Fragmentation of Religious Authority, Commodification of Sanad, and the Construction of Gen Z Religious Identity on Mobile Applications in Indonesia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15575/jis.v6i3.56123Keywords:
alghoritmic authority, algorithmic authority, digital authenticity paradox, digital bricolage, Z Generation, sanad breakAbstract
This study examines the socio-religious transformation of Indonesian Generation Z Muslims, focusing on the tension between pragmatic digital access and the theological obligation to uphold doctrinal validity through sanad (chains of transmission) and aqidah (creed). Drawing on the concepts of Digital Bricolage, Algorithmic Authority, and the Digital Authenticity Paradox, the study explains how users assemble personalized spiritual resources while software-based validation potentially supplants the authority of spiritual teachers. Employing a critical qualitative netnography, the research combines semi-structured interviews (both offline and online) with digital participant observation of app interactions among urban and suburban Muslims aged 18–26 who are unaffiliated with mass religious organizations and utilize at least three religious apps. Findings indicate that mobile apps fragment traditional religious authority, creating a fluid digital spiritual landscape. "Developer blindness" leads users to prioritize aesthetics and utility over the developers' ideological and scholarly backgrounds, resulting in a breakdown of structural sanad and a decontextualized, fragmented religious understanding—yielding subjective fulfillment alongside a detachment from valid scholarly lineages. The study recommends theological standards for religious apps and urges Islamic organizations to translate sanad and fiqh (jurisprudence) methodologies into interactive infographics, AI tools, and game-based learning. It advances the field of digital religion studies by formulating the Digital Authenticity Paradox and integrating sanad and aqidah as key epistemological variables in the digital religiosity of Southeast Asian Muslims.
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