The Role of Christian Religious Education in Shaping Student Character in the Digital Era

Abstract

The rapid development of digital technology has significantly transformed educational practices and students’ moral environments. While digitalization offers broad access to information and learning resources, it also poses serious challenges to students’ character formation, including moral relativism, declining empathy, and unethical online behavior. In this context, Christian Religious Education (CRE) plays a strategic role in nurturing faith-based character and ethical awareness among students living in the digital era. This study aims to analyze the role of Christian Religious Education in shaping students’ character amid digital challenges. The research employs a qualitative approach using a literature study design. Data were collected from scholarly journals, academic books, and relevant research publications published between 2018 and 2025. The data were analyzed using content analysis through stages of data reduction, thematic organization, and interpretation. The findings indicate that Christian Religious Education contributes significantly to character formation by integrating Christian values with digital literacy, ethical reflection, and contextual pedagogy. CRE teachers act as moral change agents who model Christian virtues and guide students in applying faith-based principles to their digital behavior. The study concludes that CRE, when implemented through contextual, creative, and reflective approaches, can effectively form students’ moral resilience, ethical digital citizenship, and Christ-centered character in the digital era.