SHAPING INTERFAITH PERSPECTIVES: AN ANALYSIS OF INDONESIAN YOUTH VIEWS ON TRUST, SOCIAL INTERACTION, AND POLITICAL INCLINATIONS ACROSS SECONDARY SCHOOL

The objective of this research is to analyze the viewpoints of young Indonesians during their adolescence and adulthood about trust between different religions, social interaction, and political inclinations. Specifically, it emphasizes how the duration of secondary school education might shape their viewpoints. This study used ordinal logistic regression analysis to examine panel data collected from the Indonesian Family Life Survey, which comprises a sample size of over 20,000 respondents. The findings indicate a decrease in the standard of individuals' interfaith conduct between 2007 and 2014. The research indicates that those who finished secondary school during the New Order era exhibit higher levels of tolerance towards interfaith ideas in comparison to those who completed secondary school during the Reformation era. The disparity might be attributed to the policies of the New Order administration, which prioritized national cohesion and stability while actively opposing religious "extremism". The research findings indicate that those who finished secondary school during the post-New Order era have a heightened inclination towards interfaith political socialization and preferences. The results of this study hold significant relevance in the current climate of growing intolerance and religious division, particularly with regards to the determinants of interfaith attitudes and behavior. Hence, this study underscores the necessity for additional longitudinal and comparative research on interfaith community interactions, including a broader spectrum of age cohorts and geographical areas.


