ABSTRACT

CO-CULTURAL COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES IN INTERACTIONS BETWEEN THE BUDDHIST COMMUNITY (MINORITY) AND THE ISLAMIC COMMUNITY (MAJORITY) IN GELANGKULON VILLAGE, SAMPUNG DISTRICT, PONOROGO REGENCY
Aida Fatiha Nisaurrohma
22241040

The Coexistence between religious majority and minority communities in Indonesia is often characterized by structural power dynamics that place minority groups in an unequal position. In Sodong Hamlet, where th Buddhist community lives as a minority among the Muslim majority, this power imbalance requires Buddhist to consciously and strategically choose communication methods to negotiate their existence. This study aims to identify the co cultural communication strategies used by members of the Buddhist community ( minority ) in their daily interactions with the Islamic community ( majority ). To identify these strategies, this study employs the Co Cultural Communication Theory by Mark P. Orbe. Using a descriptive qualitative method, data were collected through in-depth interviews with key members og both Buddhist and Muslim groups, paticipant observation of sosial interactions and religious activities in Sodong Hamlet, and documentation relsted to the history and activities of the community. The results show that the Buddhist community in Sodong Hamlet, as a minority, utilizes co cultural strategies that tend to be oriented toward assimilation with a non-assertive communication style. The dominant communication strategies are emphasizing commonalities, averting controversy, and censoring self, which appear across various social interaction spaces. These findings indicate that the communication strategies used by the Buddhist community are a form of adaption to the existing social structure and play a crucial role in maintaining harmonious sosial relaions at the local level.
Keywords: Communication Strategy, Co-Cultural, Buddhist Minority, Islamic Majority, Non-Assertive Assimilation, Sodong Hamlet.