Minoritization Of Religious Education and Its Efforts To Fulfill The Basic Rights Of Confucian Religious Education Among Ethnic Chinese Students In Schools

Abstract

Religious education is one of the mandatory subjects held in educational institutions from elementary school to university level. The Confucian religion is one of the religions recognized in the Constitution. This research explores and describes the practice of minoritization in spaces of harmony in religious life, especially in educational institutions, as an alternative effort to find steps to fulfil the basic rights of religious education for minority students with minority religions. The practice of domination that occurs is a social reality that cannot be avoided. Bourdieu revealed that in an institution there are rules which contain elements of symbolic violence. The research used a qualitative approach with an intrinsic case study design. Data was obtained from interviews, observation and documentation. Data analysis was carried out by referring to what Beckker put forward: data collection, condensation, data display, and concluding. The results of the research show that in primary school educational institutions, there is a practice of minoritization of students of ethnic Chinese descent who are Confucian. These practices include the unavailability of Confucian religious education teachers, the homogenization of the religious education lesson curriculum, and the direction of Confucian religious students to take classes and final exams in Islamic religious studies. This policy (in Bourdieu's view) reflects symbolic violence against educational agents which is very subtle without causing resistance. Alternative efforts to fulfill the basic rights of religious education in schools are carried out by empowering local religious institutions, merging religious education classes between schools, and recruiting religious education teachers.