A. INTRODUCTION
Human beings possess an innate sociability, leading to the formation of society through the establishment of individuals, institutions, norms, and rules that share a common bond of proximity.Individuals actively engage in social groups characterized by shared characteristics, interests, and values (Fiske 2018).Peaceful interactions typically prevail within the relationships between individuals and social groups (Verbeek and Peters 2018).However, conflicts can emerge within social relationships between individuals and social groups.These conflicts may stem from divergent interests and values or, more frequently, from a tendency to assert dominance or impose norms upon other groups (Simon 2016).
Countless literature has long scrutinized the intricate nature of human social interaction, particularly in the realm of intergroup relations (Pettigrew 2016).One area of research dedicated to this topic pertains to the examination of inter-religious attitudes, which explores the diverse dimensions of how individuals and groups of varying faith orientations interact and the implications of these interactions for communities, civil society, and politics.
However, the findings of such studies present a mixed picture, revealing that beliefs and religions can either exacerbate or diminish social cohesion, while simultaneously contributing to the cohesion of multiethnic and multi-religious societies (Abu-Raiya 2013).While there is a growing body of research in this field, there remains a dearth of large-scale systematic investigations that thoroughly explore and analyze the impact of educational system changes or transformations on inter-religious attitudes across generations.
The role of education in fostering social harmony remains a subject of diverse research findings.There are at least two contrasting facets of education (Bush, Saltarelli, and United Nations 2000).On one hand, education can act as a positive stabilizing force; on the other hand, it can be manipulated to exacerbate conflict tensions.The positive aspect of education manifests when it serves to nurture and sustain positive intergroup attitudes and tolerance through initiatives that facilitate children in learning and understanding one another.Education can either emerge as a core element in peacebuilding programs or heighten conflict tensions through the manipulation of history, particularly for political purposes.
A report titled The Hidden Crisis: Armed Conflict and Education (UNESCO and Education for All 2011) elucidates that while education does not directly cause wars, schools can become breeding grounds for violence and sources of youth anger when teaching methods and materials distort history or narratives, fostering prejudice and intolerance among students.For example, textbooks during the German and Belgian colonial periods in Rwanda were manipulated to promote racist doctrines.On one hand, these textbooks bolstered the status of the Tutsi by praising their intellectual capacity, while on the other hand, they stereotyped the Hutu as unintelligent, submissive, and suited only for manual labor.Similar situations arise in Israel, where official textbooks intentionally portray negative stereotypes of Arabs, fostering prejudice against Arab groups throughout the educational system, from elementary to high school (Bar-Tal 2001).
Education can also assume a negative role when used as a weapon for cultural repression or ethnocide, which is commonly defined as the phenomenon in which a culturally unique community undergoes a loss of its distinct identity due to deliberate policies aimed at undermining its territorial and resource foundation, the suppression of its native language, the dismantling of its indigenous social and political structures, as well as the erosion of its traditional customs, artistic expressions, religious observances, and cultural principles (Bush et al. 2000).
Examples of such an ethnocide can be observed in the prohibition of using Kurdish language in Turkey, 'Arabization' program in Sudan, and language shift propaganda in Sri Lanka which led to increased tensions between Tamil and Sinhalese (Buckland 2005).
Therefore, peace education should be introduced to equip learners with alternative, prosocial strategies for conflict resolution, problem-solving, empathy, respect for diversity, and cooperation (Hymel and Darwich 2018).The integration of peace education into formal schools offers an opportunity for governments to establish curricula, produce materials, and implement various programs that enhance the capacity of peace education actors (Bar-Tal 2002).
The introduction of peace education is important across various age groups, with particular emphasis on adolescence.
UNICEF's publication Adolescence, a Time that Matters (UNICEF 2002) highlights the crucial moments of this stage, emphasizing that adolescence is a critical period in which young individuals assume new responsibilities, embark on a journey of self-discovery and autonomy, construct their identities, apply acquired values, and cultivate essential skills necessary for their transformation into compassionate adults.Adolescence is a stage for the development of political understanding, identity formation, and political experiences (Sears and Brown 2013).Furthermore, the maturation of psychosocial skills, including thoughts, motivations, emotions, and behaviors are indispensable parts of adulthood (Eisenberg, Morris, and Vaughan 2008).These interconnected aspects play a vital role in shaping the mindset and behaviors of young individuals as they transition into adulthood.
In light of the increasing relevance of attributes such as ethnicities, local languages, religions, beliefs, and lifestyle preferences in contemporary societies, exploring inter-group attitudes across generations has attracted serious attention from contemporary scholars.Hoon (Hoon 2016(Hoon , 2017) ) (Parker, Hoon, and Raihani 2014) conducted a study on young people's attitudes towards inter-ethnic and inter-religious socializing, courtship, and marriage in Indonesia.The study reveals that the majority of young people in Indonesia exhibit positive attitudes toward inter-ethnic and inter-religious socialization and courtship.However, the majority of students express (strong) disagreement regarding inter-religious marriage.
Apart from the aforementioned studies, two research have been undertaken by focusing on inter-group attitudes between Muslims and Christians in Indonesia.The first study was conducted by (Mujani 2003) as a part of his dissertation.Through a survey of 2,268 respondents, he asserted that most Indonesian Muslims objected to having a Christian as a president or a teacher in public schools, displayed intolerance towards religious services, and did not like church development.He finally concluded that a majority of Indonesian Muslims demonstrate intolerance toward Christians.The second study was conducted by (Kanas, Scheepers, and Sterkens 2015), involving 1,500 college student respondents identified as either Muslim or Christian from Yogyakarta (Central Java) and Ambon (Moluccas).This study found that greater interreligious contact reduces negative outgroup attitudes among the majority Muslims, but not among the minority Christians.
The current research on inter-group (re.inter-religious) attitudes in Indonesia still exhibits some gaps.Firstly, most studies focus solely on high school or college students.Secondly, the geographical coverage of these studies is limited to specific areas within Indonesia.Lastly, when research does encompass all provinces and a wide range of adult ages, surveys often capture data at a single point in time, depending on the study's timeline.
Yet, there is a lack of research focusing on how the transformation of the educational system shapes the inter-religious attitudes of the young generations.This study aims to shed light on the influence of different educational attainment eras on inter-religious attitudes (as indicated by trust, socialization, and political preferences) among Indonesian youth and adults (>15 years old).
The research landscape concerning tolerance and intolerance among Indonesian teenagers remains in a state of uncertainty.
Existing studies present a divergent spectrum of findings.Some indicate that a significant number of teenagers expose radical religious views and demonstrate intolerance, while others suggest that a majority of teenagers exhibit tolerance.This dichotomy underscores the complexity of the issue and the need for further in-depth research to gain a more comprehensive view upon Indonesian teenagers' attitudes towards (in)tolerance.This research is contextualized within the broader educational and political transformations in Indonesia.Notably, the years 1998 and 2004 marked two critical periods in Indonesia's educational policies and curriculum development.The 1998 transition marked the end of the New Order regime, and 2004 saw the enactment and implementation of a new curriculum (Lydersen, 2011;Syaharuddin & Susanto, 2019).These shifts hold significant implications for the nation's educational system and its sociopolitical landscape.From a political sociology perspective, the inconclusiveness of research findings on (in)tolerance among Indonesian teenagers, together with the transformative political policies in the country, presents a fertile ground for further investigation.It allows for an exploration of how these educational and political changes may have influenced the attitudes and behaviors of the younger generation, shedding light on the dynamics between education, political policy, and social attitudes in contemporary Indonesia.
The current research endeavors to make several significant contributions to the ongoing discourse, with a particular focus on the field of political sociology.Firstly, it extends its focus beyond high school students to encompass a broader age range, providing a more comprehensive representation of the Indonesian population.Secondly, it employs a panel study approach, utilizing data from 2007 and 2014, with a large-scale observation encompassing over 21,000 selected respondents that span across almost all geographic regions of Indonesia.This approach stands in contrast to many previous studies in this field, which often rely on surveys conducted during specific periods and have limited geographic coverage.Thirdly, this research considers the impact of the educational attainment era, specifically junior high and senior high schools (grades 7 to 12), prompted by Indonesia's gradual curriculum changes.Lastly, in addition to providing descriptive analysis of inter-religious attitudes among youth and adults, this study employs panel logistic regression analysis to examine various important factors that influence these attitudes.

