradisi pesantren: Studi tentang pandangan hidup kyai.
Dwyer, S. C., & Buckle, J. L. (2009). The space between: On being an insider-outsider in qualitative research. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 8(1), 54–63.
Effendi, M. R. (2020). Mitigasi Intoleransi dan Radikalisme Beragama di Pondok Pesantren Melalui Pendekatan Pembelajaran Inklusif. Paedagogie Jurnal Pendidikan dan studi ISlam, 1(1), 54–77. https://doi.org/10.52593/pdg.01.1.05
Hamidah, K., & Chasannudin, A. (2021). Mechanization of Islamic moderation da’wah in the Nahdlatul Ulama pesantren tradition. Jurnal Ilmu Dakwah, 41(1), 15–29. https://doi.org/10.21580/jid.v41.1.7134
Hannan, A. (2020). Islam moderat dan tradisi popular pesantren: Strategi penguatan Islam moderat di kalangan masyarakat Madura melalui nilai tradisi popular Islam berbasis pesantren. Jurnal Sosiologi Dialektika, 13(2), 152–152. https://doi.org/10.20473/jsd.v13i2.2018.152-168
Hidayah, N., Wardani, A. W., Anam, W., & Addeq, M. (2025). Assessing Religious Literacy in Indonesian Secondary Education and Its Implications for Religious Moderation. EDUKASI Jurnal Penelitian Pendidikan Agama Dan Keagamaan, 23(3), 627–638. https://doi.org/10.32729/edukasi.v23i3.2152
Huda, T., Erlina, N., Damayanti, L., Haryono, A. F., Amalia, D., & Chamami, M. R. (2026). Kontribusi Pendidikan Pondok Pesantren Al-Amanah Dalam Meningkatkan Nilai-Nilai Moderasi Beragama. Indonesian Journal of Islamic Studies (IJIS), 2(1), 89–103. https://doi.org/10.62567/ijis.v2i1.1761
Irama, Y., & Zamzami, M. (2021). Telaah Atas Formula Pengarusutamaan Moderasi Beragama Kementerian Agama Tahun 2019-2020. KACA (Karunia Cahaya Allah): Jurnal Dialogis Ilmu Ushuluddin, 11(1), 65–89.
Jati, W. R., Syamsurijal, S., Halimatusa’diah, H., Aji, G. B., & Yılmaz, İ. (2024). Reevaluating Approaches to Religious Moderation at the Grassroots Level: The Role of Muslim Youth in Advancing Interfaith Dialogue. Al-Jami Ah Journal of Islamic Studies, 62(1), 185–213. https://doi.org/10.14421/ajis.2024.621.185-213
Kadaryanto, B., Kurniawan, A., & Burhanuddin, B. (2025). Reconstruction of Indigenous Community Inclusion in Village Autonomy Policy: Towards a Substantive Autonomy Model in Indonesia. Al-Risalah Forum Kajian Hukum Dan Sosial Kemasyarakatan, 25(1), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.30631/alrisalah.v25i1.1845
Kurnia, R., Nurkhalizah, A., Fazriyah, S. I., & Munandar, A. (2023). Facilitation of Young Mosque Activists to Strengthen Moderate Religious Attitudes by Studying The Interpretation of Quran Verses. Jurnal Studi Sosial Keagamaan Syekh Nurjati, 3(2), 213–230. https://doi.org/10.24235/sejati.v3i2.65
Maarif, C., Fathurrobbani, A., & Natsir, A. (2023). Interpretation of the Fast Tarawih Prayer Tradition by the Congregation: A Living Qur’an Study at Mantenan Islamic Boarding School in Blitar. QOF, 7(2), 205–224. https://doi.org/10.30762/qof.v7i2.1355
Marjani, G. I. (2023). Overcoming Theological Dilemmas: Fostering Religious Moderation through the Resolution of Faith and Rationality. Religious Jurnal Studi Agama-Agama Dan Lintas Budaya, 7(2), 115–128. https://doi.org/10.15575/rjsalb.v7i2.28311
Masroer. (2018). Religious Inclusivism In Indonesia :Study of Pesatetren An-Nida and Edi Mancoro,Salatiga, Cent:ral Java. https://digilib.uin-suka.ac.id/id/eprint/30143/
Maulana, & Ferdian. (2024). Dialog Antarbudaya dan Dinamika Sosial Kota Multikultural: Studi Kasus Kota Metropolitan di Indonesia. SEIKAT Jurnal Ilmu Sosial Politik dan Hukum, 3(5), 261–267. https://doi.org/10.55681/seikat.v3i5.1581
McGuire, M. B. (2008). Lived religion: Faith and practice in everyday life. Oxford University Press.
