Religious Moderation as Social Praxis: Religion as a Need in the Lived Experience of Pesantren (Islamic Boarding School)

Abstract

Background: Discourse on religious moderation is frequently understood normatively and regulatively through top down policy programs that risk becoming detached from the actual experiences of believers. Objective: This study aims to analyze how perceiving religion as a human need contributes to the formation of religious moderation as a social praxis within the pesantren environment. Methods: This study employs a reflective qualitative method grounded in an insider position, with data collected through continuous observation, interviews, and literature study. Results: The findings reveal that religious moderation is experienced as a social praxis emerging from everyday religious experience (lived religion). Moderation values are manifested through the moral leadership of scholars (kiai), persuasive language, and prudent institutional role boundaries to maintain social harmony. Although effective in dampening open conflicts, this strategy of self restraint leaves boundaries in addressing structural problems. Conclusion: This study concludes that religious moderation is a dynamic and contextual social process rather than a completed normative indicator. Contribution: This study contributes to enriching religious studies by offering a new framework for religious moderation grounded in lived religion and social praxis in society.