Communicating Contested Risks: Mining Concessions to Religious Organizations in Indonesia

Abstract

Indonesia’s policy on mining concessions for religious organizations has generated controversy over its environmental, social, and institutional implications. While previous studies have examined the policy from legal, socio-economic, and religious perspectives, less attention has been given to how religious communities encounter information about the controversy and evaluate its communicators. This study examines risk communication among university students who currently study or have previously studied in pesantren or mahad. A quantitative survey was conducted using purposive and network-based recruitment. Of 122 individuals who completed the initial screening, 119 met the eligibility criterion, and 74 (62.2%) reported prior exposure to information about mining concessions to pesantren or Islamic organizations. The subsequent analysis focused on these 74 respondents. Seven study-specific items assessed evaluations of religious leaders, government institutions, media, and the overall credibility of information received using a five-point Likert scale. Data were analyzed descriptively using frequencies, percentages, means, and standard deviations. Evaluations of religious leaders’ honesty (M = 3.14) and understanding of mining issues (M = 3.07) were close to the scale midpoint. Government-related items received lower mean evaluations, particularly regarding consideration of social (M = 2.49) and environmental consequences (M = 2.38), while overall information credibility had the highest mean (M = 3.30). These descriptive patterns highlight the value of examining trustworthiness and credibility across specific communicators and aspects rather than as a single generalized judgment.