Despite the fact that 98% of Indonesians claim that religion is important to their lives, the country also has a high corruption index. This paradox was highlighted by Ahmad Muttaqin at the Muhammadiyah Ramadan Preaching Series at the Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta on Thursday (March 14).
According to Muttaqin, who is the Secretary of the Muhammadiyah Council for Research and Development, religion for Indonesians is still superficial and has not yet become a worldview or a guide to life.
“The practice of religion among Indonesians is still limited to ‘having religion’, not yet ‘being religious’,” he said.
This is evidenced by the contradiction between the high percentage of religiosity and the almost equally high corruption index in Indonesia. In addition, the practice of religion in Indonesia is also transactional.
“Religious people in Indonesia also still consider supply and demand,” said Muttaqin.
This reality can be found in new religious groups that are in the middle to upper economic class. In this group, religion feels very transactional with the existence of buying and selling prayers.
Another paradox also occurs within the Muslim community. In the relationship between internal Islamic groups, there are groups that are tolerant of other religions but intolerant of fellow Muslims.
This reality is a challenge faced by religious movements, such as Muhammadiyah. The challenges are getting more complex, so Muttaqin suggests that the past culture in Muhammadiyah be rebuilt.
The culture of religion in Muhammadiyah is shown in practices, religion is not limited to scripturalism. Being religious wisely is not only done by the organization, but also by its individual leaders.
