Volume III: Education and Ecological Literacy

The Social Construction of Electoral Consciousness through Political Da’wah and Religious Authority: A Case Study of the Role of Religious Leaders in the Regional Head Election of Bandung Regency

  • Rojudin UIN Sunan Gunung Djati Bandung, Indonesia

Keywords

Political Da'wah; Religious Authority; Electoral Consciousness; Social Construction; Political Participation; Local Democracy; Religious Leaders; Regional Head Election.

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the social construction of the electoral consciousness of society through political da'wah and religious authority in the Regional Head Election (Pemilukada) of Bandung Regency. The research is grounded in the phenomenon of the increasing involvement of religious leaders in the local political sphere, which not only influences the political preferences of the community but also shapes the way society interprets leadership and political participation. The study employs a qualitative approach using a case study method. Data were obtained through in-depth interviews, observation, and documentary study, and were subsequently analyzed using the interactive analysis model of Miles, Huberman, and Saldaña. The analytical framework combines Berger and Luckmann's Theory of Social Construction, Max Weber's Theory of Social Authority, and the Civic Voluntarism Model of Verba, Schlozman, and Brady. The findings indicate that the formation of electoral consciousness takes place through three stages of social construction: externalization, in which religious leaders transmit political values through da'wah; objectivation, in which religious authority attains legitimacy as a moral reference in determining political attitudes; and internalization, in which society adopts these values as a basis for evaluating prospective leaders and exercising the right to vote responsibly. The traditional and charismatic authority of religious leaders reinforces the legitimacy of political messages, while religious social networks function as media for socialization and the recruitment of political participation. This study contributes to the development of political sociology by offering an integrative model that explains the mechanism through which electoral consciousness is formed via the interaction between political da'wah, religious authority, and social construction within the context of local democracy.

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