Religious Pluralism in Indonesia’s National Curriculum: A Critical Review of Interfaith Religious Education
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54069/attaqwa.v22i2.1169Keywords:
Interfaith Religious Education, Kurikulum Merdeka , Kurikulum 2013 , Religious Moderation, Religious PluralismAbstract
This study critically examines how interfaith themes and religious pluralism are represented in Indonesia’s national religious education curricula by comparing two of Indonesia’s latest curricula: Kurikulum 2013 (K13) and Kurikulum Merdeka (KM). Although Indonesia is characterized by profound religious diversity and an official commitment to moderasi beragama (religious moderation), religious instruction remains confessional and segregated by student affiliation. Using a qualitative document-based approach, this research analyzes curriculum frameworks, policy documents, and secondary-level textbooks through curriculum content analysis and critical discourse analysis. The findings reveal that K13 primarily emphasizes doctrinal consolidation and moralistic tolerance, offering limited substantive engagement with religious others. Interfaith relations are framed largely in abstract or cautionary terms, reinforcing a mono-religious learning model. In contrast, Kurikulum Merdeka (KM) introduces a discursive shift toward pluralism, particularly through the Profil Pelajar Pancasila and project-based P5 modules, which create opportunities for dialogical and experiential engagement with diversity. However, the confessional structure of religious education persists, and implementation varies across contexts. The study concludes that while Kurikulum Merdeka (KM) signals important ideological and pedagogical progress, structural constraints and uneven teacher preparedness continue to limit the development of meaningful interfaith religious literacy in Indonesia’s plural society.
Downloads
References
Alayan, S., Rohde, A., & Dhouib, S. (2012). The politics of education reform in the Middle East: Self and other in textbooks and curricula. Berghahn Books.
Amalia, E. R. (2025). Leveraging Religious Capital: Teacher Agency and Curriculum Reform in Indonesian Islamic Schools. Tafkir: Interdisciplinary Journal of Islamic Education, 6(4), 946-965. https://doi.org/10.31538/tijie.v6i4.2214
Amalia, E. R., Khoiriyati, S., Ummah, N., Oviani, M., Kusumawardhani, J., & Umayyah, U. (2024). Bridging Educational Reform and Faith: Evaluating Kurikulum Merdeka's Compatibility with Islamic Values in Madrasahs. Munaddhomah: Jurnal Manajemen Pendidikan Islam, 5(4), 483-500. https://doi.org/10.31538/munaddhomah.v5i4.1413
Amalia, E. R., Yuliansyah, M., Agustyarini, Y., Sunnah, M. L., Nasucha, J. A., & Kusrini, N. A. R. (2025). Habitus and Change: Phenomenological Insights into Curriculum Adaptation in Indonesian Islamic Schools. Nazhruna: Jurnal Pendidikan Islam, 8(2), 363-381. https://doi.org/10.31538/nzh.v8i2.134
Ananta, A., Arifin, E. N., & Hasbullah, M. S. (2015). Demography of Indonesia's ethnicity. ISEAS Publishing. https://doi.org/doi:10.1355/9789814519885
Apple, M. (2004). Ideology and curriculum. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203487563
Arifianto, A. R. (2019). Islamic campus preaching organizations in Indonesia: Promoters of moderation or radicalism? Asian Security, 15(3), 323-342. https://doi.org/10.1080/14799855.2018.1461086
Azra, A., & Thaha, I. (2020). Moderasi Islam di Indonesia : dari ajaran, ibadah, hingga perilaku. Kencana. https://cir.nii.ac.jp/crid/1970586434797801384
Banks, J. A. (2008). Diversity, group identity, and citizenship education in a global age. Educational Researcher, 37(3), 129-139. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189x08317501
Bjork, C. (2003). Local responses to decentralization policy in Indonesia. Comparative Education Review, 47(2), 184-216. https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/epdf/10.1086/376540
Bowen, G. A. (2009). Document analysis as a qualitative research method. Qualitative research journal, 9(2), 27-40. https://doi.org/10.3316/QRJ0902027
BPS-Statistics Indonesia. (2023). Statistical yearbook of Indonesia 2023. https://www.bps.go.id/id
BSKAP. (2022). Dimensi, elemen, dan subelemen Profil Pelajar Pancasila pada Kurikulum Merdeka. Kementerian Pendidikan, Kebudayaan, Riset, dan Teknologi. https://kurikulum.kemdikbud.go.id/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/V.2-Dimensi-elemen-subelemen-Profil-Pelajar-Pancasila-pada-Kurikulum-Merdeka.pdf
Dinham, A., & Francis, M. (2015). Religious literacy in policy and practice. Policy Press.
du Preez, P., & Simmonds, S. (2021). Reading posthumanism and decolonisation diffractively towards (re)configuring an ontoepistemic approach to religion education. British Journal of Religious Education, 43(1), 80-90. https://doi.org/10.1080/01416200.2020.1809993
Eisner, E. W. (1979). The educational imagination : on the design and evaluation of school programs. Macmillan,Collier Macmillan. https://cir.nii.ac.jp/crid/1971430859815438916
Fairclough, N. (2003). Textual analysis for social research. In: London: Routledge.
Gearon, L. (2013). MasterClass in religious education: Transforming teaching and learning. A&C Black.
