Transforming Christian Religious Education for Character Development in the Digital Era: A Conceptual Framework for Higher Education
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Character development has become one of the most pressing challenges in higher education as students navigate the complexities of the digital era, including rapid technological advancement, artificial intelligence, information overload, and ethical dilemmas in online environments. These challenges require educational approaches that extend beyond developing digital competence to fostering moral integrity, spiritual maturity, ethical reasoning, and responsible digital citizenship. In this context, Christian Religious Education (CRE) plays a strategic role as a transformative educational approach by integrating Christian values into meaningful learning experiences that support holistic character development. This study employed a library research approach by critically reviewing and synthesizing contemporary literature on character education, Christian Religious Education, digital literacy, digital citizenship, and technology-enhanced learning. The findings propose an integrative conceptual framework explaining how character development can be fostered through seven interconnected stages: Digital Era, Digital Literacy, Transformative Christian Religious Education, Internalization of Christian Values, Spiritual Reflection, Habit Formation, and Character Development. The proposed framework constitutes the principal contribution of this study by demonstrating that Christian Religious Education is not merely a medium for theological instruction but a transformative educational approach that fosters holistic character development through the ethical integration of digital technologies. The framework provides a theoretical foundation for future research and practical guidance for lecturers and higher education institutions in designing digitally enriched learning environments that intentionally promote character development.
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