Negotiating Religiosities among Indonesian Muslims amid the Covid-19 Pandemic: Acceptance, Resistance, and Transformation

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted religion. Provisions issued by religious authorities were imposed upon Indonesian Muslims to cope with. Various responses were identified representing how their religiosities negotiated. Here, direct participation in the implementation of Tarawih prayers in Surabaya was taken as a research unit. This study focused on (1) the diversity in negotiating religiosities amid the pandemic; (2) its underlying reasons; and (3) its potential implications. This qualitative research methodologically took a constructivist approach and phenomenological design by combining open-ended interviews, behavioral observations, and questionnaires in collecting data. The results demonstrated many factors playing a role in the shaping of diversity. They could include social, political, economic, and cultural conside­rations. The negotiation occurred through acceptance, resistance, and transformation embodying the tensions between logics of religion in addressing scientific contri­butions. The diversity of religious negotiation amid the outbreak subsequently confirmed the flexibility and adaptability of Islam in addressing historical dynamics.