Religious Coping Among Islamic Boarding School Graduates in Response to Pluralistic Societal Challenges

Graduates of Islamic boarding schools (pesantren) in Indonesia may encounter increasingly diverse social environments after graduation, including universities, urban workplaces, and multicultural communities. This study examines how religious education in pesantren may provide coping resources for navigating religious and cultural diversity. Using a systematic literature review of studies published between 2021 and 2026, retrieved from academic databases and analyzed thematically, this review identifies three key mechanisms through which pesantren foster religious moderation, tolerance, and multicultural competence: kiai-led socialization, curricular value internalization, and daily interactions within the pesantren environment. These values may serve as coping resources that help graduates interpret and respond to challenges in pluralistic environments. However, the reviewed literature primarily examines religious moderation, tolerance, and multicultural attitudes rather than explicitly conceptualizing these processes as religious coping. This review highlights the need for further empirical research to examine how religious and moral values acquired in pesantren function as coping resources in graduates’ post-graduation experiences.