Genealogy of Soekarno's syncretic-eclectic thought: the intersection of culture values, religion, and ideology (1916-1926)
Downloads
This study aims to analyze the dynamics of values and ideas that shaped Soekarno's syncretic and eclectic thinking. This study uses a historical method that includes four stages, namely heuristics, criticism, interpretation, and historiography. Through comparative analysis, it is shown that there are differences between the concepts of syncretism and eclecticism. Eclecticism is an approach to thinking that selectively combines various elements of thought from different systems of thought. This differs from syncretism, which tends to combine elements of values and thoughts into a unity with traces of contradiction within it. The results of this study show that Soekarno's syncretic thinking was born from an active dialectical process between tradition, values, and philosophy. The intersection of Javanese values, Theosophy, Abangan Islam, and Hinduism became the foundation for the formation of Soekarno's moral horizon, which was oriented towards the idea of unity. Meanwhile, Soekarno's eclecticism was the result of his adaptation of HOS Tjokroaminoto's eclectic style of thinking, as reflected in his writings on Islam and Socialism. Tjokroaminoto selected concepts of socialism that were compatible with the framework of Islam, rather than accepting the doctrine of socialism. Based on this approach, Soekarno formulated syncretic and eclectic ideological ideas in his 1926 writing Nationalism, Islamism, and Marxism. The uniqueness of this study lies in the position of syncretism as Soekarno's moral philosophy and eclecticism as Soekarno's epistemology
Downloads
Adams, C. (1966). Bung Karno: Penjambung Lidah Rakjat Indonesia. Gunung Agung.
Adrian Ichsan Pratama, Beni Ahmad Saebani, & Nasrudin. (2024). Konsep Negara dan Politik Kebangsaan Soekarno. Jurnal Ilmu Hukum, Humaniora Dan Politik, 4(6), 2767–2778. https://doi.org/10.38035/jihhp.v4i6.2848
Agustina, E. (2019). Soekarno, Nasakom, dan Buku Di Bawah Bendera Revolusi Sebagai Materi Ajar Pelajaran Sejarah SMA. Historia: Jurnal Pendidik Dan Peneliti Sejarah, 3(1). https://doi.org/10.17509/historia.v3i1.20908
Aminullah, M. S. (2020). AGAMA DAN POLITIK: Studi Pemikiran Soekarno tentang Relasi Agama dan Negara. Jurnal Sosiologi Agama, 14(1), 53. https://doi.org/10.14421/jsa.2020.141-03
Anderson, B. R. O. (2002). Bung Karno and the Fossilization of Soekarno’s Thought. Indonesia, 74, 1. https://doi.org/10.2307/3351522
ANRI. (1943). ANRI 2337. Daftar Orang Indonesia Yang Terkemuka Di Jawa, “Soekarno, Ir. R. Pemimpin Besar PUTRA Dan Anggota Panitia Adat Dan Tata Negara Dahulu, Dari Jakarta.
Dahm, B. (1987). Sukarno dan perjuangan kemerdekaan (Cet. 1). Lembaga Penelitian Pendidikan dan Penerangan Ekonomi dan Sosial.
Dejo, J., & Dupuy, M. (2025). The Impact of Higher Education on Andean Spirituality: A Case Study with Quechua-Speaking and Rural Youth in Peru. The International Journal of Religion and Spirituality in Society, 15(4), 125–149. https://doi.org/10.18848/2154-8633/CGP/v15i04/125-149
Departemen Penerangan RI. (1964). Tanamkan Tat Twam Asi Didalam Dadamu! Departemen Penerangan RI.
Ekopriyono, A. (2005). The spirit of pluralism: Menggali nilai-nilai kehidupan, mencapai kearifan. Elex Media Komputindo.
Geertz, C. (2013). Agama Jawa: Abangan, Santri, Priyayi Dalam Kebudayaan Jawa. Komunitas Bambu.
Gottschalk, L. (1983). Mengerti Sejarah, Terjemahan Nugroho Notosusanto. Universitas Indonesia Press.
Hödl, H. G., & Schmidt, B. (2023). From Syncretism to Hybridity: Transformations in African-derived American Religions: An Introduction. Interdisciplinary Journal for Religion and Transformation in Contemporary Society, 9(2), 301–309. https://doi.org/10.30965/23642807-10020025
HOS. Tjokroaminoto. (2018). Islam dan Sosialisme. Sega Arsy.
