<![CDATA[Religious education is often treated as a neutral transfer of knowledge, yet it also operates as an ideological practice. This study examines how religious education is represented as local wisdom in four Kusala Sastra Khatulistiwa winning novels, Tanah Tabu, Lampuki, Maryam, and Kura-kura Berjanggut, and tests the feasibility of the proposed Topoideology Model against close reading. Using a qualitative-interpretive comparative multiple-case design, 19 purposively selected quotations were analysed through thematic close reading guided by Eagleton’s ideological questions, coded with five religiosity dimensions (adapted as akidah, ibadah, ihsan, ilmu, and amal), and positioned within a five-category taxonomy of religious ideology. The model’s two layers, topic modelling (LDA, K = 2–6) and taxonomy-based classification, were compared with close reading on coverage, repeatability, and additional findings. The novels form a spectrum: religious education is most integrated with local wisdom when it is informal and communal (Tanah Tabu), whereas institutionalised or discursive forms function as instruments of authority and exclusion (Lampuki, Kura-kura Berjanggut, Maryam). Akidah dominates the coded quotations (53.3%), followed by amal (26.7%), and local-wisdom markers appear in 10 of 19 quotations. The model proved less systematic than close reading, with lower coverage (31.6% versus 63.2%), unstable topics across runs (ARI = 0.018), and labelling agreement of 47.4%. It nevertheless revealed one cross-novel cluster, the moral evaluation of habits, which warrants expert verification. Close reading remains indispensable for capturing irony and context. Pedagogical implications include contextual value learning, critical literacy toward religious authority, and a five-dimension appreciation rubric, though not yet classroom-tested.]]>
