Constructing Religious Moderation in Islamic Education: An Integrated Model of Teacher Identity, Religious Authority, and Pedagogical Agency

Abstrak

Religious moderation has become a central objective of Islamic education in many plural societies. However, existing studies predominantly conceptualize it as a normative policy agenda or educational outcome, which provides limited explanation of how teachers construct and enact moderation through their professional experiences. Therefore, this study investigates how Islamic Religious Education (IRE) teachers in Palopo City, Indonesia, develop and practice religious moderation. This investigation is carried out by examining the interplay between religious socialization, changing religious authority, teacher agency, and negotiated religious boundaries. To accomplish this, a qualitative multiple-case study design was employed. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, digital ethnography, and document analysis, involving 12 IRE teachers from one madrasah and seven senior high schools. Data were analyzed thematically using an integrated framework that combines Religious Socialization Theory, the Reconfiguration of Religious Authority, Critical Pedagogy, and Bounded Moderation. The findings reveal that teachers’ religious orientations are shaped through lifelong socialization, which is continuously reconstructed through engagement with both traditional and digital religious authorities. This process is then translated into diverse pedagogical practices and negotiated within theological and civic boundaries when addressing issues such as religious diversity, Pancasila, local culture, and interfaith relations. Moreover, rather than representing a fixed personal characteristic or mere policy compliance, religious moderation emerges as a dynamic educational process. The study also contributes theoretically by proposing an integrated process model that conceptualizes religious moderation as the interaction of teacher identity formation, evolving religious authority, pedagogical agency, and contextual negotiation within Islamic educational settings.