Religion, Ethics, and Responsibility in an Age of Crisis

Prof. Dr. Imam Subchi, M.A.
(Vice Rector II of UIN Jakarta; Lecturer in the Doctoral Program in Islamic Anthropology)

The end of the year often serves as a moment of pause—a time to reassess direction, recalibrate expectations, and reorganize efforts that truly matter for collective life.

At this point, religious reflection becomes deeply relevant—not merely as an annual ritual, but as a form of collective moral introspection: to what extent does religion genuinely contribute to the work of national renewal?

The wounds in Sumatra, for example, have yet to fully heal. The ecological disasters that have occurred cannot be separated from humanity’s imbalanced relationship with nature.

Forests are cleared, hills are leveled, and rivers are diverted, as if nature were a silent object open to limitless exploitation. Yet nature responds. When balance is recklessly violated, disaster becomes a collective cost.

Here, religious consciousness should speak clearly. As disasters remind us, humanity never possesses absolute sovereignty over the universe. Awareness of this limitation forms the ethical foundation of insan kamil—the complete human being, defined not by power, but by responsibility.

For this reason, the Ministry of Religious Affairs’ initiative to mainstream the paradigm of ecotheology deserves recognition. This paradigm affirms that belief in God cannot be separated from care for and responsibility toward the natural world.

Environmental stewardship is not merely a technocratic agenda; it is an integral dimension of religious practice itself. The path toward civilization has always intersected with how humanity treats nature.

Ethical Orientation

In an increasingly complex social life, religion cannot be understood solely as a spiritual belief system. It is also a source of values, ethical orientation, and moral guidance in responding to concrete societal challenges.

In Indonesia—with its religious and cultural diversity—religion plays a strategic role as a source of social cohesion and as a moral critique of practices that undermine human dignity.

Issues of forestry, deforestation, and resource exploitation reveal that ecological crises are, at their core, ethical crises.

Religion teaches amanah—that nature is not merely an inheritance from ancestors but a trust for future generations. Environmental destruction, therefore, is not only a legal violation but also a moral and spiritual failure.

In another domain, professional integrity faces serious challenges. Corruption, manipulation, and abuse of authority persist despite technological and regulatory advances.

Here, religion offers an irreplaceable foundation: honesty, responsibility, discipline, and diligence. When internalized, these values shape professionals who are not only technically competent but also morally grounded.

More broadly, religion elevates standards of humanity. Its teachings on justice, empathy, and social solidarity encourage alignment with the vulnerable—the poor, marginalized groups, and victims of structural inequality. In this sense, religion becomes a moral force for more equitable public policy.

The Moral Crisis of 2025

The moral and social challenges of 2025 extend beyond environmental issues. Recent data point to a deepening public ethics crisis.

First, corruption remains a serious problem. Between 2015 and 2025, more than 1,700 corruption cases were recorded, spanning local governments to high state institutions (GoodStats, 2025). Public complaints about corruption have increased, indicating that perceptions of its persistence remain unchanged.

Second, online gambling continues to pose a major challenge. According to PPATK reports, transactions related to online gambling reached IDR 155 trillion in 2025, down from IDR 359 trillion the previous year (PPATK, 2025). This trend reflects high dependency on consumptive and speculative behavior, particularly among low-income groups.

Third, the ecological crisis persists. Data from Global Forest Watch show that Indonesia continues to experience significant deforestation through 2025, driven by land clearing, palm oil expansion, mining, and other economic activities. These trends threaten environmental sustainability, public health, water resources, and long-term economic well-being.

These phenomena are not merely statistics. They reflect a moral crisis that transcends administrative and legal domains: when public officials fail ethically, when online gambling and fraud harm communities, and when nature is left to deteriorate, society loses the value compass that underpins collective life.

In this context, religion must move beyond ritual and dogma. It must function as a lived ethical foundation, guiding individual and collective behavior—from state governance to everyday social interactions.

Values such as honesty, trustworthiness, responsibility, empathy, and social solidarity are not abstract ideals but essential instruments for building national integrity and social cohesion.

Work Ethos with Impact

Religion achieves its highest relevance when it manifests as a work ethic. From a mature religious perspective, work is not merely an economic activity but a form of service imbued with moral and spiritual meaning.

This understanding fosters a work ethic rooted in honesty, trust, and responsibility.

People work not simply because they are monitored, but because they are guided by internalized values. Discipline and perseverance emerge from ethical commitment rather than external enforcement.

Religion also shapes workplace relationships. It promotes mutual respect, cooperation, and empathy.

A work ethic grounded in these principles avoids narrow individualism and instead prioritizes collective interests and social sustainability.

Equally important, religion teaches balance. In a world that glorifies endless productivity, religion introduces limits and a sense of sufficiency. As a result, the work ethic it nurtures becomes more humane and sustainable, preserving health, social relationships, and inner life.

Religion, Ideology, and Human Responsibility

Slavoj Žižek, in The Fragile Absolute (2000), offers a critical reading of religion. He views religion not merely as a spiritual illusion but as a symbolic structure operating within social and psychological domains.

Religion helps individuals confront meaninglessness and existential trauma in modern life.

Yet Žižek also warns of religion’s darker side. When religion functions as a pacifying ideology, it can legitimize injustice and encourage resignation in the name of fate. In such cases, religion distances people from ethical and political responsibility.

Žižek does not reject religion outright. Instead, he calls for a critical, non-dogmatic reinterpretation. Freed from ideological misuse, religion has the potential to become an emancipatory force—fueling solidarity, moral courage, and concrete humanitarian action.

It is here that religion finds its strongest connection to work ethic. A living religion is one that has impact: it animates professional conduct, reinforces human responsibility for sustainable life, and resists passive resignation that weakens moral agency.

Though rooted in transcendence, religion—when embodied by reflective and professional individuals—becomes a vital energy for long-term human development.

This article was originally published in Republika on Saturday, January 10, 2026.