Religious Habitus and Social Solidarity of Islamic Boarding School Students: A Sociological Analysis of Islamic Education from the Perspective of Ibn Khaldun's Thought

Abstract

The phenomenon of declining social solidarity among modern santri (Islamic boarding school students) reflects a shifting value orientation within the pesantren environment. This condition raises an academic question about how pesantren, as traditional Islamic educational institutions, can maintain their religious habitus and social cohesion amid the growing forces of modernization and individualism. The gap between the ideality of Islamic education—emphasizing the formation of religious-communal character—and the increasingly fragmented social reality necessitates a profound sociological investigation. This study aims to analyze the religious habitus and social solidarity of santri within the framework of Islamic educational sociology based on Ibn Khaldun’s thought. The research employs a qualitative library-based method with an integrative approach that combines modern sociological theories (Pierre Bourdieu’s habitus and Émile Durkheim’s solidarity) with Islamic paradigms (the Qur’an, Hadith, and Ibn Khaldun’s Muqaddimah). Data were obtained through critical analysis of relevant classical and contemporary literature and examined using content analysis techniques to identify conceptual patterns and theoretical synthesis. The findings indicate that pesantren function not only as institutions for transmitting religious knowledge but also as arenas for value reproduction that shape the identity of santri. Religious habitus is formed through worship routines, moral discipline, and teacher–student relationships, while social solidarity grows through collective practices such as mutual cooperation (gotong royong), ta’awun, and ukhuwah. Ibn Khaldun’s concept of ‘ashabiyyah provides a strong theoretical foundation for understanding santri solidarity as a social force sustaining the existence of pesantren. This study affirms that Islamic education should be understood as a social process that develops both religious individuals and empowered communities, while contributing theoretically to the development of Qur’an- and Hadith-based Islamic education studies within an interdisciplinary perspective.