The Influence of Catholic Religious Education on Students’ Spiritual Resilience in the Digital Age: A Study of Students at STK Santo Yakobus Merauke

Authors

  • Berlinda Setyo Yunarti Saint James Catholic College of Merauke Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.70343/fkd5kb15

Keywords:

Catholic Religious Education, Spiritual Resilience, Digital Era, Student

Abstract

The digital age brings psychological and social pressures requiring students to possess strong spiritual resilience. This study examines the influence of Catholic Religious Education (PAK) on the spiritual resilience of students at STK Santo Yakobus Merauke. A quantitative approach using simple linear regression was employed. The sample comprised 35 active students in the Catholic Religious Education programme with below-average economic conditions, selected via purposive sampling. Data were collected using a Likert scale questionnaire (1–5) comprising 30 items per variable, which had been validated (calculated r > 0.334) and found to be highly reliable (Cronbach’s Alpha: X = 0.991; Y = 0.992). The results indicate that PAK has a positive and significant effect on students’ spiritual resilience, with the regression equation Y = 1.785 + 1.008X, an R value of 0.943, and a coefficient of determination R² = 0.890. This means 89.0% of the variation in students’ spiritual resilience is explained by PAK. The hypothesis test yielded a calculated t-value (16.304) > table t-value (2.034) with p = 0.000, so H₁ is accepted. Descriptively, 80.0% of students had a high or very high perception of PAK, and 82.8% showed a high or very high level of spiritual resilience. These findings demonstrate that PAK is not merely doctrinal transmission, but rather a spiritual development process tangibly building students’ inner resilience through five key dimensions: understanding religious teachings, internalisation of moral values, spiritual reflection, spiritual experience, and faith relevance in the digital age.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Astin, A. W., & Astin, H. S. (2016). Spirituality in higher education: A national study of college students’ search for meaning and purpose.

Davis, R., & Franchi, L. (2021). Catholic Education and the Idea of Curriculum. Journal of Catholic Education, 24(2), 104–119. https://doi.org/10.15365/joce.2402062021

Denckla Christy A., Cicchetti Dante, Kubzansky Laura D., Seedat Soraya, Teicher Martin H., Williams David R., & Koenen Katestan C. (2020). Psychological resilience: an update on definitions, a critical appraisal, and research recommendations. In European journal of psychotraumatology (Vol. 11, Issue 1).

Esat, G., & Enriquez, S. K. (2025). Spiritual Aspirations of American College Students. Religions, 16(9), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel16091157

Eskandari Asl, H. A., Dolatyari, F., Alipor, H., & Mohammadi, A. (2025). Predicting Resilience Based on Spiritual Health and Psychological Well-Being Among University Students. Journal of Adolescent and Youth Psychological Studies, 6(8), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.61838/kman.jayps.4291

Farchi, M. U., & Peled-Avram, M. (2025). The ART of resilience: a theoretical bridge across resilience perspectives. Frontiers in Psychology, 16(March), 1–5. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1556047

Faridah, F., K, S., Mansur, A. Y., & Al Anshori, M. Z. (2025). Resiliensi: Menjaga Ketahanan Mental Dalam Menghadapi Tantangan Hidup. Jurnal Mimbar: Media Intelektual Muslim Dan Bimbingan Rohani, 11(01), 13–33. https://doi.org/10.47435/mimbar.v11i01.3636

Fernando, D. S., Emejas, L. B., Calubiran, J. P., & Pedro, J. (2025). Attitude Toward Catholic Beliefs Among the Students in a Catholic School in Western Visayas. Malaysian Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities (MJSSH), 10(6), e003444. https://doi.org/10.47405/mjssh.v10i6.3444

Fitriani, D. R., Asrianti, U. D., & Asthiningsih, N. W. W. (2025). Correlation Between Spirituality Levels and Depression among First-Year Students in Health Science Programs. In Genius Journal (Vol. 6, Issue 2, pp. 455–465). https://doi.org/10.56359/gj.v6i2.458

Fuertes, A., & Dugan, K. (2021). Spirituality through the lens of students in higher education. Religions, 12(11), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel12110924

Gan, S. K. E., Wong, S. W. Y., & Jiao, P. De. (2023). Religiosity, Theism, Perceived Social Support, Resilience, and Well-Being of University Undergraduate Students in Singapore during the COVID-19 Pandemic. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(4). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20043620

