How Intolerance is Practiced by School Students in a Rural Area in Bogor, West Java, Indonesia: Case Study of Sukamaju Village

Abstract

Of all the state problems faced by Indonesia since the downfall of New Order regime under Soeharto in May 1998, intolerance has been perhaps the most enduring. In addition, intolerance is identified to have been practiced in rural areas. Ironically, in many parts of the archipelago young people are also identified to be involved in some intolerant actions. This paper will examine the how intolerance is practised among the youth in Sukamaju Village, Bogor, West Java-Indonesia by identifying the context of the characteristics of the school students, the tolerance behaviour towards friends, and how intolerance is practiced by students of religious-based schools and regular schools. Applying descriptive-correlational survey and probability random sampling as well as Cultural Studies approach, 142 students of religious-based schools and regular based schools were taken as samples of this research. The finding reveals that affectively the school students are tolerant, but are less tolerant for several aspects such as playing with non-Muslim friends, electing a non-Muslim leader, and sharing opinions with non-Muslim friends. Additionally, students of regular-schools were found to be more tolerant than those of religious-based schools.