Journal of Educational Studies
Vol. 3 No. 1 (2025): April

Faith-Based Environmental Stewardship as Informal Education: Lessons from Rural Muslim Communities in Lombok, Indonesia

M. Saipul Watoni (STIT Palapa Nusantara Lombok, NTB)
Abdul Haris Rasyidi (STIT Palapa Nusantara Lombok, NTB)



Article Info

Publish Date
30 Apr 2025

Abstract

Purpose: This study explores how faith-based environmental stewardship practices in rural Muslim communities in Lombok, Indonesia, function as an embedded system of informal environmental education. Despite growing scholarly interest in community-based and indigenous approaches to environmental learning, the pedagogical dimensions of Islamic ecological practices in non-Western rural settings remain underexplored. Methodology: Drawing on an ethnographic approach, this study employed participant observation, in-depth semi-structured interviews, and documentary analysis across three rural villages in Lombok over an eight-month period. Thematic analysis guided the interpretation of data from thirty-two community members, including religious leaders, farmers, youth, and women. Results: Four interlocking themes emerged: (1) the mosque and Islamic religious gatherings as ecological classrooms; (2) ritualized environmental practices as lived curriculum; (3) intergenerational transmission of faith-based ecological knowledge through community elders and religious figures; and (4) Islamic faith as an intrinsic motivational framework for pro-environmental agency that transcends fear-based or economic incentive approaches. Conclusions: The findings suggest that faith-based environmental stewardship constitutes a sophisticated, culturally embedded pedagogical system capable of sustaining ecological values across generations. These practices challenge the dominance of formal, school-centred models in environmental education research and offer transferable lessons for place-based, community-anchored environmental education policy and practice globally.

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Journal Info

Abbrev

JEs

Publisher

Subject

Humanities Education Languange, Linguistic, Communication & Media Social Sciences Other

Description

Journal of Educational Studies Journal constitutes a triannual publication which publishes scholarly journals every April, August, and December in a year. It particularly publishes research articles examining issues related to the field of Education, Sciences, Social, Early Childhood Education, ...