Gravissimum Educationis. (2022). In The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (Vol. 1, p. 809). https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190625795.003.0016

Howard, A. H., Roberts, M., Mitchell, T., & Wilke, N. G. (2023). The Relationship Between Spirituality and Resilience and Well-being: a Study of 529 Care Leavers from 11 Nations. Adversity and Resilience Science, 4(2), 177–190. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42844-023-00088-y

Jenuri, Faqihuddin, A., Suresman, E., Abdullah, M., & Fahrudin. (2025). Overcoming the spiritual emptiness of students in the modern era through the integration of Al-Ghazali’s human concepts in the Islamic religious education learning model. Cogent Education, 12(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2025.2497147

Kagema, P. G. (2021). Role of Religious Sponsors in Development of Holistic Secondary School Students in Nyeri County. Analisa: Journal of Social Science and Religion, 6(02), 129–145. https://doi.org/10.18784/analisa.v6i02.1405

Klokočka, J. (2025). Spiritual well-being of pupils and students: A systematic review of current empirical research. In International Journal of Educational Research (Vol. 133). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2025.102689

Lehihi, T. G., Tsabedze, W. F., Oduaran, C. A., & Onyencho, V. C. (2025). Exploring the spirituality and academic resilience among university undergraduate students. Frontiers in Education, 10(November). https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2025.1671316

Oksanda, E., & Zulaifah, E. (2025). Religiosity, Resilience and Psychological Well-Being among University Students in Indonesia. International Journal of Islamic Psychology, 8(1), 64–65. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/PT/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32016R0679&from=PT%0Ahttp://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:52012PC0011:pt:NOT

Perreault, K. (2011). Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches. Manual Therapy, 16(1), 103. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.math.2010.09.003

Prada, M. G., & Fornoff, F. H. (2023). Catholic Education. Free Pages And Other Essays, 73–92. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780195116878.003.0007

Reyes-Perez, M. D., Carreño Saucedo, L., Sanchez-Levano, M. J., Cabanillas-Palomino, R., Monje-Yovera, P. F., Jaime-Rodríguez, J. P., Atoche-Silva, L. A., Alarcón-Bustíos, J. M., & Fernández-Altamirano, A. E. F. (2025). The Spirituality–Resilience–Happiness Triad: A High-Powered Model for Understanding University Student Well-Being. European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education, 15(8), 1–24. https://doi.org/10.3390/ejihpe15080158

Rocha Leite, E. M., Albuquerque Frota, M., Medeiros da Costa Daniele, T., Costa Vieira Cardoso, M., & Garcia, D. (2025). The contribution of spirituality to university students’ meaning in life. Journal of Spirituality in Mental Health, 00(00), 1–26. https://doi.org/10.1080/19349637.2025.2559604

Sugiyono. (2019). Metode Penelitian Kuantitatif, Kualitatif, dan R&D. Bandung: Alfabeta.

Taimur, H., Ahmad, I., Shirayama, Y., Okamoto, M., Kim, J. E., Nam, E. W., & Yuasa, M. (2025). Evaluating resilience levels and their association with spiritual health and other factors among university students from South Korea and Japan; a comparative cross-sectional study. BMC Public Health, 25(1), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-24738-1

Tibo, P., & Lumban Tobing, O. S. (2022). The Role of Catholic Religious Education Teachers in Developing Moral Values for High School Students: A Case Study at Parbuluan. American Journal of Arts and Human Science, 1(4), 27–32. https://doi.org/10.54536/ajahs.v1i4.841

Xuan, W., Chowdhury, M. R., Ding, Y., & Zhao, Y. (2025). Unlocking Mental Health: Exploring College Students’ Well-being through Smartphone Behaviors. Proceedings - 2025 IEEE/ACM 12th International Conference on Mobile Software Engineering and Systems, MOBILESoft 2025, 66–70.

Published

2026-06-01

How to Cite

Yunarti, B. S. (2026). The Influence of Catholic Religious Education on Students’ Spiritual Resilience in the Digital Age: A Study of Students at STK Santo Yakobus Merauke. PASTORAL CATECHETICAL JOURNAL, 3(1), 32-45. https://doi.org/10.70343/fkd5kb15