Between Tolerance and Theological Boundaries: Religious Moderation as Hidden Curriculum in an Indonesian Pesantren

Aris Dwi Nugroho (Program Studi Manajemen Pendidikan Islam, Universitas Islam Negeri Sulthan Thaha Saifuddin Jambi, Indonesia)

Jurnal At-Tarbiyat : Jurnal Pendidikan Islam
Vol. 8 No. 3 (2025): Digital Cultural Transformation and Islamic Character Education

This study examines how Indonesia's religious moderation policy is enacted within Islamic Religious Education at Pesantren An-Nur Tangkit, Jambi, focusing on implementation mechanisms and how local religious authorities bound moderation's meaning. Using a qualitative case study design, in-depth interviews were conducted with sixteen informants: the kyai, five PAI teachers, and ten santri, analyzed via Miles and Huberman's thematic model. Findings show moderation operates almost entirely as a hidden curriculum, transmitted through incidental explanation, implicit lesson planning, fiqh instruction on juristic disagreement, teacher modeling, and residential life rather than codified content. Santri corroborated this pattern by citing the same informal activities, though half had never encountered the term "moderasi beragama" itself, indicating internalization independent of policy vocabulary. The kyai further articulated a boundary distinguishing respect from theological recognition, reflecting an inclusivist rather than pluralist orientation. These findings suggest moderation policy and teacher training should attend to informal transmission pathways and recognize moderation's meaning as actively bounded, not theologically neutral, in practice.