Religion As a Cultural System (Clifford Geertz)

A. Interpretation of Culture and Religion
If interpretive anthropology is the problem of finding a system of meaning and value of the residence of human life, then it is understandable that in every culture, anthropology of religion will attract serious attention. Geertz believes all this, it can be seen from the results of his work is an ethnographic book The Religion of Java (1960). The book is to explore in detail the complex entanglement between religious traditions Muslim, Hindu, and indigenous animistic (abangan Javanese name). Through symbols, ideas, rituals, and customs, Geertz found no influence of religion in every corner and cranny of life of Java.
Geertz answers the following fundamental statement of Religion is a cultural system:
A system of symbols that play a role in mood and motivation to build a strong, pervasive, and long lasting in man by formulating conceptions of general order of life and wrap these conceptions with such an aura of factuality that susasana hearts and motivations seem realistic in unique.
Geertz is meant by a system of symbols in the sentence above is anything that brings and convey an idea to the people: a two-wheeled objects such as Buddhists, an event such as the crucifixion, and so forth. The important thing about the ideas and symbols are not merely a private matter. Of the symbols of mood and motivation to build a strong, pervasive and long lasting. That way can be summarized that religion makes people feel something, and also wanted to do something. Religion is also used as a motivation to have goals and he is guided by a set of enduring values ​​that are considered good and right
Mood comes about because religion fills him with something very important. Religion defined "concept of the common order of life". This is true when people deal with things intellectually, really they can not understand; when it is morally, they can not see the evil that they have received, or when, emotionally, they saw what happened, but it It clashed with what should be. Religion marking an area of ​​life that have special status. System that separates religion from other cultures is that the symbol claim places us in touch with what is "really real" with the things that matter to people more than others.
Geertz thus clearly in the conclusion, any useful study of religion will always require a two-stage operation. People, pertma all need to analyze a series of meaning contained in the symbols of religion itself, a task in it is very difficult. Then came the second stage is even more difficult but equally important: because the symbol is associated with the structure of society and individual psychology of its members, those relationships should be found along the circuit constant signal was given, received, and returned.
B. Interpreting the Religion: An Example From Bali
If this is what it looks from Geertz's approach to religion as in theoretical terms, what the form is taken if properly applied to individual cases? In an interesting comparative study, Weber makes a distinction between two types of religion that can be found in the history of the world: "traditional" and "rationalized". Traditional religions, which he also calls the "magic" is more a characteristic of primitive peoples, whose lives are in polytheism. They see the new divinity in every tree or rock and they had a new ritual in almost every change in their lives. They are so immersed hardly even aware that they "have" a religion, it is really what they always do.
On the other hand, rationalized religions are religions of the world such as Judaism, Confucianism, and Hinduism. Instead of having a lot of spirit, these religions tend to see the divinity in the form of one, two or just a great spiritual principles. Rationalized religions in general, are abstract and logical. Rationalized religions and traditional religions also differ in how they deal with the problems of life. Traditional religion is always completed by means of a very particular specialty, while a rationalized religion has always argued that such questions in the scale of the cosmos. Rationalized religions seems to arise at the time of great social upheaval at a time when traditional religions in the village and the fields no longer meet the needs of its adherents. By recognizing the value of this conceptual framework, Geertz applied to Balinese state in modern times. Despite the name Hindu, Balinese religion is not the intellectual mysticism and mythology of India but polytheism village residents every day. In the Balinese Hindu religion there is hardly a rationalized theology, on the contrary, a feeling of ritual and belief in near future can be found everywhere.
C. Islam ObservedOur second example of the action of Geertz interpretive approach leads to a larger subject, Geertz comparison of two types of Islam, namely the countries of Indonesia and Morocco. Geertz said that in addition to culturally Muslim, these two cultures in modern times has gone through major social changes. At the same time, the first place has a traditional society consisting of rice farmers and place the second consists of the shepherds, they have become colonies of Western countries (Netherlands and France) and has recently gained independence (Indonesia in 1945 and Morocco in 1956).
D. CLASSICAL ISLAM motifs

