Interreligious Encounter and Social Capital

Interreligious disharmony between Christians and Muslims seems prevalent in the world. Indonesia offers no exception. The current study was conducted in the framework of the theory of multiculturalism. The participants in this study were Batak married people in Medan City, North Sumatera, Indonesia. The value of the kinship system among the Bataks in Medan, called Dalihan na tolu, was regarded as their social capital and the impact of this culture on interreligious encounters was investigated, along with the values of religion. A model of interreligious encounter in Medan City was created and analyzed based on the quantitative data from 1,539 respondents. The study has found cultural influences to be stronger than religious influences in promoting interreligious encounters among the Christian and Muslim Bataks in Medan. Dalihan na tolu plays a greater role than religious influences in promoting harmony. Overall, this study proposes the use of communal values to promote interreligious encounters and thus, to create a more harmonious society which pulls together otherwise disengaged members through shared values.