Persuasive Communication: Strategy by Office of Religious Affairs to Prevent Divorce

Abstract

The Ministry of Religion took anticipatory steps to prevent high divorce rates through the SUSCATIN program (Prospective Bride Course). This marriage counselling program is carried out at the District Religious Affairs Office (KUA). KUA officers carry out persuasive communication to influence and change the beliefs, attitudes, and behavior of prospective brides and grooms. The marriage counselling program has been running well and smoothly. However, statistical data shows that the divorce rate in Regency is the highest in West Java. This research aims to determine the role of persuasive communication used by KUA officers in influencing the knowledge, attitudes, and behavior of prospective brides and grooms. This research uses a qualitative approach with phenomenological methods. The research results show that KUA officers can carry out counselling effectively. They can set goals, are careful in conveying messages about the importance of maintaining the integrity of marriage, and can implement persuasive communication strategies. However, the efforts of KUA officers have not been optimal. This can be seen from the still high divorce rate in Regency. The limitation of this research is changes in a person's behavior to prevent divorce in the household. The original value of this research is the ability of KUA officers representing the government to deliver development programs through divorce prevention programs using persuasive communication. In the case of community outreach, officers often use one-way (linear) and command-based (top-down) communication.