Values Analysis of Islamic Religious Education (IRE) Policies at
Higher Education in Indonesia
Agus Fakhruddin, Ace Suryadi, Kama Abdul Hakamand Encep Syarief Nurdin
Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia, Dr. Setiabudhi Street 229, Bandung, Indonesia
Keywords: Nation characters, values education, general education.
Abstract: Among the measures the Indonesian government made in cultivating the nation's character is by issuing
policies related to Islamic Religious Education (IRE) in Higher Education. Being character-oriented policies,
they must be values-driven. This paper seeks to analyze the values encapsulated in the policies of IRE at
higher education in Indonesia. This research uses a qualitative approach with literature study method. Data
come from a variety of literature related to values education. Data were analyzed based on values education
theories. Findings reveal that Islamic Religious Education policies at Higher Education in Indonesia embodies
theologic/ synoptics values, ethics values, esthetics values, logic/empirics values, and teleologic/ synnoethics
values.
1 INTRODUCTION
Religious education is one of people’s measures to
impart religious understanding to the next generation.
Globally, there are two major paradigms of religious
education, namely the religious paradigm and secular
paradigm. The religious paradigm sees religious
education as a belief that needs to be passed down
from generation to generation (Hull, 2002), while the
secular one sees religion as a private domain
(Terence, 2008).
Indonesia is a country that adheres to the religious
education paradigm as public sphere. Therefore,
religious education becomes the affairs of the state
and integral part in the state administration. One form
of state intervention on religious education is the birth
of government policies on religious education.
As part of public policy, the quality of
government policy on religious education should be
ideal. A good policy will affect people's lives
(Nurdin, 2017). Therefore, a policy should have a
strategic value (Rusli, 2013) that can provide benefits
to people's lives. Thus, it can be said that a good
policy is a valuable policy.
The Islamic Religious Education policies in
Higher Education is part of the religious education
policy in Indonesia oriented towards character
development of the nation. As a policy-oriented
character development, the policy itself must be
valuable. This is true especially considering that
religious education is an educational component that
has a positive effect on the moral quality of
individuals and nations (Rodica Mariana Niculescu,
2013), although some argue that education has a
negative impact on religiosity (Arias-Vasquez, 2012)
This research seeks to analyze the values
contained in the policy of Islamic Religious
Education in Higher Education in Indonesia. The
value itself has many definitions and classifications
(M. Bahaddin ACAT, 2012), some of them include
the theory of meaning from Phenix and the value
system theory of Ahmad Sanusi.
Phenix mapped meanings into six fundamental
meanings, namely symbolics, empirics, esthetics,
synnoetics, ethics, and synoptics. The meaning of
symbolics relates to the ability to interpret symbols,
both discursive and nondiscursive; the meaning of
empirics relates to the ability to interpret the
empirical reality of life; the meaning of esthetics
relates to the ability to perform a contemplative
perception of the phenomenon of the uniqueness and
beauty of things; the meaning of synnoethics relates
to the ability to interpret knowledge; the meaning of
ethics relates to the ability to interpret morality; and
the meaning of synoptics relates to the ability to
interpret history, philosophy and religion (Phenix,
1964).
Meanwhile, Sanusi divides the value into six
value systems: the theological value relating with
40
Fakhruddin, A., Suryadi, A., Hakam, K. and Nurdin, E.
Values Analysis of Islamic Religious Education (IRE) Policies at Higher Education in Indonesia.
In Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Sociology Education (ICSE 2017) - Volume 1, pages 40-43
ISBN: 978-989-758-316-2
Copyright © 2018 by SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, Lda. All rights reserved

divine values, the ethical-legal value relating to moral
values and obedience to the law, the esthetic value
associated with the values of beauty, the logical-
rational value related to logical and rational thinking,
physical-physiological values related to the physical
values and accompanying functions, and teleological
values associated with usability and benefit values
(Sanusi, 2015).
2 METHOD
This is a qualitative study with literature study
method. The data are in the form of documents of
Islamic Religious Education Policy in Higher
Education emanating from the prevailing laws and
regulations in Indonesia.
The data focus on the editorial policy related to
Islamic Religious Education in Higher Education.
