Religious Moderation in Indonesia’s Plural Space: A Perspective Inspired by Homi K. Bhabha
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25217/jf.v10i1.6211Keywords:
Interreligious Relations, Religious Moderation, Third SpaceAbstract
The development of interreligious studies has increasingly gained significant attention in global academic literature. However, most existing research still tends to focus on the dynamics of interreligious relations in Western countries. Theoretical and practical contributions from the Asian region—including the richness and complexity of its interreligious interactions—have not yet received adequate scholarly attention. This article aims to analyze interreligious relations in Indonesia by referring to field data collected through interviews with Muslim, Christian, and Kaharingan communities in the Central Kalimantan region. Using Homi K. Bhabha’s theoretical framework of the Third Space, this study highlights how interfaith interactions unfold among Islamic, Christian, and local Kaharingan communities in two villages: Pendahara and Tumbang Kalang, in the province of Central Kalimantan. This research explores how the narrative and practice of the third space emerge in interfaith relations, whether at the personal, institutional, or societal level. This study adopts a descriptive-qualitative approach with social-cognitive discourse analysis across three dimensions: micro, meso, and macro. The study’s findings indicate that the region’s diverse religious communities are capable of living peacefully side by side, strongly supported by the local socio-cultural context rich in heritage values. Cultural elements such as Indonesian-style communalism and a spirit of collectivity serve as key drivers in fostering harmonious interfaith relationships. The study concludes that these communities actively construct “third spaces”—shared spaces that allow for common ground in diversity, while still maintaining the uniqueness of each religious identity.
References
Ahmed, I. S., & Mufaizin, M. (2022). The Concepts of Religious Maturity in The Application of Inter-Religious Education Model in Islamic Education. Al-Insyiroh: Jurnal Studi Keislaman, 8(2), 82–97. https://doi.org/10.35309/alinsyiroh.v8i2.5878
Akrim, A., Rudianto, & Adhani, A. (2021). Interactive effects of stoicism and religious coping on psychological distress, fatigue and intercultural communication. Journal of Ethnic and Cultural Studies, 8(4), 214–237. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejecs/920
Arifin, A. (2023). Konsep Moderasi Beragama Perspektif Lukman Hakim Saifuddin. Innovative: Journal Of Social Science Research, 3(6), 6272–6287. https://j-innovative.org/index.php/Innovative/article/view/6647
Aritonang, A. (2023). Agama dan Masyarakat Suatu Pengantar Sosiologi Agama. Voice of HAMI: Jurnal Teologi dan Pendidikan Agama Kristen, 6(1), 48–53. https://doi.org/10.59830/voh.v6i1.91
Bhabha, H. K. (2012). The Location of Culture. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203820551
Bhandari, N. B. (2022). Homi K. Bhabha’s third space theory and cultural identity today: a critical review. Prithvi Academic Journal, 171–181. https://doi.org/10.3126/paj.v5i1.45049
Buber, M. (2003). Between Man and Man. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203220092
Bungin, B. (2006). Metode Penelitian Kualitatif. Google
Cheetham, D., Pratt, D., Thomas, D. R., & Thomas, D. (2013). Understanding Interreligious Relations. Oxford University Press. Google
Djam’an, S., & Komariah, A. (2010). Metodologi Penelitian Kualitatif. Bandung: alfabeta.Google
Francis, L. J., & Pocock, N. (2009). Personality and religious maturity. Pastoral Psychology, 57, 235–242. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11089-008-0178-2
Fuss, D. (2013). Essentially speaking: Feminism, nature and difference. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203699294
Hadijaya, Y., Fahrezi, M., Intan, N., Wasiyem, W., Zakiyah, N., & Azhari, M. T. (2024). Konsep multikulturalisme dan pluralisme dalam pendidikan. JIIP-Jurnal Ilmiah Ilmu Pendidikan, 7(3), 3101–3108. https://doi.org/10.54371/jiip.v7i3.3790
Haluti, F., Judijanto, L., Apriyanto, A., Hamadi, H. H., Bawa, D. L., & Kalip, K. (2025). Moderasi Beragama: Menciptakan Suasana Kondusif Keberagaman Agama di Indonesia. PT. Green Pustaka Indonesia. Google
