Behind Digital Da'wah for Children: Psychological Influence, Symbolic Power, and Pious Capitalism in Indonesian Islamic Animation

Abstract

The animated series Nussa and Rarra is often praised in affirmative literature as an effective medium for da’wah and character education for children. However, this study presents a counter-narrative by examining how the series undermines children’s psychological development. Employing a qualitative case-study approach and multimodal discourse analysis of seven selected episodes, the study identifies three interrelated discursive mechanisms. First, media logic and religious framing reduce children’s natural behaviors to moral-religious crises that are immediately resolved and normalized as standard. Second, parental authority is legitimized through a monopoly on religious claims, masking disguises domestic obedience as spiritual submission. Third, piety is commodified through a transactional logic described as “pious capitalism.” This progression results in the formation of a religious subjectivity that encourages external compliance and transactional reasoning rather than genuine, reasoned faith. The study highlights that the primary concern is not the presence of religion itself, but in the manner in which it is conveyed—bypassing children’s capacity for critical reasoning.