They are then analyzed using theories of general
education/valueS education. The two main references
used in data analysis are meaning theory from Philip
H. Phenix and values system theory from Achmad
Sanusi plus some research results on religious
education, values education, and general education
from researchers.
3 RESULT AND DISCUSSION
The government policies related to Islamic religious
education in higher education can be found in several
laws and regulations, namely: 1) the 1945
Constitution; 2) Law no. 20 of 2003 on National
Education System; 3) Law No. 14 Year 2005 on
Teachers and Lecturers; 4) Law no. 12 Year 2012 on
Higher Education; 5) Government regulation no. 13
Year 2015 on National Education Standards; 6)
Government regulation no. 55 Year 2007 on
Religious Education and Religious Matters; 7)
Decree of the Minister of National Education no.
232/U/2000 on the Guidelines for the Preparation of
Higher Education Curriculum and Assessment of
Student Learning Outcomes; 8) Decree of the General
Director of Higher Education. 43/DIKTI/Kep/2006
on the Manual of the Implementation of Personality
Development Course Group in Higher Education.
The policies of Islamic religious education in
higher education in the 1945 Constitution can be
found in article 29 paragraph 1 and 2, article 31
paragraph 3 and 5; Law no. 20 Year 2003 article 3,
article 4 paragraph 1, article 12 paragraph 1, article
36 paragraph 3, and article 37 paragraph 2; Law no.
14 Year 2005 article 45, article 46, and article 48; and
Law no. 12 Year 2012 chapter 5 and 35.
Furthermore, Islamic religious education policy in
higher education in government regulations can be
found in government regulation no. 13 Year 2015
article 9, article 31, and article 49; government
regulation no. 55 Year 2007 article 1, paragraph 1,
article 2, paragraph 1, article 3, article 4, article 5,
article 6 and article 7.
More operational policies can be found in the
Decree of the Minister of National Education no.
232/U/2000 article 7 paragraph 1, article 8 paragraph
1, and article 10 paragraph 1; the Decree of the
Director General of Higher Education no.
43/DIKTI/Kep/2006 article 1, article 2, article 3,
article 4 paragraph 1, article 5, article 6 paragraph 1,
article 7, article 8, article 9, article 10, article 11
paragraph 1 and article 12.
Analysis of the contents of those policies from the
perspectives of the theory of values education can be
classified based on the values developed by Phenix
and Sanusi as follows.
3.1 Theologic/Synoptics Values
Theologic/synoptics values are the main values
contained in the Islamic religious education policy in
higher education. These values can be found in the
1945 Constitution article 29 paragraph 1 and 2, article
31 paragraph 3 and 5; Law no. 20 year 2003 article 3,
article 4 paragraph 1, article 12 paragraph 1, article
36 paragraph 3, and article 37 paragraph 2; Law no.
20 Year 2003 article 3, article 4 paragraph 1, article
12 paragraph 1, article 36 paragraph 3, and Article 37
paragraph 2; Law no. 12 Year 2012 article 5 and
article 35; Government regulation No. 13 Year 2015
article 9 paragraph 2; Government regulation No. 55
Year 2007 article 2, paragraph 1, article 3, paragraph
1; Decree of the Minister of National Education no.
232/U/2000 article 10, paragraph 1, and Decree of the
Director General of Higher Education no.
43/DIKTI/Kep/2006 article 1, article 2, article 3.
These policies clearly show that Indonesia is a
country that upholds divine values and these values
serve as foundations and goals in the implementation
of education in higher education. Under the religious
education paradigm, this theologic/synoptic value
points to the religious paradigm (Hull, 2002)
embraced by the Indonesian Nation. Consequently,
government intervention on religious education
becomes a necessity.
Values Analysis of Islamic Religious Education (IRE) Policies at Higher Education in Indonesia
41

3.2 Ethics Values
Ethical values become indicators that are expected to
arise from the personality of students as a form of
success of Islamic Religious Education in Higher
Education. The ethical values embodied in the
policies of Islamic Religious Education in Indonesian
Universities can be found in: Government Regulation
no. 55 Year 2007 article 1 paragraph 1, article 2,
paragraph 1 and 2, article 5, paragraph 3,4,5 and 6;
Decree of the Director General of Higher Education
no. 43/DIKTI/Kep/2006 article 1, article 2, and article
3, paragraph 2.
