Faith, debt, and ethical dissonance: a phenomenological study of Muslim women’s borrowers of Bank Titil in Indonesia

Abstract

Purpose This study aims to explain the intention–behavior gap among Muslim women borrowers of Bank Titil (informal moneylenders) in Indonesia, specifically examining why they enter into interest-bearing financial transactions despite knowing the explicit Islamic prohibition against usury (Riba). Design/methodology/approach Using an interpretative phenomenological analysis approach, the study draws on in-depth interviews with three women at different life stages and borrowing trajectories. Findings The findings demonstrate that borrowing is not driven by a lack of faith, but by a significant constraint on perceived behavioral control (PBC) caused by systemic gendered constraints. While their individual attitudes are anchored in theological awareness and spiritual guilt, and their subjective norms are torn between communal religious monitoring and domestic survival pressures, their actual agency is heavily restricted by specific gendered structural barriers. These structural limitations produce acute ethical dissonance. To cope, these women deploy compensatory behaviors that lead to divergent outcomes: continuous debt reliance or a rapid, guilt-driven debt exit. Originality/value The study extends the theory of planned behavior (TPB) by demonstrating that the intention–behavior gap in faith-driven contexts is a structurally coerced psychological process rather than a failure of personal devotion. It provides a highly contextualized framework showing how localized gendered inequalities and banking exclusions impede abstract religious compliance.