Wawasan: Jurnal Ilmiah Agama dan Sosial Budaya
ISSN: 2502-3489 (online) ISSN: 2527-3213 (print) DOI: 10.15575/jw Accreditation Number : No. 158/E/KPT/2021 (SINTA 2) URL: http://journal.uinsgd.ac.id/index.php/jw/index Wawasan: Jurnal Ilmiah Agama dan Sosial Budaya (Journal of Religious and Socio-Cultural Studies) is an international, peer-reviewed journal that publishes original research on religion and its intersections with the social sciences, culture, and gender studies. The journal promotes interdisciplinary scholarship that brings together theology, ethics, cultural analysis, and social inquiry. It provides a forum for scholars and practitioners worldwide to share research findings and contribute to international academic debate. Wawasan contributes to both theory and practice by presenting diverse perspectives on the relationships between religion, society, culture, and gender. By publishing research on contemporary issues across different regions, the journal supports comparative and context-sensitive analysis that speaks to global audiences. It also encourages work that informs more inclusive and equitable approaches to policy and practice by examining how religious, cultural, and gender dynamics shape social life. The journal welcomes submissions on topics including, but not limited to, the following areas: Theology and Ethics: Research on how religious traditions engage with contemporary ethical questions, moral philosophy, social justice, human rights, and community wellbeing. Gender and Religion: Studies of gender in religious beliefs and practices, feminist and gender-critical theologies, and the ways religion influences gender equality and social identities. Cultural and Religious Heritage: Analyses of the preservation, transformation, and commodification of religious and cultural traditions, including sacred spaces, rituals, and the adaptation of heritage in a globalised world. Religion and Social Dynamics: Work examining how religious beliefs and practices interact with social structures and processes such as identity formation, migration, conflict, and resilience in local, national, and transnational settings. Pluralism and Interfaith Engagement: Scholarship on religious pluralism, interfaith relations, and the challenges and opportunities of living in multicultural and multireligious societies. Religion, Ecology, and Environment: Research on the connections between religion and ecological concerns, including environmental justice and climate change, with particular attention to eco-theological approaches. All submissions undergo a rigorous double-blind peer-review process to ensure scholarly quality, research integrity, and methodological soundness. Wawasan invites innovative and original contributions that address the evolving relationships among religion, society, culture, and gender in diverse global contexts.
the Faculty of Ushuluddin, UIN Sunan Gunung Djati Bandung
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Strategic Ambiguity in Governing Religious Deviance: Policy Inconsistency, Social Stability, and Human Rights in Indonesia
Indonesia has an extensive regulatory framework for governing religious life, yet allegations of religious deviance continue to expose a tension between state regulation, social stability, and the constitutional protection of freedom of religion or belief. This article examines Indonesia from 2000 to 2020 and shows that, despite having legal and administrative tools, the government’s inconsistent application of them functions as a deliberate form of strategic ambiguity. Using a qualitative design, the study combines document analysis of key regulations and policy instruments with comparative case analysis of seven selected cases of groups labelled aliran sesat (lit. “deviant streams”) between 2000 and 2020. The data, including fatwas issued by the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), government regulations, human rights reports, media chronologies, and scholarly literature, are analysed through thematic coding informed by Dunn’s policy framework and Blumer’s symbolic interactionism. The analysis identifies four recurring policy patterns: (1) selective law enforcement based on perceived social impact; (2) reactive rather than proactive government response; (3) selective adoption of MUI recommendations or fatwas; and (4) asymmetrical protection of rights. These patterns generate legal uncertainty and unequal protection, disproportionately affecting minority groups whose freedom of religion or belief is constitutionally guaranteed. The article argues that policy ambiguity is not merely an implementation failure, but a strategic governance pattern produced by competing imperatives of public order, majoritarian religious authority, and rights commitments. It recommends clearer procedural thresholds, rights-based early response mechanisms, and transparent institutional accountability in handling allegations of religious deviance, offering insights for the broader study of religion, society, and minority rights in plural contexts such as Indonesia.
