RELIGIOUS MODERATION VALUES IN SOCIETY: STRENGTHENING SOCIAL COHESION IN PLURAL COMMUNITIES IN INDONESIA
Keywords:
religious moderation, social cohesion, tolerance, plural society, local wisdomAbstract
Plural societies need religious attitudes that protect conviction while preventing exclusion and violence. This article examines the values of religious moderation in society and explains their contribution to social cohesion in plural communities. The study uses a qualitative library research design based on books, policy documents, and scholarly journal articles on wasatiyyah, interreligious dialogue, local wisdom, digital communication, and religious moderation published between 2019 and 2025. The analysis shows that religious moderation is not a reduction of faith, but a balanced way of living religious commitment in public life. Its main social values include justice, tolerance, anti-violence, dialogue, national commitment, and accommodation to local culture. In social practice, these values are expressed through respectful interfaith relations, collaborative community service, inclusive public communication, peaceful conflict resolution, and the rejection of hate speech both offline and online. The study also finds that family socialization, religious institutions, schools, interfaith forums, and local traditions play a crucial role in internalizing moderation. However, identity politics, symbolic tolerance, digital radicalization, and weak interfaith literacy remain major challenges. Therefore, strengthening religious moderation requires an integrated strategy involving value-based education, community collaboration, culture-sensitive policy, and digital literacy. The article concludes that religious moderation should be understood as a public ethic for plural societies because it strengthens trust, social resilience, and harmonious coexistence without erasing theological differences.
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