Developing a Transformative Religious Curriculum A Case Study of Adolescents' Cognitive Dissonance and Faith Resilience

• Lestari Widia

  Indonesia University of Education

  Author

• Saepul Anwar

  Indonesia University of Education

  Author

Rapid social change has intensified cognitive tension among Indonesian Muslim adolescents when doctrinal Islamic Religious Education (IRE) fails to align with their lived realities. This study explores how adolescents experience and make meaning of such dissonance and how faith resilience emerges within the IRE context. Using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), three public high school students were selected through purposive criterion sampling. Data were generated through 45 – 60 minutes semi-structured interviews and analyzed thematically with NVivo, guided by religious orientation theory, stages of faith, religious coping theory, and cognitive dissonance theory. Findings show that students face significant tension between normative teachings and modern social realities. Those with intrinsic or reflective faith orientations employed active religious coping and reinterpretation of teachings, leading to stronger spiritual resilience. In contrast, extrinsically oriented students tend to suppress doubts, resulting in superficial learning. The study's small sample and single-site context limits transferability but underlines the need for more dialogical and student-centered IRE.

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