Copyright (c) 2026 Nasruddin Yusuf, Ridwan Jamal, Misbahul Munir Makka https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0
Digital Governance and the Reconfiguration of Religious Authority in Post-Secular Indonesia: The Emergence of Digital Faith as Mediated Authority
Post-secular Indonesia, where 229.4 million internet users coexist within an 87% Muslim population, presents a paradigmatic site for examining how digital governance reshapes religious authority. As digital infrastructure expands, tensions between traditional religious legitimacy and state-regulated algorithmic mechanisms intensify, yet the tripartite interaction among state regulation, platform architecture, and religious community agency remains theoretically underspecified. This study aims to analyse the dynamics of religious authority reconfiguration within Indonesia’s digital governance ecosystem, examining how these interactions produce, contest, and transform Islamic religious legitimacy in the digital age. Employing Fairclough’s Critical Discourse Analysis three-stage model text analysis (2013), discursive practice analysis, and socio-cultural practice analysis, this study analysed five categories of digital regulatory frameworks comprising legal instruments, administrative policies, and algorithmic control mechanisms. Data were collected from June to October 2025 through systematic retrieval of regulatory documents, institutional statements, and civil society monitoring reports. The findings reveal three key dynamics: state regulatory instruments function as mechanisms of discursive power repositioning religious authority from traditional institutions toward technocratic governance; hybrid forms of legitimacy emerge from the interaction between state, platforms, and religious actors; and digital communities negotiate and contest state control through performative engagement that constructs alternative truth regimes. This study concludes that digitisation fundamentally transforms both religious practices and the epistemological foundations of authority, captured in the concept of digital faith as mediated authority. This article contributes to the intersecting fields of digital religion, post-secular governance, and platform society studies by offering an integrative analytical model grounded in the Global South context, a dimension underrepresented in existing scholarship.
Copyright (c) 2026 Zakaria Efendi, Meysellaa Al Firdha Hanim, Zaenuddin Hudi Prasojo, Lutse Lambert Daniel Morin, Febi Setiyawati https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0
Oral Literature, Traditional Ecological Knowledge, and Islamic Environmental Ethics in Ternate: Intergenerational Transmission and Cultural Resilience in Small-Island Indonesia
In small-island Muslim communities across Eastern Indonesia, the intergenerational transmission of oral literature and Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) is under growing pressure because of modernisation, urbanisation, and language shift yet this dimension of Islamic socio-cultural life remains underexplored in Indonesian scholarship. Ternate oral literature serves as a vital medium for transmitting local wisdom and ecological ethics rooted in the community’s Islamic spiritual relationship with nature. This study examines the condition of oral literary literacy in Ternate society, analyses how oral traditions preserve ecological values and cultural identity, and identifies socio-cultural barriers to intergenerational transmission, using Cultural Ecology and Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) as complementary analytical frameworks. Employing a descriptive qualitative design with an ethnographic orientation, data were collected from eighteen participants including elders, teachers, youth, cultural practitioners, and fishers between January and June 2025 (field observations: February–April 2025) through interviews, observations, and documentation of oral texts. Analysis of twelve oral forms four legends, four proverbs, two ritual chants, and two traditional songs reveals ecological wisdom emphasising gratitude, restraint, and reciprocity rooted in Islamic moral teachings and spiritual reminders (peringatan Tuhan), while a gradual decline in youth familiarity with these narratives reflects broader linguistic and cultural shifts. Oral traditions in Ternate persist not through static preservation but through what this study terms “intentional adaptation” structured mediation via education, Islamic ethics (dakwah ekologis), and digital technology demonstrating the adaptive resilience of Ternate oral culture as a living biocultural system. This study contributes to religion and socio-cultural life by showing how Islamic moral values embedded in Ternate’s oral tradition can be the basis for ecological literacy and sustainability education in Indonesia’s Muslim community.
Copyright (c) 2026 Samsudin Hi Adam, Silvani Umar Ali, Syarifah Kurniaty Kahar, Fina Dafrin, Fatma Suhardi https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0
Maria as Nai Mnuke: Guardian of Land, Body, and Dignity—Reinterpreting Marian Devotion in the Mollo Indigenous Community
Marian devotion occupies a central place in Indonesian Catholic spirituality, yet it is frequently understood as an expression of personal piety detached from questions of gender justice and ecological responsibility. This study examines how Marian devotion is reinterpreted within the Mollo indigenous community of East Nusa Tenggara through the concept of Nai Mnuke. This contextual theological construct integrates Catholic Mariology with indigenous relational cosmology. Employing a qualitative approach grounded in reflective ethnography, the study collected data through participant observation, semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions, and document analysis in five villages where Marian devotion and customary practices remain closely intertwined. The findings reveal that Marian devotion functions as a relational religious praxis through which believers cultivate moral agency, communal solidarity, and ecological responsibility. Mollo women emerge as active theological interpreters who negotiate inherited devotional traditions in dialogue with their lived experiences, while Nai Mnuke provides a theological language that connects women’s dignity, care for the land, and Catholic faith within a shared moral horizon. Rather than representing a departure from Catholic orthodoxy, this reinterpretation deepens Marian devotion through creative dialogue between ecclesial tradition and indigenous wisdom. The study contributes to contextual Mariology by integrating Thomistic personalism, contextual feminist hermeneutics, and ecofeminism into a coherent analytical framework for understanding Marian devotion as lived religion. It further demonstrates that contextual Marian devotion can serve as a constructive theological resource for strengthening women’s agency, ecological stewardship, and pastoral engagement within indigenous Catholic communities.