B. METHODOLOGY
This study utilized the data of the Indonesia Family Life The central hypothesis of this study is that the era of school education significantly shapes the perspectives of Indonesian youths and adults regarding inter-religious trust, socialization, and political preferences (see Flanagan, 2013).We believe that the individuals' educational experience, particularly in the period during which they achieve their junior and senior high school education, serves as a pivotal determinant that influences their inter-religious attitudes.The assumption is that the historical and socio-political contexts of different educational periods, such as the New Order and the Reformation era, has left a typical mark on individuals' perceptions of inter-religious trust.We hypothesize that those educated during the New Order era, which is characterized by strict national unity policies, may exhibit a greater inclination towards inter-religious trust.Conversely, those who underwent their schooling during the Reformation era, which is filled by high exposure to diverse communities and cultures, may display a more positive towards inter-religious socialization and potentially different political preferences.By testing this hypothesis, we aim to provide valuable insights into the dynamic relationship between education, inter-religiosity, and political sociology in the Indonesian context.

C. RESULT AND DISCUSSION
Out of the 21,000s respondents, 46% are male and 54% are female.The majority of respondents have a secondary education background (45%), followed by elementary education (36%), college/university education (11%), and a small proportion who have never attended school or dropped out at the elementary level (8%).The analysis in this study considers the entry age of 12 for junior high school and 15 for senior high school.The respondents' ages in 2007 and 2014 serve as the baseline for calculations.

Impact of the Junior High School Attainment Era
The findings of the ordinal logit panel regression analysis indicate that individuals who pursued their junior high school education during the New Order era exhibit a greater propensity for inter-religious trust attitudes compared to those from the Reformation era (Table 2).The odds ratio for the reformation era generation is statistically significant at 0.860 (p<0.05) when using the new order era generation as the baseline.Conversely, the other groups do not show statistically significant differences.
Furthermore, in terms of inter-religious socialization attitudes, all younger generations demonstrate higher odds ratios compared to the new-order era generation, and these differences are statistically significant (p<0.1).These results suggest that the majority of individuals who pursued their junior high school education after the New Order era are more open to inter-religious socialization.A similar trend is observed in inter-religious political attitudes, where the odds ratios for the younger generations, except for the new curriculum era generation, are higher than those of the new order era generation.

Findings of The Ordinal Logit Panel Regression
Junior High School The controlled variables reveal noteworthy findings.First, the respondents' educational background significantly influences interreligious attitudes, including trust, socialization, and political preferences.As the level of educational background increases, the odds ratios also increase, indicating a greater inclination towards open attitudes.Notably, respondents with a college/university education background exhibit lower odds ratios in terms of political preference attitudes compared to those who never attended school or dropped out at the elementary level, which serves as the baseline for calculations.Secondly, in inter-religious socialization and political preferences, all religions demonstrate considerably higher and statistically significant odds ratios compared to Islam as the baseline.This suggests that most Muslims in Indonesia object to inter-religious socialization and hold reservations regarding inter-religious political preferences, consistent with the findings of (Wahid 2016) and (Mujani 2003).
Third, the odds ratios for religiosity decrease progressively with lower levels of self-assessed religiosity.Specifically, in interreligious socialization and political preferences, all odds ratios are statistically significant, indicating that respondents with lower

