Strategies of Islamic Religious Education Teachers in Implementing a Love-Based Curriculum to Enhance Students' Religious Character

Abstract

Religious character is a central outcome of Islamic Religious Education (IRE), yet its development cannot rely on cognitive transmission alone. Recently, love-based curriculum approaches have gained attention for repositioning learning around compassion, empathy, respect, human dignity, and constructive teacher–student relationships. This article aims to synthesize strategies that IRE teachers can employ when implementing a love-based curriculum to strengthen students' religious character. A qualitative literature review was conducted by examining recent scholarly studies on love-based Islamic education, Islamic character education, teacher–student relationships, religious habituation, active learning, and curriculum implementation. The literature was organized through thematic analysis to identify recurring pedagogical strategies and implementation conditions. The synthesis indicates five interconnected strategies: teachers' role modelling and relational care; explicit integration of love values into lesson planning and learning activities; dialogic, empathetic, and student-centred pedagogy; habituation through religious routines and school culture; and affective assessment combined with family and school-community collaboration. These strategies work most effectively when love is treated not as an additional classroom slogan but as a consistent pedagogical ethic that shapes curriculum objectives, interaction, discipline, assessment, and teacher professionalism. The article concludes that a love-based curriculum can strengthen religious character by connecting faith knowledge with lived ethical practice, emotional safety, responsibility, empathy, and social care.