Copyright (c) 2026 Siprianus Soleman Senda, Helidorus F. Anin, Patricius Neonnub, Hendriko Dicky Tae Della, Oswaldus Agusto Haki Mamulak https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0
From Grassroots to Green Deen: Women’s Roles in Climate Change Adaptation in the Coastal Area
Climate change has emerged as a major challenge for coastal communities in Pekalongan. This study emphasizes that coastal women are not merely victims of climate change, but also key actors in fostering ecological awareness and community resilience. The research aims to explore the strategic roles of women in responding to climate change through a faith-based Green Deen and community-centered approach. This qualitative study employs a Participatory Action Research (PAR) framework, engaging coastal women as active agents in formulating and implementing climate adaptation strategies. The findings reveal that coastal women go beyond their domestic roles to become agents of ecological transformation. They actively contribute to climate adaptation through tangible actions such as environmental conservation, land use initiatives, local tradition revitalization, and spiritual reinforcement. The concept of Green Deen serves as both an ethical and practical foundation, bridging faith, action, and environmental sustainability. These findings also highlight the importance of integrating local knowledge, religious values, and participatory approaches in the development of climate adaptation policies in coastal areas.
Copyright (c) 2025 Dewi Anggraeni, Magfur Ahmad, Siti Mumun Muniroh, Miftahul Huda, Arumaisa Alfa Mulia, Slamet Suharto https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0
From Da’wah to Spectacle: Negotiating Sacred Space and Ritual Meaning in The Commodification of Sekaten
Abstract: This study examines how the Sekaten ritual in Surakarta has shifted from an Islamic da’wah-centred ceremony into a commodified cultural festival shaped by mass tourism and urban entertainment. Using a qualitative socio-cultural design grounded in cultural ethnography, the research draws on participatory observation conducted during the 2023–2025 celebrations at the alun-alun (town square), the Grand Mosque, the night market, and Bangsal Pagongan (theatre ward), alongside purposive interviews with abdi dalem (palace retainers), mosque administrators, vendors, and festival attendees. The analysis applies cultural transformation theory (Nasukah & Winarti, 2021), Lefebvre’s theory of the social production of space (Lefebvre, 1991), and ritual commodification theory (D. Picard & Robinson, 2006) to trace how shifts in actors, spatial organisation, and symbolic interpretation reorient the ritual’s meanings. Findings indicate that municipal institutions and market stakeholders are increasingly governing Sekaten through the dominance of the night market, commercial stages, and sponsorships, while traditional custodianship by the Kraton (palace) and Masjid Agung is becoming more marginal. Sacred elements, such as the Gamelan Sekaten (traditional music), Miyos Gangsa (ritual procession), and ritual symbols including nginang (chewing betel nut) and janur (decorated palm leaves), persist; yet, they often operate as aesthetic markers within a spectacle economy rather than as central media of religious pedagogy. This reconfiguration produces spatial secularisation as the alun-alun transitions from a sacred zone into a consumerist arena, and public participation shifts from spiritual aspiration towards leisure-oriented consumption, particularly among younger visitors. This study advances debates on religion, space, and heritage governance by demonstrating that ritual changes in contemporary Java reflect negotiated struggles over symbolic power—rather than mere cultural decline. It advocates for participatory preservation strategies that sustain both ritual meaning and physical form amid tourism-driven urban development.
