More open forums must be held at universities to exchange ideas. Academic platforms like this are considered to be effective in combating ideologies that promote exclusiveness and intolerance.
JAKARTA, KOMPAS — A Setara Institute survey on religious practices among students at 10 public universities has found no correlation between the frequency of accessing social media content that promotes intolerance with an individual’s exclusive stance in social interaction. An individual’s religious practice and their views on tolerance are very complex and influenced by many things, from education to family upbringing and to social environments.
Individuals from families that follow moderate religions and who have a broad social network are generally better able to resist the influence of intolerant content on social media. This also applies to individuals who were raised in a homogeneous environment and have a tendency towards religious exclusion. Lectures on Pancasila, nationalism and tolerance will not work in combating ideologies that promote exclusion and intolerance, because individual mindsets are shaped early.
"The most effective way is to hold on-campus discourses. All understandings of religion can be discussed from a variety of critical viewpoints. This will help students develop intellectual arguments and open their minds to a variety of perspectives on religious values," senior researcher Nuryamin Aini of the Setara Institute said on Sunday (30/6/2019) in Jakarta.
The Setara Institute released the results of its survey on the religious practices of students at 10 state universities (PTN). The survey, conducted over the first six months of the year, involved 1,000 students at the University of Indonesia (UI), Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta State University, Airlangga University, Brawijaya University, University of Mataram, Bandung Institute of Technology, Bogor Agricultural University (IPB), Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University-Jakarta and UIN Sunan Gunung Djati-Bandung.
Critical thinking
Setara Institute deputy chair Bonar Tigor Naipospos said that campus religious organizations should not be hegemonized by a particular group. Higher education institutions must ensure a diversity of ideas so that dynamic lectures can be held to develop critical and progressive thinking.
The survey measured the students’ religious tendencies on a scale ranging from 0 for very conservative to 5 for very tolerant. An interesting finding is that acceptance of different views or schools of thought in a particular religion scored only 2.32, while acceptance of different religions scored 4.17.
"This means that people are more accepting of different religions than different views or schools
in one religion," said Nuryamin. The finding underlined the reality that religious conflict occurs primarily because its followers do not accept different interpretations of their religious teachings.
UI vice rector Bambang Wibawarta said that academic freedom was upheld in lectures and in student organizations. "There is a condition: It is only to be used in the exchange of ideas, not practical politics," he said.
IPB rector Arif Satria said that the agricultural university also ensured academic freedom in the curriculum and in debate by promoting rational arguments. (DNE)