Religious Leaders as Opinion Leaders in Inflation-Control Communication: A Value-Based Collaborative Model from the “Belanja Wajar” Campaign in Cirebon City, Indonesia

Abstract

Inflation control is a strategic government priority for maintaining economic stability and protecting public purchasing power. Beyond economic policy instruments, however, effective inflation control may depend on public communication that enables citizens to understand policy objectives and relate them to everyday consumption practices. This study examines how the Cirebon City Regional Inflation Control Team (Tim Pengendalian Inflasi Daerah, TPID) mobilizes religious leaders in the “Belanja Wajar” (Reasonable Spending) campaign and how their involvement shapes the communication of inflation-control policies. Using a qualitative single-case study design grounded in a constructivist paradigm, the study draws on semi-structured in-depth interviews, observations, and document analysis involving TPID representatives, Bank Indonesia Cirebon, local government officials, religious leaders, and community members. The data were analyzed using the interactive analytical framework of Miles, Huberman, and Saldaña, comprising data condensation, data display, and conclusion drawing and verification. The findings identify three interconnected communication mechanisms. First, religious leaders function as opinion leaders who translate technical policy messages into locally intelligible religious and social values, including wasathiyah (moderation), the avoidance of israf (excessive consumption), simplicity, honesty, and maslahah (social welfare). Second, their involvement facilitates dialogic communication by connecting policy messages with community perceptions, purchasing conditions, and responses to inflation-control initiatives. Third, these practices provide a basis for interpreting inflation-control communication through the prophetic communication dimensions of humanization, liberation, and transcendence. Building on these findings, the study proposes a value-based collaborative communication model linking institutional policy messages, religious leadership, community feedback, and locally meaningful normative frameworks. The model offers a conceptual explanation of how religious leaders can serve not merely as message transmitters but also as intermediaries between policy institutions and communities. It contributes to research on public policy communication by highlighting the potential role of religiously grounded meaning-making and two-way engagement in communicating economic policies within a local sociocultural context.