Haryanto, J. T. (2015). Relasi Agama dan Budaya dalam Hubungan Intern Umat Islam. Jurnal SMART (Studi Masyarakat, Religi, Dan Tradisi), 1(1). https://doi.org/10.18784/smart.v1i1.228
Hasanah, D. N. U., Basalamah, R., & Farida, E. (2022). Quality Control of The Internalization of Religious Maturity. Nazhruna: Jurnal Pendidikan Islam, 5(2), 876–886. https://doi.org/10.31538/nzh.v5i2.2319
Hedges, P. (2013). Interreligious studies. Encyclopedia of sciences and religions, 1076–1080. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-8265-8_1676
Jamaluddin, J. (2022). Implementasi Moderasi Beragama Di Tengah Multikulturalitas Indonesia. As-Salam: Jurnal Ilmiah Ilmu-Ilmu Keislaman, 7(1), 1–13. https://journal.stai-yamisa.ac.id/index.php/assalam/article/view/62
Jones, B. D., Dickson, M. E., Ford, M., Hikuroa, D., Ryan, E., Carrington, A., & Chetham, J. (2025). Braiding archaeology, geomorphology and indigenous knowledge to improve the understanding of local-scale coastal change. Cambridge Prisms: Coastal Futures, 3, e2. https://doi.org/10.1017/cft.2024.18
Jugan, W., Pandor, P., Riyanto, F. X. E. A., Amabugis, H., & Santos, C. G. D. (2025). Mengulas Relasi Mayoritas dan Minoritas dalam Kehidupan Beragama di Indonesia Menurut Filsafat Wajah Emmanuel Levinas. Kamaya: Jurnal Ilmu Agama, 8(1), 35–55. https://doi.org/10.37329/kamaya.v8i1.3779
Khalifa, F. Ben. (2025). Reconceiving Translation: Homi Bhabha’s Hybridity and the Third Space in Literary Translation. International Journal of Translation and Interpretation Studies, 5(2), 16–26. https://doi.org/10.32996/ijtis.2025.5.2.2
Kristensen, K. B., Pedersen, D. M., & Williams, R. N. (2001). Profiling religious maturity: The relationship of religious attitude components to religious orientations. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 40(1), 75–86. https://doi.org/10.1111/0021-8294.00039
Kusuma, M. P. H. (2021). Kearifan lokal bapalas sebagai alternatif penyelesaian peristiwa pidana di Desa Tumbang Kalang Kabupaten Kotawaringin Timur. IAIN Palangka Raya. Google
Leak, G. K., & Fish, S. B. (1999). Development and initial validation of a measure of religious maturity. The International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 9(2), 83–103. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327582ijpr0902_1
Leirvik, O. (2014). Interreligious studies: A relational approach to religious activism and the study of religion. A&C Black. https://doi.org/10.5040/9781472594655
Mahamid, M. N. L. (2023). Moderasi Beragama: Pandangan Lukman Hakim Saifuddin Terhadap Kehidupan Beragama Di Indonesia. Islamika: Jurnal Ilmu-Ilmu Keislaman, 23(1), 19–31. https://doi.org/10.32939/islamika.v23i1.2375
Mahdayeni, M., Alhaddad, M. R., & Saleh, A. S. (2019). Manusia dan Kebudayaan (Manusia dan Sejarah Kebudayaan, Manusia dalam Keanekaragaman Budaya dan Peradaban, Manusia dan Sumber Penghidupan). Tadbir: Jurnal Manajemen Pendidikan Islam, 7(2), 154–165. https://doi.org/10.30603/tjmpi.v7i2.1125
Meredith, P. (1998). Hybridity in the Third Space: Rethinking Bi-cultural Politics in Aotearoa/New Zealand Paper Presented to Te Oru Rangahau Maori Research and Development Conference 7-9 July 1998. Meredith Hybridity in the third space: rethinking bi-cultural politics in Aotearoa/New Zealand Te Oru Rangahau Maori Research and development Conference, 7–9. http://www.hepukengakorero.com/index.php/HPK/article/view/151
Moleong, L. J. (2012). Metodologi penelitian kualitatif, Bandung. Pariwisata Pedesaan Sebagai Alternatif Pembangunan Berkelanjutan (Laporan Penelitian Hibah Bersaing Perguruan Tinggi) Yogyakarta. Google
Munir, M., Azis, A., & Rosi, B. (2022). Pendampingan Literasi Peacebuilding Dengan Pendekatan Dakwah Persuasif Pasca Konflik Suku Dayak Madura Pada Komunitas Masyarakat Pengungsi Suku Madura. Ulumuna: Jurnal Studi Keislaman, 8(2), 407–424. https://doi.org/10.36420/ju.v8i2.6249
Muri Yusuf, dan I. fahmi. (2014). ”Metode Penelitian Kuantitatif, Kualitatif, Dan Penelitian Gabungan”. Kencana. Google
Nipkow, K. E. (2018). God, human nature and education for peace: New approaches to moral and religious maturity. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315197234
