Puritanism vs. Syncretism: An Islamic Cultural Collision in the Rural Farmer Community in Trucuk, Indonesia

Sutiyono Sutiyono,Syafiq M Mughni,Hotman M Siahaan

doi:10.5539/ass.v11n28p200

Abstract

This writing presents a view on the change in the rural farmer community in Trucuk from being abangan-syncretic to being santri-puritan. After becoming puritan, it is radical in style. The radical style becomes a social phenomenon causing the occurrence of cultural collision of puritan Islamic cultural values versus syncretic ones in the region of the rural farmer community in Trucuk. This research is done in a rural area in Trucuk district, Klaten regency, Central Java provence, Indones. The major of collecting data methods are participant observer, deep interview, and study documentation. This research uses ethnography approach. The results show that the change in farmer’s society in a rural are from syncretism to Puritanism influenced by education rationalization and religion up gradation. After being Puritanism, the characteristics changes to plural those are racialism and moderate. Particularly for radicalism that is to be a social phenomenon caused by kept of syncretism. In addition the other factor of Muhammadiyah movement to do the radicalism is the background of Klaten as an imbalance and seethed place since period Hinduism. The radicalism is done as s effort to return to Al-Qur’an emerge the perception and religious behavior that is believed as the truest thing. This perception and behavior emerge the feeling that Puritanism Islamic is the truest and perfect religion, and it can save them, and considered other religion is the polluted or mixed with other unsure, especially syncretism. So, they think that syncretism is misleading, through radicalism, Puritanism try to reduce the practice of syncretism.

Highlights

The research concerned here started from the point of Geertz’ conception mentioning that religion is considered part of the cultural system
The radical style becomes a social phenomenon causing the occurrence of cultural collision of puritan Islamic cultural values versus syncretic ones in the region of the rural farmer community in Trucuk
The results show that the change in farmer’s society in a rural are from syncretism to Puritanism influenced by education rationalization and religion up gradation

Summary

Introduction

The research concerned here started from the point of Geertz’ conception mentioning that religion is considered part of the cultural system. He views religion as pattern for behaviour, in the sense that religious values become alive in human individuals and become visible in daily life. When the movement of Islamic puritanism pioneered by Muhammadiyah (Note 4) entered the rural region of Mojokuto, it did not get enough sympathy from the farmer community members. Their participation in the puritan movement was quite little. The number of people from the farmer community participating in the puritan movement in Trucuk has risen to roughly 11,000

Methods

Results

Conclusion