Intrinsic Religious Orientation and Moral Foundations among Muslim Academics in Makassar: An Indian Ocean Muslim Studies Perspective

Abstrak

How Muslims internalize their faith shapes the moral character they bring to their professional lives, yet the lived relationship between intrinsic religious orientation and moral foundations remains underexplored in Indonesian Islamic higher education. This study examines how intrinsic religious orientation manifests in the moral foundations of Muslim academics in Makassar. Using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), six lecturers were screened with an adapted intrinsic–extrinsic religious orientation measure, and four who met the study's operational criterion for dominant intrinsic orientation were selected for in-depth interviews. The analysis identified five group experiential themes: intrinsic religiosity as an internalized source of moral conduct; the lecturer role as an act of worship; spirituality as active coping; psychological burdens associated with expectations of public piety; and the reframing of exhaustion as meaningful. Care and fairness were prominent in participants' moral accounts, while the sacralization of professional work was interpreted in relation to the purity foundation. Authority and loyalty appeared in individual configurations. Tawakkal (trust in God) was explicitly articulated by two participants, while three described reframing exhaustion through religious meaning. These findings reveal shared moral concerns expressed through distinct religious and professional experiences. Situated within Makassar's historical connections to Indian Ocean Islamic scholarly networks, the study offers a contextual understanding of lived Islamic morality and recommends further inquiry across religious-orientation types and other Muslim coastal communities.

Kata kunci

• Intrinsic Religious Orientation
• Moral Foundations
• Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis
• Indian Ocean Muslim Studies
• Makassar