The Role of Community Social Education in Preventing Religion-Based Conflict

Religion-based colficts are reoccuring social incidents common in Indonesia. The city of Semarang has religious diversity, which, if not anticipated, could cause social conflict. Community social education is necessary to develop the community’s potential to live in harmony. This research aims to reveal the role of community social education in preventing socio-religious conflict in the Semarang area. This research uses a qualitative method, with an ethnographic approach that examines the socio-cultural groups of the people. The informants for this research are religious leaders, community leaders, and governments in regions that have religious diversity. Data collection techniques use observation, documents from sources relevant to the research theme, andinterviews with informants. Validity of the data was tested using source triangulation and technical triangulation. Research findings explain that community social education has an important role in maintaining harmony in communities with different religious backgrounds. Individuals in society are taught to respect other religions, communicate, understand each other’s differences, cooperate, participate in community activities, and mix in society to prevent religious-based conflicts. The implications of this research can be valuable recommendations for governments and communities with different religious beliefs in efforts to prevent conflicts based on religious differences.