Women in Anomaly Communication of Religious Development in Indonesia: Study in Yogjakarta

Abstract

Religious counselors have an important role in religious development in Indonesia, as well as in Yogyakarta. Religious counselors in Yogyakarta are currently dominated by male. As a result, there are many inappropriate religious counseling materials given on the context of women in the dimensions of life. The same matter applies to the number of congregations who become the focus of those religious counselors in conveying messages about religious development. Most of these congregations have female members, thus usually gather to discuss women-related issues. The research was conducted by a qualitative approach using critical and statistical analysis. The results show that there is substantial content of religious education materials indicated to have a gender bias both in the religious approach and in social life. Therefore there is a need for the government to conduct gender reinforcement studies for religious instructors in strengthening the context of religious development in Indonesia while still paying attention to the local wisdom of local communities.