Transforming Religious Education: Shifting the Anthropocentric Paradigm to Ecotheology-Based Learning

Abstract

Religious education in Indonesia is currently experiencing a moral dissonance crisis due to the strong dominance of the anthropocentric paradigm and ritual-formalistic fiqh which perpetuate the instillation of abstract moral values ​​and alienated from the global environmental crisis. This policy study aims to formulate the direction of macro regulatory reform that can shift the orientation of dogmatic religious learning towards a critical ecopedagogical praxis based on ecotheology (Theo-Eco-Centric). Using a qualitative approach with descriptive-analytical analysis methods, this study applies the Urgency, Seriousness, and Growth (USG) instrument to prioritize public problems, the Fishbone diagram to unravel structural root causes, and William N. Dunn's evaluation criteria (effectiveness, efficiency, adequacy, equity, responsiveness, and appropriateness) to screen five policy alternatives. The instrument scoring results indicate that the issue of abstract morality is the highest priority problem (score 14) caused by the limited ecological competence of teachers in the classroom. From the results of Dunn's evaluation, policy alternative number two achieved the highest score of 28. This study concluded that intervention at the educator competency level is the most adequate and responsive step to break down the chain of moral dissonance in students in a sustainable manner. As a main recommendation, the Minister of Religious Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia is urged to immediately issue a Decree of the Minister of Religious Affairs (KMA) concerning the Determination of Ecological Competency Standards for Religious Education Teachers as a legal-formal roadmap to integrate Ecological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (EPCK) into the religious education system. This strategic step is in strong synergy with the mandate of the green constitution of the 1945 Constitution, the PPLH Law, the National Education System Law, and the targets of the 2025–2029 RPJMN to produce a golden generation that has a functional ecological-religious character as agents of biosphere conservation.