Exploring Spirituality among Generation Z Students in Religious Education
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Abstract
Spirituality has become an essential dimension of human experience, influencing identity, meaning-making, and learning within the broader field of religious education. Within this context, understanding how Generation Z students construct and interpret spirituality has gained increasing importance, particularly as their experiences are shaped by digital culture, pluralistic interactions, and institutional frameworks. However, existing research primarily focuses on measuring religiosity or doctrinal knowledge, leaving limited understanding of how students personally experience and negotiate spirituality in contemporary educational settings. Here, we adopt an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) approach to explore the lived experiences of Generation Z students and uncover the essence of spirituality as constructed in the context of religious education. Data were collected through semi-structured, in-depth interviews with 15 undergraduate students and analyzed thematically using IPA to identify patterns of meaning. The findings reveal three key dimensions of spirituality: (1) spirituality as a personal and evolving process mediated by digital media engagement, (2) spirituality as relational, strengthened through multicultural encounters and peer networks, and (3) spirituality as a negotiation between institutional religious education and students’ individual coping strategies. Moreover, students consistently described adaptive meaning-making practices—such as reinterpreting inherited traditions in light of global values and technological influences—which demonstrate resilience and creativity in constructing their spiritual identities. These findings provide precise evidence that Generation Z students experience spirituality less as static belief systems and more as fluid, context-sensitive practices. The study advances the field of religious education by highlighting the need for personalized, inclusive, and contextually grounded pedagogies, while offering a foundation for future research to examine cross-cultural comparisons and longitudinal trajectories in spiritual development.
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