Legal Literacy Training for Christian Church Leaders: A Community Development Program in Donomulyo, South Malang, Indonesia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.56393/jpkm.v6i2.4213Keywords:
Legal Literacy Training, Church Leadership, Community Empowerment, Religious Freedom, Social HarmonyAbstract
Legal literacy plays a crucial role in helping religious leaders navigate legal frameworks related to religious freedom, public communication, and community relations in plural societies. However, many church leaders in local communities still have a limited understanding of legal regulations governing religious practices, which may lead to misunderstandings or potential social tensions. This study reports the implementation of a legal literacy training program for Christian church leaders in Donomulyo, South Malang, Indonesia. The program was designed as a community development initiative aimed at strengthening legal awareness among religious leaders through participatory education. The training involved more than 80 church leaders from various congregations and was conducted through seminars, interactive discussions, and a simple knowledge evaluation using pre-test and post-test instruments. The results indicate a significant improvement in participants’ legal knowledge, with the average score increasing from 53.78 in the pre-test to 74.27 in the post-test. Participants also demonstrated strong engagement during discussions and expressed intentions to disseminate the knowledge gained within their congregations. These findings suggest that legal literacy training can serve as an effective community empowerment strategy by strengthening the capacity of religious leaders to navigate legal issues, promote responsible public communication, and support social harmony in pluralistic communities.
Downloads
References
Abdurrohman, N., Alkautsar, L. A., Assyifaa, R., Almira, R. A., & Purwanto, E. (2024). Enhancing environmental awareness and behaviors among students at Al-Mansoura Junior High School: Community service activities. Jurnal Community of Urban Development, 2(1).
Arvante, J. Z. Y., Nugraha, M. F., & Arifin, R. (2022). A pseudo freedom for faith: A discourse of religious freedom in Russia and Indonesia. Contemporary Issues on Interfaith Law and Society, 1(2), 187–214. https://doi.org/10.15294/ciils.v1i2.31371
Djafar, E. M., Fikri, M., Mutaallif, S., Fathir, M., Farisi, A., Suwandi, M. D., Randy, A. M., Amalia, A. M., Sari, L. S., Fidar, A. P., Azizah, I., Pratama, A. P. A., Rompon, V. S., & Imran, Z. Z. (2026). Strengthening legal awareness and community participation in Talaka village governance. Journal Informatic, Education and Management, 8(1), 725–734. https://doi.org/10.61992/jiem.v8i1.259
Fata, F. I., Kamala, G., Sabrina, A. M., Putri, P. K., Lamu, R. M., & Purwanto, E. (2024). Integrating environmental education and creative arts in early childhood: A community development initiative at Bait Adzkia Islamic Kindergarten. Jurnal Pengabdian dan Kewirausahaan, 8(2), 148–156. http://dx.doi.org/10.30813/jpk.v8i2.6238
Flora, H. S., Jumra, J., Rasyid, M., Zuwanda, Z. S., & Sari, N. (2025). Legal education for the community: Efforts to raise legal awareness in community D. Journal of Human and Education, 5(1), 706–716. https://doi.org/10.31004/jh.v5i1.2263
Laverack, G., & Labonte, R. (2000). A planning framework for community empowerment goals within health promotion. Health Policy and Planning, 15(3), 255–262. https://doi.org/10.1093/heapol/15.3.255
Mietzner, M., & Muhtadi, B. (2018). Explaining the 2016 Islamist mobilisation in Indonesia: Religious intolerance, militant groups and the politics of accommodation. Asian Studies Review, 42(3), 479–497. https://doi.org/10.1080/10357823.2018.1473335
Putri Aiko, K., Nurmalasari, S., Reza, M., Pasya Athalla Nadhifa, E., Nashita Lumi, A., Purwanto, E., & Author, C. (2024). Empowering environmental awareness in kindergarten: A community development initiative on plastic waste management. Penamas: Journal of Community Service, 4(2), 257–268. https://doi.org/10.53088/penamas.v4i2.1103
Rijal, A. S., Husna, M. A., Kholiluddin, T., & Subkan, M. A. (2025). Islamic education as an ethical mechanism in responding to social diversity: A contextual analysis of Indonesia and Malaysia. Edudeena: Journal of Islamic Religious Education, 9(2), 135–146. https://doi.org/10.30762/edudeena.v9i2.7568
Rojak, J. A. (2021). The importance of civic education to increase community legal awareness. Journal of Social Science Studies, 1(1), 44–50. https://jos3journals.id/index.php/jos3/article/view/29
Ruslan, I., Mawardi, M., & Anshori, A. A. (2022). Deconstruction of the policy for the establishment of houses of worship in Indonesia. Religious: Jurnal Studi Agama-Agama dan Lintas Budaya, 6(2), 261–270. https://doi.org/10.15575/rjsalb.v6i2.21396
Sanityastuti, M. S., Virga, R. L., & Zahra, L. (2024). Understanding digital literacy in religious content on social media: @generation_muda_nu and @kuntummagazine study. Profetik: Jurnal Komunikasi, 17(1). https://doi.org/10.14421/pjk.v17i1.3062
Serah, Y. A., Purwanto, P., Febrianawati, F., Sirait, R. A. M., & Astono, A. (2025). Building legal awareness through digital platforms: Conceptualizing web applications in responsive legal counseling. Indonesian Journal of Advocacy and Legal Services, 7(2), 431–466. https://doi.org/10.15294/ijals.v7i2.29611
Setha, D. (2024). Community empowerment through legal education: Enhancing legal awareness in village communities. Bulletin of Community Engagement, 4(3), 875–885. https://doi.org/10.51278/bce.v4i3.1680
Sofjan, D. (2016). Religious diversity and politico-religious intolerance in Indonesia and Malaysia. The Review of Faith & International Affairs, 14(4), 53–64. https://doi.org/10.1080/15570274.2016.1248532
Suhadi, S., Muhtada, D., & Amal, A. G. S. (2024). Legal reconstruction of the establishment of places of worship in Indonesia: A legal-political analysis within the framework of land use and spatial planning law. Journal of Indonesian Legal Studies, 9(2), 1181–1208. https://doi.org/10.15294/jils.v9i2.1916
