Researching religious tolerance education using discourse analysis: a case study from Indonesia

ABSTRACT

Complementing existing studies on religious tolerance education which have mainly evaluated interventions using pre–post designs, this article argues that discourse analysis can be a viable alternative methodology for generating new knowledge in this field. To illuminate the potentials of discourse analysis, the article also presents a case study of the application of this methodology in analysing a religious tolerance education project in an under-represented Global South country, Indonesia – where religious conservatism and intolerance are on the rise. Following the contact hypothesis, the project involved students from different religions working on a film-making group assignment about religious tolerance. Three key discourses drawn upon by students in giving meaning to religious tolerance within these films are identified, namely, a discourse of nationalism, tolerant theologies, and romantic love; and their implications are discussed with regard to the promotion of religious tolerance in education.