Impact of the Senior High School Attainment Era
The results of the analysis indicate that there is no significant correlation between the era of senior high school completion and inter-religious trust.However, a notable trend emerges when examining attitudes of inter-religious socialization.
For those who pursued their education after the New Order Era, there is a clear indication of higher odds ratios (with statistical significance of p<0.1) compared to the New Order generation.This suggests a greater willingness among these generations to engage in inter-religious socialization.Besides, in terms of inter-religious political preferences, the findings are not as definitive.The only generation demonstrating a statistically significant difference is the one pursuing education during the mixed era between the Reformation Era (1998)(1999)(2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005) and the New Curriculum Era (after 2005).The odds ratio for this generation is 1.143 (p<0.1),indicating a higher likelihood compared to the New Order Era generation.The data of these trends are presented in the following  (Roth and Sumarto 2015).The study discovered that moral education during the New Order Era, particularly from 1978 to the mid-1990s, served as a fundamental mechanism in fostering higher tolerance and pro-social attitudes toward individuals from different religions and ethnicities.They believed that moral education at schools was a viable tool for the government to increase social cohesions among the citizens.
The results of the controlled variables analysis reveal noteworthy findings in the Junior High School Attainment context.
Firstly, when examining inter-religious socialization and political preferences, all religions exhibit significantly higher odds ratios compared to Islam, which serves as the baseline for calculations.
This finding reinforces the previous result indicating that most

Discussion
The relation between education and inter-religious attitudes has indeed been a persistent area of research in the field of political sociology (Baldassarri and Abascal, 2017;Torney-Purta, 1995).Education, whether formal or informal, is recognized as a central component in the development of an individual's beliefs, values, and attitudes (Torney-Purta, 2002).In this context, influenced the educational system and the values infused to students (Rosser and Fahmi, 2016).
The study reveals that individuals who completed their junior high school education during the New Order era demonstrated a higher degree of openness towards inter-religious trust compared to those educated during the Reformation era.During the New Order regime, the government believed that a strong national identity was essential for maintaining stability and order (Barker, 2019).Schools taught students about the importance of diversity and tolerance, but they emphasized more on the shared values of all Indonesians, such as patriotism and mutual respect (Syaharuddin and Susanto, 2019).This emphasis likely influenced the attitudes of students, resulting in a greater tendency for interreligious trust.In contrast, the Reformation era introduced greater political liberalization, promoting more diverse and varied educational experiences which could account for the differences in inter-religious trust (Syaharuddin and Susanto, 2019).The research also highlights that individuals who completed their junior high school and senior high school education after the New Order era exhibit a higher inclination towards inter-religious socialization and inter-religious political preferences.This finding aligns with the theory of education as a socialization mechanism (Koskimaa and Rapeli, 2015).The increased openness to interreligious interactions and political preferences may stem from the exposure to more diverse educational content and the changing political landscape that fostered greater acceptance of differing viewpoints (Turner, 2006).
These findings have several implications for political sociology theories.First, they underline the significance of considering the impact of different historical educational eras when analyzing political attitudes.This perspective enriches the existing insight of how political values evolve in response to changing sociopolitical contexts.Additionally, the research highlights that the educational system plays a significant role in shaping the attitudes and behaviors of citizens in a context where inter-religious relations hold particular importance.

D. CONCLUDING REMARKS
Through ordinal logit panel regression analysis, this study showed that generations who completed their junior high school education during the New Order era demonstrated a higher degree of openness towards inter-religious trust compared to those who completed their education during the Reformation era.This finding can be attributed to the stricter policy implemented during the New Order era, which emphasized national unity and discouraged religious fundamentalism.Consequently, individuals who received their education during this era may have developed a greater propensity for inter-religious trust.However, no statistically significant odds ratios were observed for other generational groups concerning inter-religious trust.
Another finding of this study is that the majority of individuals who completed their junior high school and senior high school education after the New Order era demonstrate a greater inclination towards inter-religious socialization and inter-religious political preferences.This shift in attitude can be attributed to various factors such as increased exposure to diverse communities and cultures and the availability of educational materials and programs that promote inter-religious understanding and tolerance.These findings underscore the importance of implementing a diverse and inclusive education system that fosters inter-religious understanding and tolerance among students.
Furthermore, the analysis of control variables uncovers some

