Kamsi Kamsi, Very Julianto, Mu'tashim Billah

Marriage as Culmination Rather than Cause: Religious Conversion among Ethnic Chinese in Belitung

Introduction

Marriage as culmination rather than cause: religious conversion among ethnic chinese in belitung. Explore religious conversion to Islam among ethnic Chinese in Belitung. Marriage acts as the culmination of prior religious exploration, influenced by historical context and gender dynamics.

Abstract

The state guarantees freedom of religious expression for all its citizens, regardless of their beliefs. However, during the New Order era, this freedom was paradoxically curtailed, particularly for individuals of Chinese descent. Chinese Indonesians were prohibited from openly expressing their Chinese identity, including through religious affiliation. They were compelled to reidentify their religion under one of the five officially recognized religions at the time. When it comes to marriage registration, many individuals converted to one of these state-recognized religions. This article sheds light on the extent to which faith and love are intertwined in the phenomenon of religious conversion to Islam in Belitung. Employing a snowball sampling method, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 15 ethnic Chinese individuals from Belitung, aged between 30 and 63 years. These informants were Chinese Indonesians who converted to Islam following the legalization of Confucianism. The results reveal that marriage functioned as a pivotal factor in the religious conversion process among ethnic Chinese in Belitung, serving not as the initial impetus but rather as the culmination of an extended period of religious exploration. Male participants frequently reported earlier exposure to Islamic education and social environments, indicative of a phase characterized by exploration and engagement prior to formalizing their religious commitment through marriage. Conversely, female participants appeared to be more profoundly influenced by cultural norms emphasizing spousal loyalty and the legal-religious frameworks governing marriage in Indonesia. Negara menjamin ekspresi keagamaan setiap warga negara, apapun keyakinannya. Paradoksnya, kebebasan beragama di Era Orde Baru dibatasi, khususnya kepada keturunan Tionghoa. Orang Tionghoa tidak diperbolehkan untuk mengekspresikan ketionghoaan mereka dalam bentuk apapun, termasuk agama. Mereka harus mengidentifikasi kembali agama mereka menjadi salah satu dari lima agama resmi pada saat itu. Untuk memudahkan proses administrasi, salah satunya perkawinan, mereka mengonversi agama menjadi salah satu agama yang diakui negara. Artikel ini menyoroti sejauh mana keyakinan dan cinta saling berkaitan dalam pengalaman konversi agama ke Islam para etnis Tionghoa di Belitung. Dengan menggunakan teknik sampeling bola salju, kami melakukan wawancara individu semi terstruktur dengan 15 etnis Tionghoa Belitung yang berusia 30 hingga 63 tahun. Narasumber adalah orang Tionghoa yang memilih untuk melakukan konversi agama ke Islam, setelah disahkannya Konfusianisme. Temuan menunjukkan bahwa pernikahan memainkan peran yang menentukan dalam konversi agama etnis Tionghoa di Belitung, bukan sebagai penyebab utama tetapi sebagai puncak komitmen dalam proses eksplorasi agama yang lebih panjang. Peserta laki-laki sering mengalami paparan lebih awal terhadap pendidikan Islam dan lingkungan sosial, mencerminkan tahap pencarian dan pertemuan sebelum mengukuhkan komitmen mereka melalui pernikahan. Sebaliknya, peserta perempuan lebih kuat dipengaruhi oleh ekspektasi budaya akan kesetiaan kepada suami dan kerangka hukum-agama pernikahan di Indonesia.

Review

This article offers a timely and insightful exploration into the complex phenomenon of religious conversion among ethnic Chinese in Belitung, specifically focusing on the shift to Islam. By situating these conversions within the historical context of the New Order era's restrictive policies on Chinese identity and religion, the authors effectively highlight the paradoxical nature of religious freedom in Indonesia. The central argument—that marriage functions as a culmination rather than an initial cause of religious conversion—challenges conventional understandings and provides a nuanced perspective on the interplay between faith, love, and socio-political pressures. The use of semi-structured interviews with 15 ethnic Chinese individuals, employing snowball sampling, allows for a deep dive into personal narratives that quantitative methods might miss. A significant strength of the research lies in its ability to differentiate between the experiences of male and female converts. The finding that male participants often underwent a more extended period of exposure to Islamic education and social environments prior to marriage-related conversion suggests a deliberate, exploratory phase. In contrast, the emphasis on cultural norms of spousal loyalty and the legal-religious frameworks governing marriage for female participants illuminates how societal expectations and practicalities profoundly shape women's religious journeys. This gendered analysis adds considerable depth to the understanding of individual agency within broader structural constraints, making a valuable contribution to studies on religious conversion, interfaith marriage, and ethnic identity in Indonesia. The choice of Belitung as a specific locale further grounds the research in a particular socio-cultural context, enriching its findings. While the abstract provides a compelling overview, it also raises several questions that the full article would ideally address in detail. The specific timing of the conversions "following the legalization of Confucianism" is particularly intriguing; if Confucianism was an option, what were the precise drivers for choosing Islam as the ultimate commitment, especially within the "culmination" framework? Further elaboration on the nature and duration of the "extended period of religious exploration" for male participants, and how these internal processes manifested, would deepen the analysis. Similarly, a more explicit discussion of how the interviewed individuals navigated their Chinese identity post-conversion to Islam, especially given the historical context of suppression, would be beneficial. These points, if thoroughly explored in the full text, would further strengthen this promising and relevant contribution to the literature.

Full Text

Comments

You need to be logged in to post a comment.