The Latent Domains of Religious Moderation Attitudes and Intercultural Competencies Within the Contexts of Multireligious and Multicultural Societies

Religious moderation attitudes (RMAs) and intercultural competencies (ICs) are two crucial elements that must be internalized within Indonesia’s multireligious and multicultural societies. This study aimed to investigate the latent domainsof RMAs and ICsand the cultivation of such latent domains to facilitate RMAs and ICs’ internalization. This phenomenological study purposively recruited 224multireligious and multicultural people living in 8regions of Indonesia. These regions became the loci due to recommendations of prior studies. Data on RMAs and ICs’ latent domains were collected throughinterviews and observations, and those of the cultivation of the foregoing latent domains were obtained from focus group discussion (FGD). The data analyzedusing an interactive model revealed that RMAs had eightlatent domains,which subsumed respect forreligious freedom, openness to belief differences, awareness of pluralism, promoting harmony, active community participation, understanding extremism, cooperative religious leadership, and commitment to peace. The data then revealed latent domains of eightICs: inclusive education, cross-cultural collaboration, reflective education, social criticism, empathy, cultural sensitivity, effective communication skills, and understanding diversity benefits. The data also showcased many strategies used by various societal parties to cultivate RMAs and ICs’ latent domains effectively.These parties were religious leaders, community leaders, social and cultural institutions, society members, educational institutions, local government, and media. It is recommended thatfurther studies be carried out to psychometricallywork on these latent domains.