Giroux, H. A., & Penna, A. N. (1979). Social education in the classroom: The dynamics of the hidden curriculum. Theory & Research in Social Education, 7(1), 21-42. https://doi.org/10.1080/00933104.1979.10506048
Government of Indonesia. (2023). Peraturan Presiden (Perpres) Nomor 58 Tahun 2023 tentang penguatan moderasi beragama (58) [Peraturan Perundang-undangan]. Database Peraturan. https://peraturan.bpk.go.id/Details/265185/perpres-no-58-tahun-2023
Hadiz, V. R. (2016). Islamic populism in Indonesia and the Middle East. Cambridge University Press.
Hefner, R. W. (2019). Whatever happened to civil Islam? Islam and democratisation in Indonesia, 20 years on. Asian Studies Review, 43(3), 375-396. https://doi.org/10.1080/10357823.2019.1625865
Hefner, R. W., & Hefner, R. W. (2011). Civil Islam: Muslims and democratization in Indonesia. Princeton University Press. https://doi.org/doi:10.1515/9781400823871
Hilmy, M. (2013). Whither Indonesia's Islamic moderatism? A reexamination on the moderate vision of Muhammadiyah and NU. Journal of Indonesian Islam. https://l1nq.com/xIsXB
Jackson, R. (2014). Signposts-policy and practice for teaching about religions and non-religious world views in intercultural education. Council of Europe.
Jeff, H. (2015). Religion In global politics: Explaining deprivatization. Jurnal Ilmiah Peuradeun, 3(2), 199-216.
Kemdikbud. (2014). Konsep dan Implementasi Kurikulum 2013. Kementerian Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan Retrieved from https://www.kemdikbud.go.id/kemdikbud/dokumen/Paparan/Paparan%20Wamendik.pdf
Kemdikbud. (2018). Pendidikan agama Islam dan budi pekerti: Buku siswa SMP/MTs kelas VIII (Edisi revisi). Kementerian Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan. https://buku.kemendikdasmen.go.id/katalog/pendidikan-agama-islam-dan-budi-pekerti-untuk-smp-kelas-viii
Kemdikbud. (2022). Karakteristik Kurikulum Merdeka. Kementerian Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan. Retrieved 30 June from https://kurikulum.kemdikbud.go.id/kurikulum-merdeka/
Kemdikbudristek. (2022). Kurikulum Merdeka. Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia. https://kurikulum.kemendikdasmen.go.id/
Krippendorff, K. (2018). Content analysis: An introduction to its methodology. Sage publications.
Künkler, M., & Stepan, A. C. (2013). Democracy and Islam in Indonesia (Vol. 13). Columbia University Press.
Luke, A. (1995). Chapter 1: Text and discourse in education: An introduction to critical discourse analysis. Review of Research in Education, 21(1), 3-48. https://doi.org/10.3102/0091732x021001003
Margolis, E. (2001). The hidden curriculum in higher education. Psychology Press.
Meer, N., & Modood, T. (2012). How does interculturalism contrast with multiculturalism? Journal of Intercultural Studies, 33(2), 175-196. https://doi.org/10.1080/07256868.2011.618266
Menchik, J. (2016). Islam and democracy in Indonesia: Tolerance without liberalism. Cambridge University Press.
Merriam, S. B., & Tisdell, E. J. (2015). Qualitative research: A guide to design and implementation. John Wiley & Sons.
Mietzner, M., & Muhtadi, B. (2018). Explaining the 2016 Islamist mobilisation in Indonesia: Religious intolerance, militant groups and the politics of accommodation. Asian Studies Review, 42(3), 479-497. https://doi.org/10.1080/10357823.2018.1473335
OECD. (2024). Transforming education in Indonesia: Examining the landscape of current reforms (OECD Education Policy Perspectives, Issue. O. Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/9ff8d407-en
OECD/ADB. (2015). Education in Indonesia: Rising to the challenge (Reviews of National Policies for Education, Issue. O. Publishing.
Pohl, F. (2006). Islamic education and civil society: Reflections on the pesantren tradition in contemporary Indonesia. Comparative Education Review, 50(3), 389-409. https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/503882?journalCode=cer
Raihani. (2012). Report on multicultural education in pesantren. Compare, 42(4), 585-605. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057925.2012.672255
Raihani, R. (2014). Creating multicultural citizens: A portrayal of contemporary Indonesian education. Routledge.
Raihani, R. (2018). Education for multicultural citizens in Indonesia: policies and practices. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 48(6), 992-1009. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057925.2017.1399250
Republic of Indonesia. (2003). Law number 20 of 2003 concerning the National Education System. Jakarta: Ministry of Education
UNESCO. (2015). Global Citizenship Education: Topics and learning objectives. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/52ec6057e4b0f081ced7f862/t/5cd113acb208fc49d0f04ac4/1557205956233/unesco_gced+Topics+and+Learning+Objectives.pdf
van Bruinessen, M. M. (Ed.). (2012). Indonesian Muslims and their place in the wider world of Islam. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.
Widayati, S., & Maulidiyah, E. C. (2018, 2018/12). Religious tolerance in Indonesia Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Education Innovation (ICEI 2018), https://doi.org/10.2991/icei-18.2018.155
Wodak, R., & Meyer, M. (2015). Methods of critical discourse studies. sage.
World Bank. (2023). Indonesia education sector analytical and capacity development partnership report. W. Bank. https://www.worldbank.org/ext/en/country/indonesia
Yusuf, M., & Sterkens, C. (2015). Analysing the state's laws on religious education in post-New Order Indonesia. https://doi.org/10.14421/ajis.2015.531.105-130
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Eka Rizki Amalia
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
