Youths and the Dynamics of Mainstreaming Religious Moderation in Semarang

This paper investigates how the mainstreaming of religious moderation within the context of the youth movements in Semarang, Indonesia, may exist and be accepted by the community. This study employed descriptive qualitative methodology and the hypothesis of emerging social movements. This research tried to explain the dynamics of mainstreaming of religious moderation based on youth movements in Semarang. Primary data were acquired through interviews with young members of the Semarang Interfaith Brotherhood (PELITA), the Institute for Social and Religious Studies (eLSA), and Gusdurian Semarang. Secondary data were acquired through a documentary assessment of the literature on religious moderation and the three youth groups. The research discovered discrepancies in the features of the organizational structure of PELITA, eLSA, and Gusdurian Semarang, which altered the network of movements and gave rise to various strategies for mainstreaming religious moderation. In addition, the three communities organized the masses to preserve religious moderation in the public arena by conducting education, campaigning, and advocating for minorities. Through these initiatives, religious moderation was actualized by pioneering inter-faith groups' integration to strive for universal human values.