Morocco has the form as a Muslim nation over the past four centuries are important, which of the years 1050-1450, when society was dominated by tribal people gurunpasir aggressive and strong-willed city merchants. The two main characters in this culture is a soldier or leader, and mystics, Muslim holy men, who sometimes united in the ideal form of guardian-warrior. While in Indonesia, Islam came later, and took a slightly different form. As the old country culturally prosperous farmers, the rice fields together to help the lives of peasants, princes, and merchants, Indonesia just need a little courage, which is the key to survival in Morocco. Kindness is most appreciated on the other is the craft in a field, a personality trait that is supported for centuries by the ideals of Hinduism-Buddhism, which emphasizes meditation, psychotherapy (indwadness), and personal serenity. Thus, Islam Indonesia to develop a flexible characteristic, which is' adaptive, absorbing, pragmatic and gradualistic ", very different from the uncompromising rigidity and aggressive fundamentalism in Morocco.
These characteristics of the religious attitude, hard in one place, relax elsewhere called classic Islamic motifs in each nation. Both mystical, because it suggests that religious truth through direct contact with God, but there are significant differences, which are described by Geertz through about two legendary religious leaders, the Sunan Kalijaga in Indonesia and Morocco Sidi Lahsen Lyusi. Thus, in Indonesia and Morocco, Islamic motifs are classical mystical motifs were trying to bring the presence of God directly. But the stories of Muslim saints show how different forms of mysticism in Islam. Mysticism "illuminasionis" Kalijaga very opposite of piety "murobitun" aggressive Lyusi.

E. REVOLUTION scripturalists
In the case of Indonesia, scripturalists revolution began in the 1800s, when the Dutch and the importance of power as a very strong national sentiment against colonial rule. With the inspiration of the occasion medapat Haj in Mecca, the people began to discover Islam Indonesia are different, harder yag and militants in Arabia, which was soon taught in schools newly established. Geertz interesting word, in almost the same time, skripturalisme also appeared in Morocco. Dkenal as Salafis, or pious ancestors and the nationalists led by a strong and passionate, like Allal Al-Fassi, a new movement in 1990 began to open conflict with the old style murobit Islam or the guardian. Sec-in Indonesia, this new scripturalists against the French and Muslim style of the older classics. Thus, Islam in Indonesia and Morocco scripturalists member perjuagan for background on the nation's independence in both countries during the years of the mid-20th century. This struggle can be followed in the careers of two national leaders at the time, Sultan Mohammed V of Morocco and President Sukarno in Indonesia. In the final analysis, Sukarno and Muhammad V is very aware of the power of religion in their society, they tried to use it constructively to the national goal. Importantly, the two decided that compared patterns scripturalists, Islam classic style offers hope for greater success.
F. CONCLUSION: WORLD VIEWS and ethos
Religion consists of worldview and an ethos that combine to reinforce one another sam. Held set of beliefs about what is real, what is god, and others, to guide them as they live and thus confirms the belief.
In Morocco, the Islamic belief in the ethos murobitisme support member, the projecting lifestyle with the moral spirit of praise, and this in turn amplifies the ethos of the Muslim faith. In Indonesia, the balance appears to have remained the same, the view of the world from a mixture of Islamic and Hindu mysticism gentle support and Meditative in figures such as Kalijaga, while the ideal behavior and emotion that he gave to support the view of the world. About the world view, the root of the problem is the clash of ideas. In both countries, secular attitudes go along with the spread of science in industry, universities, and professional classes, at the opposite extremes, "ideology" of religion that have been determined by the hands of scripturalists, the isolated Al-Qur'an of all other knowledge. Moroccan Muslims view the encounter with God as a very intense experience, but for them, the majority of ordinary life in the market, a place of recreation or politics, was not really religious. By contrast, in Indonesia, considered to be a little intense religious experience, full of strength, as valued in Morocco, but much broader religious level. Although there are differences, these two countries is underway a significant erosion of ethics, in ways small and hidden.