BECOMING CHRISTIAN, REMAINING MALAY: A Study of Religious Inculturation among Malay Christians

Suheri Suheri, Ahmad Alif Amin, Maftukha Maftukha

Abstract


This study explores the dynamics of religious identity and cultural adaptation among Malay Christians, a minority community living within the dominant Malay-Islamic culture in the coastal regions of Sumatra, specifically in Riau. The research aims to understand how these Christians negotiate their faith and cultural belonging without perceiving religion and culture as opposing entities. Data were collected through interviews, participant observation, and document analysis of the Malay Christians community. The findings reveal that they not only adopt Christian theology but reinterpret it within the Malay cultural framework. This process manifests in various expressions, such as the use of Malay language in worship, the emphasis on politeness (sopan santun) and communal solidarity (gotong royong), and active participation in interfaith social engagements. The study concludes that Malay Christians exemplify an ongoing process of religious inculturation in Indonesia, where faith and culture coexist and mutually enrich one another. Their religious identity emerges from dynamic social interactions and deep spiritual reflection on local traditions, offering a meaningful contribution to inclusive and civilized interfaith dialogue in Indonesia.

Full Text:

PDF

References


Adimurti, J. (2005). Inkulturasi Musik Gereja di Batak Toba dan Simalungun. HARMONIA: JURNAL PENGETAHUAN DAN PEMIKIRAN SENI.

Agnes Ranubaya, F., Endi, Y., & Widya Sasana Malang, S. (2023). Inkulturasi Dan Pemaknaan Misa Imlek Dalam Gereja Katolik (Tinjauan Fenomenologi Armada Riyanto). Jurnal Ilmu Agama, 6(1). https://jayapanguspress.penerbit.org/index.php/kamaya

Aritonang, J. S. (2018). Christians in Indoensia. In Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Indonesia. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315628837

Bourchier, D., & Jusuf, W. (2023). Liberalism in Indonesia: Between Authoritarian Statism and Islamism. Asian Studies Review, 47(1), 69–87. https://doi.org/10.1080/10357823.2022.2125932

Chang, C., & Listijabudi, D. K. (2024). “Pai Dulu, Yuk!”: Meninjau Inkulturasi Budaya Tionghoa—Jibbok, Maisong, Sangseng, Cengbeng dalam Kekristenan di Indonesia Kaitannya dengan Model Teologi Kontekstual Menurut Bevans dan Klasifikasi Terkait Christ and Culture Menurut Niebuhr. Aradha: Journal of Divinity, Peace and Conflict Studies, 2(3), 215–229. https://doi.org/10.21460/aradha.2022.23.1159

Clifford, G. (1973). The Interpretation of Cultures. Basik Book, Inc., Publishers.

Creswell, J. W. (2013). Qualitative Inquiry & Research Design (L. Habib, Ed.; Third Edit). Vicki Knight.

Droppe, A. (2023). Emotional Ambience in Interaction Rituals: A Conceptional Completion to Emotional Energy. Social Sciences, 12(9). https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci12090509

Eck, D. (2017). Interfaith dialogue in the new religious America. Review & Expositor, 114(1), 25–33. https://doi.org/10.1177/0034637316686079

Ghiland, G., Lattu, I. Y. M., & Tampake, T. R. C. (2025). Eksplorasi Dimensi-Dimensi Lived Religion Dalam Nyanyian Osong Rambu solo’ di Kabupaten Luwu. Jurnal Ilmiah Religiosity Entity Humanity (JIREH), 7(1), 29–44. https://doi.org/10.37364/jireh.v7i1.244

Hanafi, I., & Zahari bin Wan Yusoff, W. (2023). BEYOND ISLAM-MALAY: Hegemony, Exclusion, and Decolonial Resistance in Riau KEYWORD ABSTRACT. Asia Pacific Journal on Religion and Society, 91(2). http://ejournal.uin-suska.ac.id/index.php/asiapacific/index

Jie, M. (2023). Model Antropologis Menurut Stephen B. Bevans dan Relevansinya Bagi Mahasiswa Perantauan Di Kota Malang. Perspektif, Jurnal Agama Dan Kebudayaan, 18, 127–137.

Johannessen, L. E. F. (2023). Interaction rituals and technology: A review essay. Poetics, 98. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.poetic.2023.101765

Johannessen, L. E. F., & Collins, R. (2024). The future of interaction rituals: an interview with Randall Collins. Theory and Society, 53(6), 1491–1504. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11186-024-09587-y

Khotimah, K., Khairiyah, K., Yeli, S., & Syarifandi, S. (2022). ANTARA KOMUNITAS MUSLIM, KRISTEN DAN KATOLIK Salmaini Yeli Suja’i Syarifandi. Toleransi: Media Komunikasi Umat Beragama, 14(2).