Based on these policies it can be found that the
output of Islamic Religious Education in Higher
Education is not only about religious knowledge but
further reflected in the students’ personality. Among
some expected ethical values are obedient to religious
teachings, noble, tolerant, harmonious, respectful,
honest, trustworthy, disciplined, hard working,
independent, confident, competitive, cooperative,
sincere, responsible, critical, innovative, and
dynamic.
The ethical values embodied in these policies are
in fact in line with the general education reform that
is taking place in various parts of the world. In the
context of Indonesia, with reference to existing
policies, Islamic Religious Education in Higher
Education is part of General Education. Historically,
the development trend of Public Education has shown
positive progress (Wehlburg, 2010). In general
education reform, religious education is not just about
teaching religion, but empowering the learners to
become citizens who are caring for the community
and the development of the world community (Cush,
2014).
3.3 Esthetics Values
The Islamic Religious Education Policy in Higher
Education in Indonesia also encourages the creation
of the harmony of life so that the learners can make
best use of their existence as followers of religion in
various facts of life in science, technology, art, or
sport.
The aesthetic values in Islamic Religious
Education policy in Higher Education can be found in
Government Regulation no. 55 Year 2007 article 5,
paragraph 6 and 7, and the Decree of the Director
General of Higher Education no. 43/DIKTI/Kep/2006
article 3, paragraph 1. The policies stipulate that
knowledge of religious values should be applied in
aesthetics and harmonious life. Of course, this is in
line with the concept of general education that has
many interrelated dimensions (Ben-Porath, 2013)
including the emphasis in culture (Newton, 2000).
3.4 Logic/Empirics Values
Logic/empiric values are also reflected in the policy
of Islamic Religious Education in Higher Education
as shown in Government Regulation no. 55 Year
2007 article 5, paragraph 6 and Decree of the Director
General of Higher Education no. 43/DIKTI/Kep/2006
article 3 paragraph 1. In addition to the content of
religious knowledge, logical, critical, systematic, and
scientific thinking becomes part of Islamic Education
Teaching in Higher Education.
The above policies suggest that Islamic Religious
Education in Higher Education is not only limited to
religious doctrines but also higlights the ability of
reasoning critically, logically and rationally. This is
in line with the goal of General Education which is
not only confined to the transfer of knowledge, but
also to prepare the students to be ready to face the
future (Alexander C. Yin, 2010).
3.5 Teleologic/Synnoethics Values
The effectiveness and efficiency of learning of
Islamic Religious Education in Higher Education will
be achieved through good management. The Islamic
Religious Education Policy in Higher Education
affirms several standards in the implementation of
Islamic Religious Education ranging from
organizational standards of managers, lecturers,
facilities, learning methods and strategies, curriculum
and teaching materials, and assessment standards.
This shows that the policy of Islamic Religious
Education in Higher Education embodies the
teleologic/synnoethics values.
The values to be developed are basically in
conformity with the general education reform. Public
education will be strong if accompanied by strong
leadership and managerial skills (Hachtmann, 2012),
coupled with a structured design (Fred G. Martin,
2010), being part of the institutional culture (Awbrey,
2005), complemented with challenging and
fascinating learning activities for the learners
(Jackson, 2016).
4 CONCLUSIONS
Analysis of the contents of Islamic Religious
Education policies in Higher Education in various
laws and regulations in Indonesia reveals that the
policies of Islamic Religious Education in Higher
ICSE 2017 - 2nd International Conference on Sociology Education
42

Education in Indonesia embody theologic/synoptics
values, ethics values, esthetics values, logic/empirics
values, and teleologic/synnoethics values.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
My gratitude goes to the dissertation advisors (Prof.
Ace Suryadi, Dr. Kama Abdul Hakam, and Dr. Encep
Syarief Nurdin) for their attention and guidance and
contribution to this research study, as well as to the
institutions I work for which have provided facilities,
material assistance and also motivation during the
conduct of this study.
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