Integrating Social–Empathic Values and Religiosity into IPAL Management to Foster Environmentally Friendly Mosques: A Case Study in Jember

Abstract

This study examines the roles of empathy, sympathy, and religiosity in shaping attitudes and actual behavior related to wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) management in efforts to establish environmentally friendly mosques in Jember Regency, Indonesia. A convergent parallel mixed-methods design was employed. Quantitative data were collected through a survey of 109 active congregants of Al-Hikmah Mosque at the University of Jember and analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) with SmartPLS 3. Qualitative data were obtained through in-depth interviews, nonparticipant observation, and documentation and subsequently analyzed using NVivo 12. The findings indicate that sympathy has a positive and significant effect on attitude formation (β = 0.512; p < 0.001), as does religiosity (β = 0.243; p = 0.007). Empathy does not exert a statistically significant direct effect on attitudes (β = 0.107; p = 0.261). Attitude formation is the strongest predictor of actual behavior (β = 0.792; p < 0.001). The qualitative findings reveal that congregants’ ecological concern develops through experiences of water scarcity, concern about wasteful water use, and the internalization of Islamic teachings concerning the stewardship responsibilities of the khalifah and the prohibition against environmental degradation. Integrating both datasets demonstrates that successful WWTP management depends not only on technological readiness but also on mosque administrators’ capacity to translate psychological and spiritual values into collective attitudes and sustainable maintenance practices. This model positions the mosque as both a place of worship and a center for socio-ecological education.