On being a religiously tolerant Muslim: discursive contestations among pre-service teachers in contemporary Indonesia

This study examines the constitution of religiously tolerant subjectivity among Indonesian Muslim pre-service teachers. Complementing existing studies in religious tolerance education which were mainly survey-based and experimental, this qualitative research employed a discourse analysis methodology which connects individual-level analysis with the larger socio-religio-political situations in contemporary Indonesia. Specifically, this study aims to explore discourses drawn upon by young Muslim pre-service teachers to understand religious tolerance in the context of contemporary Indonesia, a Muslim-majority Southeast Asian country struggling to navigate its history of moderate Islam and a recent surge of conservatism. The findings exhibited three key discourses through which participants’ religiously tolerant subjectivity was constituted, namely, a discourse of spiritual Islam, a discourse of postmodern sensibilities, and a discourse of concern over the growing conservative, Islamist, and radical groups. The implications were discussed in relation to how religious tolerance education can be advanced by drawing upon these key discourses.