RELIGIOUS COMMODIFICATION TO INCREASE PUBLIC WELFARE THROUGH TOURISM HALAL IN INDONESIA

Abstract

Religion in the postmodern era has undergone commodification. Commodification means, placing a religion as a product.  Commodification of religion is a process of transformation of the values of  religion as ways of life which are   based on the belief in God to be values that can be exchanged by using functions that are adapted to the human needs of religion. One form of religious commodification that occurs today is halal tourism. Halal meaning, so far,  is synonymous with labeling of wheter something may or may not be consumed based on Islam. On the other hand,  the needs of the community towards tourism keeps the religious values increasing. As a result, the government in cooperation with  investors are  vying to modify the existing tourism facilities to be in accordance with market demand. The process of the commodification of religion, especially through halal tourism,  will certainly improve the welfare of the  society, because the Tourism Sector in Indonesia becomes an important sector in contributing the country's foreign exchange. Since 2013, the Tourism Sector is the 4th largest sector of the country's foreign exchange contributor, after oil and gas, coal and palm oil. Until the year 2015, tourism activity is one of the economic sectors that is able to grow rapidly, and is one of the largest economic sectors in the world.