Merton, R. K. (1972). Insiders and outsiders: A chapter in the sociology of knowledge. American Journal of Sociology, 78(1), 9–47.
Nasir, M., & Rijal, M. (2021). Keeping the middle path: mainstreaming religious moderation through Islamic higher education institutions in Indonesia. Indonesian Journal of Islam and Muslim Societies, 11(2), 213–241. https://doi.org/10.18326/ijims.v11i2.213-241
Patahilah, H. H. F., & Lubis, A. S. (2025). Fostering religious moderation education:case study of moderate da’wah activities in pesantren iuqi bogor student. At Turots Jurnal Pendidikan Islam, 550–559. https://doi.org/10.51468/jpi.v7i1.927
Putri, S. N., & Budiman, A. (2022). Penguatan Moderasi Beragama Melalui Implementasi Pendidikan Multikultural pada Pendidikan Sekolah Dasar. Ikhtisar Jurnal Pengetahuan Islam, 2(2), 241–241. https://doi.org/10.55062//ijpi.2022.v2i2.131
Rahman, F. (1982). modernity: Transformation of an intellectual tradition. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
Rosydi, M., & putra, A. darma. (2024). Peran Dialog Antarbudaya dalam Mengelola Konflik Sosial Berbasis Identitas di Komunitas Lokal. SEIKAT Jurnal Ilmu Sosial Politik dan Hukum, 3(4), 223–229. https://doi.org/10.55681/seikat.v3i4.1521
Saumantri, T. (2023). Construction Of Religious Moderation In Seyyed Hossein Nasr’s Perennial Philosophy Perspective. Kanz Philosophia A Journal for Islamic Philosophy and Mysticism, 9(1). https://doi.org/10.20871/kpjipm.v9i1.259
Smith, L. T. (2021). Decolonizing methodologies: Research and indigenous peoples. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Sumadi, E., Nisa, F. F., Nufus, I., Yulianto, F. A. F., & Bahruddin, B. (2023). Pendidikan Pesantren Dan Moderasi Beragama. Ta allum Jurnal Pendidikan Islam, 10(2), 249–275. https://doi.org/10.21274/taalum.2022.10.2.249-275
Suprapto, S. (2020). Integrasi Moderasi Beragama dalam Pengembangan Kurikulum Pendidikan Agama Islam. EDUKASI Jurnal Penelitian Pendidikan Agama Dan Keagamaan, 18(3), 355–368. https://doi.org/10.32729/edukasi.v18i3.750
Suprapto, S. (2022). Learning Islam In A Moderate Way: How Pesantren Teaches Islamic Values And Nationhood Toward Santri? Jurnal Sosiologi Reflektif, 17(1), 153–178. https://doi.org/10.14421/jsr.v17i1.2556
Susanto, T. (2024). Ethnography of harmony: local traditions and dynamics of interfaith tolerance in Nglinggi Village, Indonesia. Asian Anthropology, 24(2), 146–150. https://doi.org/10.1080/1683478x.2024.2434988
Syafieh, S., & Anzhaikan, M. (2023). Moderate Islam And Its Influence on Religious Diversity in Indonesia. ESENSIA Jurnal Ilmu-Ilmu Ushuluddin, 23(2). https://doi.org/10.14421/esensia.v23i2.3262
Timotius, T., Sutrisno, S., & Putrawan, B. K. (2022). Social Dialog as a Model of Mission in Plural Society. SANCTUM DOMINE JURNAL TEOLOGI, 11(1), 101–114. https://doi.org/10.46495/sdjt.v11i1.116
Turner, B. S. (2011). Religion and social theory. Religion and Social Theory. Sage., 21(4).
Wood, B., & Laksana, B. (2020). Navigating religious diversity: exploring young people’s lived religious citizenship in Indonesia. https://doi.org/10.26686/wgtn.13108523.v1
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Anas Mushthofa, Muhammad Zainuddin, Ahmad Izzuddin
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms: (1) License & Copyright: Authors retain full copyright and grant the journal the right of first publication. The work is simultaneously licensed under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License, which allows others to share and adapt the material for any purpose, even commercially, provided proper credit is given and derivative works are shared under the same license. (2) Secondary Distribution: Authors may enter into separate, non-exclusive contractual arrangements for the distribution of the journal's published version (e.g., institutional repositories or book chapters), acknowledging its initial publication in this journal. (3) Self-Archiving: Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or personal websites) prior to and during the submission process.
