The Social Construction of Religious Tolerance in Indonesia’s Digital Public Sphere

Abstract

The rapid development of digital technology has significantly transformed patterns of social interaction, information exchange, and the construction of social and religious meanings. In Indonesia’s pluralistic society, the digital public sphere has become an important arena for negotiating religious identities, diversity, and tolerance. This study aims to examine the influence of digital interaction, digital literacy, and social media engagement on the construction of religious tolerance in Indonesia’s digital public sphere. This research employed a quantitative approach. The population consisted of individuals who actively use digital media, with 185 respondents selected through purposive sampling. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire measured on a five-point Likert scale and analyzed using validity and reliability tests, classical assumption tests, descriptive analysis, and multiple linear regression with Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25. The findings demonstrate that digital interaction, digital literacy, and social media engagement have positive and significant effects on religious tolerance. Among these variables, digital literacy provides the strongest contribution, while the regression model explains 55.1% of the variance in religious tolerance. The novelty of this study lies in examining the simultaneous contribution of three digital factors to the social construction of religious tolerance. These findings imply the importance of strengthening digital literacy, responsible digital citizenship, and inclusive religious education to promote mutual understanding, prevent religious polarization, and strengthen sustainable religious harmony in Indonesia.