Religious Habituation in Shaping Students’ Religious Character at SMA Al-Falah Ketintang Surabaya

Pembiasaan Keagamaan dalam Membentuk Karakter Religius Siswa di SMA Al-Falah Ketintang Surabaya

Abstract

Religious character education plays a strategic role in shaping students’ behavior in line with the values of Islamic teachings. Concerns about declining morality and religious behavior among students, in schools and in society, highlight the need to strengthen religious character through a structured religious habituation program. This study aims to describe how religious habituation is implemented through a religious habituation program at SMA Al-Falah Ketintang Surabaya and to analyze its role in shaping students’ religious character. It used a descriptive qualitative approach involving the school principal, Islamic Education teachers, facilitators of religious activities, and students. Data were collected through direct observation, interviews, and documentation. The findings show that the program runs as a cycle of planning, implementation, and evaluation. It consists of morning greetings, prayers before and after lessons, Qur’an recitation, congregational Dhuha, Dhuhr, and Asr prayers, Islamic spiritual guidance, and the commemoration of Islamic holidays. Repeated habituation fosters students’ awareness to practice Islamic values independently, reflected in gratitude, reliance on God, humility, and courtesy, although internalization is uneven because it depends on family support and the peer environment. The study implies that habituation should be designed as a collaborative system involving the school, families, and the wider environment. Its limitations are a single research site and a descriptive design that does not measure levels of internalization.