Muslim women’s everyday religious practices and the continuity of Islam Nusantara: A lived religion perspective

Although research on Islam Nusantara has emphasized historical developments, religious institutions, and formal authority, Muslim women’s everyday contributions to preserving local Islamic traditions and negotiating religious authority remain insufficiently examined. This study examines how Muslim women’s everyday religious practices contribute to the preservation and transmission of local Islamic traditions supporting the continuity of Islam Nusantara in Indonesia. Using qualitative document analysis, this study examined 17 publications purposively selected via Google Scholar and SpringerLink searches (February–May 2025). Reflexive Thematic Analysis was guided by lived religion, with gendered agency as a complementary interpretive lens. The analysis identified three interconnected dimensions: (1) preservation of local Islamic rituals and traditions through ritual participation, preparation, and organization; (2) community-based religious education and da‘wah through religious learning, women’s leadership, community mobilization, and digital communication; and (3) everyday spirituality expressed through local cultural practices, moral responsibilities, family life, and intergenerational transmission. Across these dimensions, women exercised religious agency while negotiating gender norms and unequal religious authority. Together, these practices sustain local Islamic traditions through interconnected ritual, educational, and familial settings, indicating that the continuity of Islam Nusantara extends beyond formal institutions, though it does not necessarily confer equal religious authority on women across communities. Religious organizations, educational institutions, and policymakers should strengthen women’s meaningful participation in ritual decision-making, support community-based religious education and digital literacy, and promote equitable intergenerational transmission of local Islamic traditions.