Park, E. (2021). A study on the method of Church education for the elderly’s religious maturity. Journal of Christian Education in Korea, 67, 77–116. https://doi.org/10.17968/jcek.2021..67.003
Patel, E. (2013). Toward a Field of Interfaith Studies. Liberal Education, 99(4), n4. https://ejournal.radenintan.ac.id/index.php/KALAM/article/view/3394/2381
Pourmokhtar, S., & Marasy, M. (2020). Analysis of Third Space Possibility in Iranian Contemporary Painting Based on the Homi K. Bhabhas Post-Colonial Thoughts. Negareh Journal, 15(56), 109–119. https://doi.org/10.22070/negareh.2020.3128
Pratama, F. A. L., Trisiana, A., Anggraini, N. N., Kurniawati, L. S., Nugraha, A. S., & Nawangsih, A. T. (2023). Implementasi Nilai Pancasila dalam Bhinneka Tunggal Ika Sebagai Alat Pemersatu Bangsa di Era Generasi Milenial. Unisri Press. Google
Rahmana, Z. S. (2018). Resolusi Konflik Sosial Keagamaan Di Kota Bandung. Religious: Jurnal Studi Agama-Agama Dan Lintas Budaya, 2(2), 162–173. https://doi.org/10.15575/rjsalb.v2i2.3105
Ruslan, I. (2018). Dimensi Kearifan Lokal Masyarakat Lampung sebagai Media Resolusi Konflik. Kalam, 12(1), 105–126. https://doi.org/10.24042/klm.v12i1.2347
Stanton, J. (2014). Inter-religious studies: a field of its own? Huffington Post. Google
Sudijono, A. (2012). Metode Penelitian Kombinasi. Bandung: Alfabeta. Google
Sulistiawati, Y. (2023). Studi interaksi sosial-kemasyarakatan umat beragama melalui kegiatan hapakat moderasi dalam penguatan toleransi di kelurahan pendahara kabupaten katingan. Alkadimat, 1(1), 23–39. https://ejournal.uinsalatiga.ac.id/index.php/alkadimat/article/view/477
Sulong, R. H. R., Abd Rahman, M. Z., & Hussain, A. M. (2019). The development of a multi-ethnic and multi-religious society in Malaysia. Journal of Al-Tamaddun, 14(1), 105–115. https://doi.org/10.22452/JAT.vol14no1.9
Tamburian, H. H. D. (2018). Komunikasi Lintas Budaya Masyarakat Dayak Dalam Menjaga Kerukunan Hidup Umat Beragama. Jurnal Komunikasi, 10(1), 77–86. https://doi.org/10.24912/jk.v10i1.1220
Tyurikov, A. G., Gostev, A. N., Bolshunov, A. Y., & Bolshunova, S. A. (2021). The religious factor in intercultural communication and international relations. European Journal of Science and Theology, 17(1), 49–61. Google
Usman, A. R., Sulaiman, A., Fauzan, A., Zulyadi, T., Salahuddin, A., Putri, N., Jannah, M., & Misra, L. (2024). Religious Moderation Through Persia-Aceh Intercultural Communication. Jurnal Ilmiah Islam Futura, 24(2), 471–487. https://doi.org/10.22373/jiif.v24i2.17443
Wantini, W., Sulastri, S., & Mahmudah, K. N. L. (2024). Review of Islamic Psychology: Building Correlations of Religious Maturity in Islamic Education. Psikis: Jurnal Psikologi Islami, 10(1), 59–68. https://doi.org/10.19109/psikis.v10i1.13232
Wijsen, F. J. S. (2007). Seeds of Conflict in a haven of peace: From religious studies to interreligious studies in Africa (Nomor 44). Rodopi. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789401204286
Wilson, W. U. (2022). Relasi Islam–Dayak di Kota Palangka Raya Kalimantan Tengah. Jurnal Pendidikan Tambusai-Relasi Islam–Dayak di Kota Palangka Raya Kalimantan Tengah, 5(3), 11105–11122. Google
Yenuri, A. A., Islamy, A., Aziz, M., & Muhandy, R. S. (2021). Paradigma Toleransi Islam Dalam Merespons Kemajemukan Hidup Di Indonesia:(Studi Analisis Pemikiran KH Ahmad Shiddiq). Poros Onim: Jurnal Sosial Keagamaan, 2(2), 141–156. https://doi.org/10.53491/porosonim.v2i2.216
Zahra, M. (2025). Membangun Identitas Nasional di Tengah Keragaman: Peran Multikulturalisme dalam Persatuan Indonesia. Journal of Islamic Education Studies, 3(2), 120–128. https://doi.org/10.58569/jies.v3i2.1115
Zammad Aslam, M., Alsharairi, A., Hussein Hakeem Barzani, S., Alyaqoub, R., & Yusof, N. (2024). The social neuroscience of persuasion approach to the religious intercultural communication: A conceptual evidence from Sidhwa’s novel ‘An American Brat.’ Journal of Intercultural Communication, 24(2). https://doi.org/10.36923/jicc.v24i2.629
Zubir, Z., & Halim, R. (2020). Analisis wacana kritis: Satu pengenalan umum. Journal of Communication in Scientific Inquiry (JCSI), 2(1), 57–64. https://ejournal.unimap.edu.my/index.php/jcsi/article/view/907
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 I Wayan Suasta
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:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.
