Nurcholish Madjid Desacralization and Contemporary Religious Authority

Abstract

Nurcholish Madjid’s concept of desacralization emerged from his concern over the tendency to treat human interpretations, religious authorities, and worldly interests as sacred and absolute. This issue remains relevant to contemporary religious life, particularly in the cult of religious figures and the use of religious identity in political competition. This study aims to analyze the foundations of Madjid’s concept of desacralization and examine its relevance to contemporary religious authority and identity politics. The study employs a qualitative approach through library research using a descriptive-analytical method. The primary source is Nurcholish Madjid’s Islam, Doctrine and Civilization, supported by relevant scholarly literature on desacralization, religious authority, and identity politics. The study finds that Madjid’s desacralization operates through two related mechanisms: desacralizing human authority and distinguishing religious values from contingent political interests. The first mechanism places religious figures, their interpretations, and intellectual products within the realm of human and relative authority, thereby allowing them to be examined critically rather than treated as absolute. The second mechanism separates Islamic religious values from political interests, preventing political choices, institutions, and identities from acquiring religious legitimacy simply through the use of religious symbols.