Enhancing Interreligious Tolerance: The Role of Local Communities and Peranakan Chinese in Semarang's Chinatown
Keywords:
Tolerance, Religion, ChineseAbstract
The Rasa Dharma Association, also known as the Boen Hian Tong Social Association, is the oldest Chinese organization in Semarang. The Chinese community, which mostly adheres to Buddhism, Confucianism, and Christianity, lives side by side with the indigenous Muslim community, which generally comes from the Kampung Melayu or Kauman areas. This study examines how rasa dharma promotes tolerance in the field of religion. The Chinese community plays a significant role in maintaining an atmosphere of tolerance. This community actively integrates the values of pluralism into their daily activities. This study uses a field research method, which is a qualitative approach. The data collection methods in this study include interviews, observation, and documentation with the aim of exploring the meanings, experiences, and perspectives of the subjects in more detail and comprehensively. The results of this study show that harmonious social relations between the two groups, namely the Chinese community with different religious backgrounds and the local religious communities, did not form spontaneously, but rather through a long process involving various interactions, ranging from social to economic interactions. The results of the study show that the Rasa Dharma Association plays an important role in increasing tolerance among religious communities through various interreligious traditions or activities regardless of religious background.
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