Reassessing the Assumed Relationship Between Religious Practice and Student Leadership Character in Islamic Boarding Schools

Abstract

This study is motivated by the limited research on the relationship between Islamic Religious Education practices and leadership character, despite the widespread assumption that religious commitment contributes positively to students’ character development within Islamic educational institutions. The study aims to analyze the relationship between Islamic Religious Education practices and leadership character among students in a boarding school context. The research adopts a quantitative ex post facto design, with a sample of 31 students enrolled in the boarding school program at MAN 2 Surakarta selected through a total sampling technique. Data were collected using structured questionnaires measuring religious practice and leadership character and analyzed through descriptive statistics and simple linear regression using IBM SPSS Statistics 31. The findings reveal that students demonstrated relatively high levels of religious practice (M = 33.23) and positive leadership character (M = 18.29). However, the regression analysis indicated that Islamic Religious Education practices did not significantly predict leadership character (β = 0.060, *p* = 0.749; R² = 0.004). These findings challenge the commonly accepted assumption that stronger religious practice necessarily leads to stronger leadership character and instead support leadership development theories emphasizing the importance of experiential learning, social participation, and organizational involvement. The study concludes that religious practice functions primarily as a moral foundation rather than a direct determinant of leadership character. The implications encompass theoretical contributions by extending the literature on Islamic education, character education, and youth leadership development, as well as practical recommendations for Islamic boarding schools to integrate religious formation with structured leadership experiences through student organizations, mentoring programs, and leadership-based activities. Additionally, this study identifies future research opportunities involving broader samples, additional explanatory variables, and mixed-method approaches to better understand leadership character development in Islamic educational settings.