RELIGIOUS BEHAVIOUR OF LGBT COMMUNITIES IN CENTRAL LOMBOK REGENCY, WEST NUSA TENGGARA: AN EXTENDED QUALITATIVE STUDY OF RELIGIOUS PRACTICE, STIGMA, ADAPTATION AND SOCIAL PERCEPTION

Abstract

This research is motivated by the dynamics of religious life within the LGBT community in Central Lombok Regency, which exists in a conservative Muslim society that adheres strongly to Islamic norms. In this context, the LGBT community often faces social pressure, theological stigma, and exclusion from mainstream religious institutions, which encourages them to develop more private, hidden, and adaptive patterns of religious expression. This study aims to understand how the LGBT community shapes their patterns of religious behaviour under social-religious pressure, as well as how these patterns impact local societal perceptions. Theoretically, this study uses a Community Behaviour and Central Behaviour approach, as well as the stigma and labelling theory framework from Erving Goffman and Howard Becker. The methodology used is qualitative with data collection techniques through in-depth interviews, participatory observation, and documentation studies of LGBT community members in Central Lombok. The research results indicate that the religious patterns of the LGBT community are contextual and transformative. Despite facing exclusion, they continue to practice religious activities such as prayer, fasting, and reading the Qur'an, although these are mostly carried out in private spaces or within inclusive communities. The findings also reveal a social ambivalence: some members of society show empathy towards the spirituality of the LGBT community, while the majority still view them as a moral and social threat. In addition, the reality of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) arising from certain risky behaviours is also a significant concern that demands an educational and preventive approach based on religious values and public health.