The Identity of Places of Worship as a Means of Spiritualism and Political Propaganda in Indonesia

Abstract

Indonesia has a unique and diverse religious landscape, with differences in religious life due to the spread of religion assimilated by local culture. This study aims to explain the identity of places of worship as a means of spiritualism in Indonesia. In addition, how are places of worship also possibly a means of disseminating political propaganda. This study used a literature review research methodology through data collection techniques involving reviewing books, relevant literature in academic writings, notes, and various reports related to the article theme of Identity of Places of Worship as a Means of Spiritualism and Political Propaganda in Indonesia. It is known that a place of worship is a gathering place for people who seek to practice their beliefs and their faith, therefore such facilities are vital for inter alia, various religious practices and beliefs to be exercised. However, this maybe different if the existence of a place of worship is used as a means of practical political propaganda dissemination. Places of worship can have two sides of interest, namely first, places of worship are an effective means of spiritualism and spirituality for adherents of religions in self-healing related to psychological and divine values. Spiritualism is the metaphysical belief that the world is comprised of at least two fundamental substances, matter and spirit. There is of course also spirituality which connotes that people recognize and have a feeling or sense or belief that there is something greater than oneself, and thus a lot more to being human than only sensory experiences, and especially that the greater whole of which people are part and parcel, is in essence cosmic or divine in nature. Second, places of worship may also often be abused and used as a means of political propaganda spreading which is carried out intentionally and consciously to strengthen the intention of a political attitude or is an opinion desired by certain parties or even politicians.

The Commodification of Religious Rituals: Representations of Political Actors in Indonesian Elections

“…Religious symbols can influence people's perceptions, represent religious identity, shape images and potential identities in society. However, it can trigger stereotypes and polarization (Nasution et al, 2023;Kusmanto et al, 2023).…”