The Struggle for Religious Identity R.A. Kartini and Its Implementation of Islamic Religious Education in the Family

Abstract

This study aims to examine the spiritual journey of R.A. Kartini in finding her Religious identity. Literature research can be classified as a type of qualitative research. This research found that Kartini views religious pluralism as a gift for all levels of society. The struggle in finding Kartini’s religious identity is a sign of her awareness of religion. Kartini is a Muslim. Kartini was not a liberal thinker who wanted to deny her religion. She protested the ignorant attitude and non-openness of Islamic teachings at that time. Kartini strongly criticized actions that did not reflect affection by people who embraced religion. Despite adhering to Islamic teachings, Kartini did not want to injure her friends of other religions. He does not only see religion as an objective that is separate from religion itself. Even though the condition of the religious education he received was inadequate at that time, she also admitted that she did not understand her religion. Actually, Kartini only wanted to criticize the religious education system which tends to teach religion by taqlid. In her Letters, it is clear that Kartini’s soul continued to struggle to understand religious truth.