Reconstructing Public Administration through Religious Morality for Ethical Governance and Public Service Quality

Research Problem: Contemporary public administration faces not only structural and procedural problems but also a moral and ethical crisis. In Indonesia, corruption, maladministration, abuse of authority, weak bureaucratic integrity, and declining public trust reveal that public service reform cannot rely solely on regulations, institutional redesign, or performance-based management. Although New Public Management and Good Governance have contributed to efficiency, transparency, accountability, and participation, they remain limited when bureaucratic problems are rooted in moral degradation and weak ethical commitment. Research Purposes: This article aims to analyze the reconstruction of public administration through religious morality as an alternative normative paradigm for strengthening ethical governance and improving public service quality. It also seeks to formulate a conceptual model that connects religious moral values, bureaucratic internalization, ethical conduct, public service quality, and public trust. Research Methods: This study uses a qualitative approach through literature review and conceptual synthesis. The analysis draws on public administration theory, bureaucratic ethics, governance literature, and Indonesian public policy documents, including regulations on public service, government administration, bureaucratic reform, and integrity zones. Results and Discussion: The study shows that modern administrative paradigms tend to emphasize efficiency, procedural accountability, and measurable performance, while insufficiently addressing the moral foundations of bureaucratic conduct. The proposed model places religious moral values as normative inputs, internalization within bureaucracy as the process, ethical bureaucratic conduct as the behavioral mechanism, public service quality as the institutional output, and public trust as the expected outcome. Research Implications and Contributions: This article contributes to religion, governance, and public policy studies by positioning religious morality as a moral foundation for ethical governance. It offers a conceptual framework for strengthening integrity, restoring public trust, and improving public service quality through morally grounded administrative reform.