Religious Ethics against Corruption: Reconstructing the Role of Islamic and Christian Communities in Indonesian Anti-Corruption Governance

Abstract

Corruption presents a major challenge to justice, public trust, and institutional integrity in Indonesia. Religious communities possess substantial social influence and moral authority, yet their potential contribution to anti-corruption governance remains underexplored from a comparative theological perspective. This article examines how Islamic and Christian ethical traditions can contribute to anti-corruption efforts in Indonesia. Employing comparative theological and normative legal analysis, the study examines concepts of trust, stewardship, accountability, honesty, public responsibility, and moral integrity within Islamic and Christian traditions. The article argues that religious condemnation of corruption is insufficient when it remains limited to individual moral exhortation. A more comprehensive theological approach should address the institutional and structural dimensions of corruption, including abuse of power, conflicts of interest, patronage, and weak accountability. The study proposes a faith-based anti-corruption framework integrating moral formation, institutional transparency, whistleblower protection, public accountability, and civic participation. Religious organizations can contribute by developing ethical leadership programs and monitoring mechanisms while maintaining institutional independence from political interests. The article concludes that theological ethics can complement legal anti-corruption mechanisms by cultivating moral norms and collective responsibility. Such cooperation may strengthen Indonesia's anti-corruption culture without transforming religious institutions into substitutes for formal legal enforcement.