::
Survey (IFLS), which was administered by the RAND Corporation in collaboration with various research centers in Indonesian universities.The IFLS dataset contains comprehensive information collected from a substantial sample of over 30,000 individuals residing in 13 of Indonesia's 27 provinces.This wide geographic coverage encompasses approximately 83% of the entire Indonesian population, making it a highly representative source of data for various sociological and socio-economic research.The authors themselves are not parts of the IFLS team; however, they were granted invaluable access because IFLS dataset is available for all researchers interested in studying the dynamics of Indonesian socio-political and economic life.As previously mentioned, the objective of this study is to examine the inter-religious trust attitudes of present-day youth and adults in Indonesia.Consequently, the panel datasets from 2007/2008(Strauss et al. 2008) and 2014/2015(Strauss, Witoelar, and Sikoki 2015) were chosen to support this research endeavor.The primary criterion for sample selection in this study is that the respondents must have been at least fifteen years old in 2007.Applying these selection criteria, a total of 21,181 respondents were selected from the 2007/2008 wave, while for the 2014/2015 wave, 21,692 respondents were chosen.Subsequently, the two waves of data were merged to form a panel table, resulting in a final sample of 20,948 individuals who participated in both the 2007 and 2014 surveys.Three ordinal logistic panel regressions were conducted to examine the influence of the educational attainment era on inter-religious attitudes.The statistical analysis was performed using STATA 15.1.For the first focus of the study, inter-religious trust, the dependent variable (Y1) was based on the respondents' agreement with the statement: "Taking into account the diversity of religions in the village, I trust people with the same religion as mine more."The responses to this question were recorded on a four-point ordinal scale.For the second part, inter-religious socialization, a cumulative grouping index was constructed based on the respondents' responses to five questions: (1) acceptance of someone with a different faith in the same village; (2) acceptance of someone with a different faith in the same neighborhood; (3) acceptance of someone with a different faith in the same house/rent a room in the house; (4) acceptance of the development of a house of worship from another religion in the community; and (5) acceptance of inter-religious marriage of close relatives or children.The respondents were categorized into five clusters based on the cumulative index for the ordinal logit panel regression analysis.This categorization takes into account the temporal context of the respondents' educational experiences.Article 34 Passage 1 of the Education System Law of 2003 mandates compulsory education for all Indonesian citizenscommencing at the age of six(Suryadarma & Jones, 2013).This legal framework establishes the foundational points of entry into junior high school at the age of 12 and senior high school at the age of 15, as implemented within the IFLS dataset.The age of the respondents in both 2007 and 2014 serves as the anchor for these calculations.Moreover, Indonesia underwent two significant educational policy shifts, i.e., in 1998, which coincided with the fall of the New Order regime, and in 2004, which marked the implementation of a new curriculum(Lydersen, 2011;Syaharuddin & Susanto, 2019).These shifts unfolded within the broader context of Indonesia's socio-political transition, frequently referred to as the Reformation Era(Aspinall, 2010;Soemantrie et al., 2017).The stratification of the junior high school and senior high school attainment eras into five distinctive clusters is not only based on contextual and methodological dimensions but also pertinent to the research in political sociology.These categorizations are integral to advancing our understanding of the complex dynamics between schooling eras and inter-religious attitudes within the domain of political sociology:1.Cluster 1: Respondents whose schooling occurred during the New Order era or who graduated in 1998.2. Cluster 2: Respondents who navigated their educational journey through both the New Order and the Reformation eras.3. Cluster 3: Respondents whose educational experiences were confined to the Reformation era (1998-2003).4. Cluster 4: Respondents who underwent their schooling during both the Reformation era and the implementation of the New Curriculum. 5. Cluster 5: Those who attended high schools after the full implementation of the New Curriculum (post-2004).Finally, for the third focus of the study, i.e., inter-religious political preferences, a similar approach was adopted to create a cumulative grouping index from two indicators: (1) inter-religious political acceptance and (2) influence of candidate religiosity on political voting decisions.To determine the control variables for the ordinal logistic panel regression, various models were employed, encompassing a range of factors like gender, economic circumstances, the highest level of education achieved, geographical location (urban or rural), ethnicity, religiosity, and the island of residence.The mathematical model for this approach is represented as followsCumulative probability of the respondent to answer j if the response has characteristic of X [23] : ▪ Strongly agree, Agree, Disagree (for inter-religious trust) ▪ Strongly objected, Objected, No objection (for inter-religious socialization and marriage) ▪ Very likely, somewhat likely, Neither more nor less likely, Somewhat unlikely (for inter-religious political acceptance) : Explanatory variables : Constanta if the respondent is answering j : Coefficient of the variable of k Index of explanatory variables : Index of time : Constanta that depends on the time : Error

