A significant majority of students attending Australian faith-based schools describe themselves as spiritual or religious, according to new research released by National Church Life Survey (NCLS) Research, offering fresh insight into how young Australians understand faith and identity.
The findings come from the Student Spiritual Life Survey (SSLS), which gathered responses from more than 14,000 students across 28 Christian schools nationwide. The survey explored how students perceive spirituality, religious identity and the role faith plays in their lives.
Strong spiritual self-identification among students
The research found that 66 per cent of high school students described themselves using religious or spiritual terms, indicating that spirituality remains a meaningful dimension of life for many young people in faith-based education settings.
Students were able to select multiple descriptors reflecting their identity. The results revealed a broad engagement with spirituality:
- 82 per cent described themselves as spiritual
- 73 per cent identified as religious
- 48 per cent nominated themselves as Christian
Researchers say these figures highlight the complex ways young people understand faith, often blending personal spirituality with institutional or cultural religious identity.
A snapshot of Australian Christian school students
The survey sample included 14,461 students, mostly from Years 7–10, with the majority born in Australia. Slightly more male students participated than female students in this initial data snapshot.
Importantly, each student’s most recent survey response was counted only once, ensuring the findings reflect current attitudes rather than repeated participation over time.
The SSLS examines six core themes of student spiritual life, including identity, beliefs, practices and the perceived importance of spirituality. Researchers say the survey is designed to help schools better understand how faith formation is experienced by students rather than assumed.
Spirituality beyond labels
NCLS Research notes that spiritual identity among young Australians is often nuanced. Many students engage with spirituality even if they do not strongly identify with organised religion, reflecting broader national trends in which spirituality and religion overlap but are not identical categories.
Previous NCLS studies have similarly shown Australians are often “more spiritual than religious,” with many people holding beliefs or practices that sit outside traditional institutional frameworks.
Within schools, this appears to translate into a “spiritual openness” among students — an interest in meaning, purpose and faith questions even amid declining religious affiliation across wider Australian society.
Implications for faith-based education
The findings arrive at a time when enrolments in faith-based schools continue to grow in parts of Australia, even as census data shows declining formal religious affiliation nationally. Educators and church leaders are increasingly interested in how schools contribute to young people’s spiritual development beyond classroom religious instruction.
According to NCLS Research, the Student Spiritual Life Survey provides schools with evidence-based insight into how effectively their activities support students’ spiritual engagement and wellbeing.
Rather than assuming uniform belief, the research suggests faith-based schools are spaces where diverse expressions of spirituality coexist — from committed religious identification to exploratory or personal forms of faith.
A picture of curiosity rather than decline
For church and education leaders concerned about disengagement among younger generations, the data offers a more hopeful narrative. While institutional religion faces challenges, many students continue to wrestle with spiritual questions and see faith as relevant to their lives.
The survey’s early results suggest that, within faith-based school communities at least, spirituality remains a significant part of how young Australians understand themselves — pointing not to the disappearance of faith, but to its evolving expression among the next generation.
Source: National Church Life Survey