Copyright (c) 2025 Mukhlis Anton Nugroho, Bambang Sunarto , Budi Setiyono https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0
Maryam a.s/Mary and The Alienation of the Female Body: An Existentialist Feminist Analysis of Pregnancy in Sacred Narratives
This article investigates how the female voice and body are constructed in the annunciation and pregnancy narratives of Maryam in the Qur’an (QS Maryam: 19–20) and Mary in the Gospel of Luke (1:34). The research aims to examine how these sacred texts reflect women’s experiences of alienation and agency in relation to pregnancy, situated within the tension between divine will, patriarchal norms, and autonomy. Methodologically, the study employs a qualitative literature-based approach combined with feminist critical discourse analysis, grounded in Simone de Beauvoir’s existentialist feminism and supported by gender-sensitive hermeneutics. Classical tafsir and biblical commentaries are re-read alongside contemporary feminist theological and philosophical literature to trace how religious authority and cultural expectations shape the meaning of pregnancy. The analysis demonstrates that the narratives of Maryam/Mary encode a recurrent pattern of alienation of the female body: pregnancy appears as something that “happens” to women, their honour is tied to sexual purity, and their consent is articulated within heavily gendered structures. At the same time, the figures of Maryam and Mary retain elements of questioning, resistance, and spiritual strength that disrupt purely passive portrayals. The main contribution of this study lies in proposing an alternative reading of Maryam/Mary as symbols of transcendent, spiritual resistance rather than merely immanent reproductive roles. By highlighting alienation, bounded agency, and embodied subjectivity, the article expands feminist theological discourse. It offers a critical framework for rethinking motherhood, consent, and women’s bodily autonomy in contemporary Muslim and Christian contexts.
Copyright (c) 2025 Selvina Adistia Utami, Iklilah Muzayyanah Dini Fajriyah https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0
A Touch of Destiny: Mappasikarawa as a Manifestation of Transcendental Unity in Bugis Marriage
This research explores the transcendental dimension of mappasikarawa, a Bugis wedding ritual performed after the Islamic ceremony (mappakawing), which marks the groom’s first touch of the bride. This study employs an ethnographic research conducted across Bone, Wajo, and Soppeng regencies from January to December 2023. This research aims to reveal how mappasikarawa reflects the concepts of spiritual responsibility transfer and destiny unification in Bugis culture. Despite variations in practice across regions—such as touching palms in Bone, wrists in Wajo, or foreheads in Soppeng—the ritual's transcendental essence remains a part of the collective consciousness of the Bugis people. The study documents how the ritual has evolved through four historical periods: the pre-Islamic era (before the 17th century), the Islamisation period (17th-19th centuries), the modern era (20th century), and contemporary times (21st century), with each period exhibiting adaptation while maintaining its spiritual significance. Findings also reveal generational differences in perceptions of the ritual's transcendental elements, with younger generations viewing it more as a cultural heritage than a spiritual practice, although many develop a deeper appreciation after experiencing it. This study enriches ritual anthropology by demonstrating how mappasikarawa embodies the integration of social and transcendental dimensions, while also introducing a combined ethnographic–philological method for analysing indigenous rituals.
Copyright (c) 2026 Muhsyanur Muhsyanur, Manivannan Murugesan https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0
Theological Philosophy of Encounter: Fostering Interreligious Dialogue in Pluralistic Societies
This study aims to clarify the role of theological philosophy as a medium for dialogical and interreligious communication in an increasingly pluralistic and globalised world. It seeks to confront epistemological, theological and social barriers that often hinder interfaith dialogue and to propose an inclusive framework grounded in universal ethical values such as love, justice, peace and human dignity. Methodologically, the research adopts a theoretical, descriptive–analytical approach, drawing on key literature in theological philosophy, religious pluralism and interreligious dialogue, with particular attention to the Abrahamic traditions. Through reflective analysis of primary and secondary sources, it identifies major obstacles to interreligious engagement, including divergent epistemological assumptions, historical prejudices, power asymmetries and persistent resistance to pluralism. The findings indicate that a dialogical form of theological philosophy can function as a mediating bridge between religious traditions by emphasising shared ethical commitments without compromising the doctrinal integrity of each faith. Philosophical reflection proves crucial for uncovering common metaphysical and moral ground, for reshaping attitudes to religious “others” and for informing practical strategies, such as dialogical pedagogies, interfaith forums and the constructive use of digital media. The study contributes to current scholarship by integrating theological philosophy more explicitly into both theoretical and practical discussions of interfaith dialogue and by articulating a conceptual framework that links metaphysical reasoning, hermeneutics and social practice. Its implications extend to the promotion of social cohesion in pluralistic societies such as Indonesia, where constitutional pluralism and rich religious diversity coexist with real risks of polarisation.
Copyright (c) 2025 David Ming, Novita Loma Sahertian https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0