An Interpretative Phenomenological Exploration of Religious Meaning-Making Among Santri in Remote Islamic Boarding Schools

Abstract

Islamic education in rural boarding schools (pesantren) plays a vital role in shaping the religious identity of young Muslims through immersive communal living and spiritual practice. While existing studies have explored pedagogical structures, little is known about how santri (students) personally experience and interpret their religiosity under conditions of material hardship and isolation. The present study addresses this gap by asking: how do santri in remote pesantren construct the meaning of their religiosity within their lived environments? Using an interpretative phenomenological approach, this study investigates the subjective religious experiences of eight santri residing in resource-limited Islamic boarding schools in Indonesia. Data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews and analyzed thematically to capture the essence of participants’ spiritual journeys. Five major themes emerged from the data: spiritual resilience through material limitation, emotional independence through separation from family, contemplation through engagement with nature, religious modeling through the kiai, and internalization of faith through daily rituals. These findings reveal that religiosity among santri is deeply contextual, shaped by personal encounters with adversity rather than formal instruction alone. The study contributes to a more nuanced understanding of Islamic spiritual development by highlighting the formative power of experience and environment. These insights offer practical implications for educators and policymakers seeking to support faith formation in under-resourced contexts and open new avenues for research in experiential religious education.