ISRL 2020

Book excerpt: We are delighted to introduce Proceedings of the 3rd International Symposium On Religious Life (ISRL 2020). This conference has brought academicians, researchers, developers and practitioners around the world. In collaboration with Indonesian Consortium for Religious Studies (ICRS) and Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), the Agency for Research, Development and Training of the Ministry of Religious Affairs (MoRA) convened bi-annual symposium with the following main theme: “Religious Life, Ethics and Human Dignity in the Disruptive Era”. The 3rd ISRL highlighted the role of religion and ethics in the disruptive era that erode human values, civility, and dignity. In the processes of development and technological revolution, religion can play an essential role in providing spiritual, moral, and ethical guidance. In the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, religion is perceived in two ways: on the one hand, some faith communities have been willfully negligent and become ‘super-spreaders’ of the dangerous virus by defying stay-at-home orders. Yet, on the other hand, religion has also galvanized its adherents to support economically vulnerable and marginalized communities affected by the lockdown and social restrictions. Likewise, in democratization, religion gives society the necessary dynamic thrust to maintain its vibrancy, resiliency, and sustainability. This Symposium is therefore expected to delve into the complexity of how religion, religious values and faith communities confront the contemporary challenges to uphold ethics and human dignity. We strongly believe that ISRL conference provides a good forum for all academicians, researcher, developers and practitioners to discuss all religious Life, ethics and human dignity. We also expect that the future ISRL conference will be as successful and stimulating, as indicated by the contributions presented in this volume.