Furthermore
, the junior high school and senior high school attainment era is classified into five groups as marked by the curriculum transformation.These groups consist of (1) respondents who completed their schooling during the New Order era or graduated in 1998; (2) respondents who completed their schooling in two periods, encompassing both the New Order and Reformation eras; (3) respondents who exclusively pursued their Shaping Interfaith Perspectives: An Analysis of Indonesian Youth Views on Trust, Social Interaction, and Political Inclinations Across Secondary School education during the reformation era (1998-2003); (4) respondents who completed their schooling in two phases, covering both the reformation era and the implementation of the new curriculum; and (5) respondents who pursued their education after the implementation of the new curriculum (after 2004).The clustered data are presented in the below: levels of religiosity tend to display more open attitudes.Fourth, males exhibit a greater tendency towards openness in interreligious socialization and political preferences compared to females.Last, residents in rural areas demonstrate more open attitudes towards inter-religious trust.Conversely, in interreligious socialization, residents in urban areas display a greater openness towards inter-religious socialization attitudes.
Muslims in Indonesia tend to oppose inter-religious socialization and political preferences.Secondly, the odds ratios for religiosity consistently decrease as respondents' self-assessed religiosity level decreases.Furthermore, all odds ratios are statistically significant for inter-religious socialization and political preferences.This implies that individuals with lower levels of religiosity are more inclined towards open attitudes, particularly in terms of interreligious socialization and political preferences.Thirdly, males demonstrate a greater tendency to adopt open attitudes compared to females when it comes to inter-religious socialization and political preferences.Lastly, residents in rural areas exhibit greater openness towards inter-religious trust.Conversely, residents in urban areas display more openness towards inter-religious socialization.
noteworthy phenomena.Firstly, a majority of Muslims in Indonesia tend to be less receptive to inter-religious socialization attitudes and inter-religious political preferences.However, this does not imply that the majority of Muslims in Indonesia are inherently intolerant towards other religions.Instead, it may reflect the influence of conservative religious norms in the society.Secondly, individuals with lower levels of religiosity were found to exhibit more open attitudes.This can be attributed to the tendency of less religious individuals to be less constrained by traditional religious norms and more receptive to new ideas and perspectives.Thirdly, males were found to be more open towards inter-religious socialization and political preferences compared to females.This could be attributed to traditional gender roles, where men are more often exposed to diverse communities and have greater opportunities to engage in inter-religious activities.Lastly, residents in rural areas tend to demonstrate a greater openness towards inter-religious trust, while residents in urban areas tend to exhibit a higher inclination towards inter-religious socialization attitudes.This divergence can be attributed to the relatively homogeneous and insular nature of rural communities, which may limit exposure to diverse religious practices, while urban areas are more cosmopolitan and characterized by a greater diversity of communities and cultures.BIBLIOGRAPHYAbu-Raiya, Hisham.2013."On the Links between Religion, Mental Health and Inter-Religious Conflict: A Brief Summary of Empirical Research."Israel Journal of Psychiatry and Related Sciences 50(2):130-39.Retrieved from https://doctorsonly.co.il/wpcontent/uploads/2013/10/10_On-the-Links-between.pdf.Aspinall, Edward.2010."The Irony of Success."Journal of Democracy 21(2):20-34.https://www.journalofdemocracy.org/articles/indonesia-theirony-of-success/ Aspinall, Edward.2011."Democratization and Ethnic Politics in Indonesia: Nine Theses."Journal of East Asian Studies 11(2):289-319.