Lattu, I. Y. M. (2019). Interreligious Dialogue. Volume 10: Interreligious Dialogue. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004401266

Lattu, Y. M. (2019). Beyond Interreligious Dialogue: Oral-Based Interreligious Engagements in Indoesia. Interreligious Dalogue From Religion to Geopolitics, 10.

Lauterbach, K., & Vähäkangas, M. (2019). Faith in African Lived Christianity. Faith in African Lived Christianity. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004412255

Loudry Malau, C., Raya, T. B., & Endi, Y. (2024). INKULTURASI GEREJA ASIA: SUATU TINJAUAN INKULTURASI DALAM TERANG DOKUMEN FABC. Jurnal Pelayanan Pastoral, (5), 56–66.

Miles, M. B., & Huberman, A. M. (1994). Qualitative data analysis: An expanded sourcebook. SAGE Publications, Inc.

Mossière, G. (2020). Meredith B. McGuire, Lived Religion. Faith and Practice in Everyday Life. Archives de Sciences Sociales Des Religions, 148, 75–342. https://doi.org/10.4000/assr.21167

Oloan Tumanggor, R. (2021). Inkulturasi Iman Kristen dalam Konteks Budaya Batak: Suatu Tinjauan Misiologis. The New Perspective in Theology and Religious Studies, 2(2), 37–48. http://journalsttcipanas.ac.id/index.php/NPTRS/

Rama, M., Fakultas, K., Dan, T., Kristen, S., Agama, I., Toraja, K. N., Kalutte’, N., Teologi, F., Padudung, E., Palantia, A., Krisma, M., & Fakultas, D. (2025). INKULTURASI IMAN KRISTEN DALAM BUDAYA TORAJA: TELAAH TEOLOGIS TERHADAP PRAKTIK RAMBU SOLO’ DAN PEMAKNAANNYA DALAM TERANG INJIL. Sosial Dan Bisnis, 3(1), 123–132.

Rukiyanto, B. A. (2007). Interculturation as threefold dialogue: Learning experience from the church in Asia. In Ultimate Reality and Meaning (Vol. 30, Number 2, pp. 165–173). University of Toronto Press. https://doi.org/10.3138/uram.30.2.165

Rukiyanto, B. A. (2019). Inculturation in the Catholic Church in Indonesia. Journal of Asian Orientation in Theology, 31–48. https://doi.org/10.24071/jaot.2019.010103

Sasongko, M. H. (n.d.). Gereja Karismatik dan Inkulturasi Musik di Dalam Sistem Ibadahnya.

Shih, C., & Kim, K. H. (n.d.). ROUTLEDGE HANDBOOK OF EAST ASIAN TRANSLATION. Retrieved www.routledge.com/languages/book-series/

Suheri & Fatwa, H. (2022). TOWARDS AN INTERRELIGIOUS ENGAGEMENT: A Case Study of Paguyuban Eklasing Budi Murko (PEBM) in Kulon Progo, Yogyakarta. Religio: Jurnal Studi Agama-Agama, 12(1).

Turner, B. S. (2017). Ritual, belief and habituation: Religion and religions from the axial age to the Anthropocene. European Journal of Social Theory, 20(1), 132–145. https://doi.org/10.1177/1368431016645355

Wiwin, R. (n.d.). SEBUAH REFLEKSI PASTORAL INKULTURASI BUDAYA JAWA DALAM PENGHAYATAN IMAN KATOLIK IMPLIKASINYA DALAM KEGIATAN MISA JUMÁT LEGI. Jurnal REINHA, VIII.




DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.24014/nusantara.v22i1.39560

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


 

  Nusantara; Journal for Southeast Asian Islamic Studies Indexed By:

   JMPID TELAH TERAKREDITASI SINTA 5 | Jurnal Manajemen Pendidikan Islam Darussalam (JMPID)

Mailing Address:

Nusantara Journal for Southeast Asian Islamic Studies is published by Institute for Southeast Asian Islamic Studies (ISAIS) Universitas Islam Negeri Sultan Syarif Kasim Riau.

Gedung Islamic Center Lt. I Universitas Islam Negeri Sultan Syarif Kasim Riau, Jl. H.R. Soebrantas Km. 15 No. 155 Kelurahan Simpang Baru Kecamatan Tampan Pekanbaru - Riau 28293, PO. BOX 1004.