God and Discipline: Religious Education and Character Building in a Christian School in Jakarta

Abstract

A school is an institution in which student subjectivity is constituted and reinscribed through various ‘disciplinary technologies’. The interplay between discipline and discipleship in the practice of Christian education is mutually constitutive. Through the study of a Protestant Christian school in Jakarta, this article explains the disciplinary technologies deployed by the school in its inculcation of discipline and character building. By examining the school's religious education practices the study provides insight into the perceptions of the school management, teachers and students with regard to various ethical, moral and religious issues. The author considers how Christian schools can develop critical reflective skills and respect for differences, and so can contribute to a tolerant, peaceful and multicultural Indonesia.