Peningkatan Pemahaman terhadap Pentingnya Toleransi Beragama di Kota Kupang

Abstract

ABSTRAK Kerukunan umat beragama tidak lahir secara kebetulan tetapi lahir karena sikap saling menghormati dan kerjasama antar umat beragama dan disebut toleransi. Dari perspektif agama, toleransi merupakan mekanisme sosial yang digunakan manusia dalam menyikapi keragaman dan pluralitas agama. Toleransi harus senantiasa dijaga antar umat beragama untuk menciptakan kedamaian dan keharmonisan. Pengabdian masyarakat ini bertujuan untuk semakin mengikat dan mempererat toleransi antar umat beragama di Kupang Nusa Tenggara Timur melalui diskusi konstruktif dan kolaborasi antara tokoh agama serta untuk mengumpulkan informasi terkait dengan toleransi sosio-agama yang ada di kota Kupang. Kegiatan abdimas ini dilaksanakan di 3 tempat ibadah yakni: Gereja GMIT Betel (Kristen), Masjid Raya Baiturahman (Islam), dan Pura Agung Giri Kertha Bhuwana temple (Hindu). Berdasarkan hasil evaluasi, dapat disimpulkan bahwa toleransi beragama telah diimplementasikan oleh umat beragama di 3 lokasi tersebut. Diskusi dan kolaborasi sangat efektif diterapkan dalam mempromosikan dan memperkuat rasa saling hormat menghormati dan toleransi antar umat beragama di Kupang.     ABSTRACT Religious harmony did not come to existence by chance. It came from an attitude of mutual respect and cooperation among religious communities called tolerance. From the religious perspective, tolerance is a social mechanism that humans bring into play in responding to religious diversity and plurality. Tolerance must always be maintained by all religious communities in order to create peace and harmony. This community service aims to bind and strengthen inter-religious tolerance among religious communities in Kupang East Nusa Tenggara province through constructive discussion and collaboration with religious leaders and to gather information from the religious leaders concerning the socio-religious tolerance that took place in their surrounding areas. The program was carried out at three different places of worship i.e. Gereja GMIT Betel church (Christian), Masjid Raya Baiturahman mosque (Islam), and Pura Agung Giri Kertha Bhuwana temple (Hindu). Based on the evaluation, it was found that the religious communities (Kristen, Islam, Hindu) in the surrounding places have implemented inter-religious tolerance. Inter-religious discussion and collaboration are highly effective for promoting and strengthening mutual respect and tolerance among religious communities in Kupang.