Irawan, Zayadi, Saihu, M., Darwis Hude, & Nasaruddin Umar. (2025). Negotiating Legal Pluralism: Syncretism of Islamic Law and Balinese Adat in Pegayaman Village. El-Mashlahah, 15(1), 149–164. https://doi.org/10.23971/el-mashlahah.v15i1.9072
Kiftiyah, A., & Septia Wahyuningsih, I. (2025). Sukarno’s Visionary Ideas in Formulating Pancasila as The Basis of The State. Bhinneka Tunggal Ika: Pancasila Jurnal Internasional Berbahasa Indonesia, 2(1). https://doi.org/10.52738/bti.v2i1.38
Kim, K. (2025). The Chronicler’s Portrayal of Monotheism: Yhwh Among Other Gods and Its Didactic Impact on the Yehud Community. Religions, 16(4), 412. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel16040412
Kuswono, K. (2016). MARHAENISM: SOCIAL IDEOLOGY CREATE BY SUKARNO. HISTORIA, 4(2), 119. https://doi.org/10.24127/hj.v4i2.549
Legge, J. D. (1985). Sukarno: Sebuah Biografi Politik. Sinar Harapan.
Masombuka, T. (2025). “Both Exist at the Same Time”: Reconceptualizing Religious Syncretism in Akwaeke Emezi’s Freshwater (2018). Research in African Literatures, 55(2), 36–49. https://doi.org/10.2979/ral.00058
Mubarrod, R., & Eka Putra, N. R. (2025). MENGGALI PEMIKIRAN POLITIK ISLAM SUKARNO: LANDASAN PENDIDIKAN KARAKTER BANGSA DAN RELEVANSINYA DALAM KEHIDUPAN BERBANGSA DAN BERNEGARA. JURNAL EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENT, 13(1), 717–721. https://doi.org/10.37081/ed.v13i3.7323
Mursalova, A. (2025). RELIGIOUS SYNCRETISM: ITS CREATION, PROBLEMS AND THE CONSEQUENCES OF INTERRELIGIOUS RAPPROCHEMENT. Metafizika Journal, 8(3), 136–153. https://doi.org/10.33864/2617-751X.2025.v8.i3.136-153
Nugraha, I. P. (2001). Teosofi, Nasionalisme, & Elite Modern Indonesia. Komunitas Bambu.
Pimentel Da Silva Cruz, B. (2025). Historicity and Race in Afro-American Religions in Brazil. Political Theology, 26(3), 271–283. https://doi.org/10.1080/1462317X.2023.2210445
Razuni, G. (2023). BUNG KARNO’s POLITICAL THOUGHT ACCORDING TO PANCASILA: A Study of Bung Karno’s Speech on June 1, 1945, and the President Soekarno/Bung Karno’s Pancasila Course Throughout 1958-1959. JWP (Jurnal Wacana Politik), 8(2), 223. https://doi.org/10.24198/jwp.v8i2.50119
Ricklefs, M. C. (2011). Sejarah Indonesia Modern. Gadjah Mada University Press.
Roring, T. A., & Tondok, M. S. (2025). Implementasi Etika Jawa dalam Praktik Kepemimpinan Sekolah. Jurnal Pendidikan Dan Kebudayaan, 10(1), 89–115. https://doi.org/10.24832/jpnk.v10i1.5873
Salam, S. (1966). Bung Karno Putera Fadjar. Gunung Agung.
Soekarno. (1965). Dibawah Bendera Revolusi Djilid I. Panitya Penerbit.
Soetjiatingsih, S., & Kutoyo, S. (1981). Sejarah Pendidikan Daerah Jawa Timur. DEPDIKBUD.
Spica, M. A. (2025). Afro-Brazilian religions and religious diversity: Contributions to pluralism. Religious Studies, 61(2), 479–492. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0034412524000192
Suastini, N. N., & Rach Suarjaya, I. K. B. (2021). PEMAHAMAN AJARAN TAT TWAM ASI SEBAGAI PEDOMAN DALAM UPAYA PENINGKATAN MAWAS DIRI DI ERA PANDEMI COVID-19. Jurnal Penjaminan Mutu, 7(2). https://doi.org/10.25078/jpm.v7i2.2546
Wang, Z. (2022). The dynamic process of syncretism: Datuk Gong worship in Malaysia. HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies, 78(4). https://doi.org/10.4102/hts.v78i4.7269
Wibier, M. (2015). ‘ECLECTICISM’ AS PRODUCTIVE THINKING, NOT A BRANCH OF STOICISM - M. Hatzimichali Potamo of Alexandria and the Emergence of Eclecticism in Late Hellenistic Philosophy. Pp. x + 198. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011. ISBN: 978-0-521-19728-1. The Classical Review, 65(1), 81–83. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0009840X14002327
Widianto, B. R., Ruslan, A., & Bandarsyah, D. (2022). Soekarno, Marhaenisme: Ideologi Pergerakan Kaum Melarat Indonesia (Sosialisme Soekarno). HISTORIA: Jurnal Program Studi Pendidikan Sejarah, 10(2), 139. https://doi.org/10.24127/hj.v10i2.4022

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
The Authors submitting a manuscript do so on the understanding that if accepted for publication, copyright publishing of the article shall be assigned to Harmoni Sosial: Jurnal Pendidikan IPS
![]() | Harmoni Sosial: Jurnal Pendidikan IPS by http://journal.uny.ac.id/index.php/hsjpi is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. |