ABSTRACT OF MY THESIS

SPRITUALITY ON CHARACTER EDUCATION

The conclusion of this thesis asserts that spirituality is an essential factor in the success of character education. In the implementation, spirituality can be combined synergyly with the religiousity without any reduction to the universality and transcendency of spirituality itself. This conclusion rebut the opinion of Larry P. Nucci, Darcia Narvaez, and Thomas Lickona (2008) who rejected the integration of character education with religious education, opinion of Suzanne Ruthven and Aeron Medbh Mara (2001) who states that spirituality must be neutral of any religious teachings, and opinions of moral relativists who assert the absence of absolute moral foundation in character building. Conversely, this conclusion supports the thesis of Andrew Wright, Ralph G. Chamberlin, and Rachael Kessler about significance of spirituality in character education that can be entered and integrated with the religious education during the universality and transendensinya still awake.

The conclusion is built with the argument that Asmâ Allâh al-Husnâ (The Best Names of God) as Islamic spiritualism representatition can be a source of core ethical values that rise universal characters that compatible with the teachings of other religions such as Christianity and Buddhism. Also strengthened with the findings that the positive characters formulated and proposed in various perspective with culture and religion difference, originate from The Best Names of God. The research results also show that only twenty-nine names of the ninety-nine names of God, can be adopted into the moral character and then grouped into ten main characters, namely: love, care, tolerant, peaceful and safe, responsive, defend the truth , fair, innovative, intelligent, and kind to parents. In regard to the method of character education, this thesis shows that the three adoption methods of God traits: mukâsyafah, musyâhadah, and muqârabah, have the same spirit with tahaqquq, ta'alluq, takhalluq and compatible with the three basic elements of character education: moral knowing, moral feeling, and moral doing.

This research is a qualitative research. The primary source of research is Al Maqshad-Asnâ fi Syarh Asmâ Allâh al-Husnâ, a book of Al-Ghazali. The secondary sources examined through library research methode. Discourse analysis technique used to Analyze these sources with its steps: translation, interpretation, extrapolation, and meaning.