In Search for Muslim Ethics of Calvinism: Improving the Quality of Public Life through the Incorporation of Religious Narratives into the State Policies in Indonesia

Abstract

This article deals with an exploration of how Islam is translated into Calvinist ethics into the state policies in order to improve the quality of public life in Indonesia by revisiting the foundation of “mild secularism” adopted by the founding fathers of this country. Along with this argument, religious ethics can be utilized in improving the quality of public life by revitalizing religious doctrines to support the betterment of public life quality. In doing so, reactivating the mechanisms of inductive rational thinking such as ijtihad or tajdīd is badly needed in order to deconstruct old-fashioned understanding of religious teachings prevalent in society regarding all issues contradictory to the betterment of public life quality such as Human Development Index (HDI), life expectancy index, health issues, and so forth. However, this huge undertaking is only possible by means of a concerted collaboration across institutions both within state structure and outside of it.