Students who are more actively engaged in religious activities tend to perform better academically, according to a new report examining the relationship between faith and educational success.
One study cited in the report found that middle- and high-school students with the highest levels of religious participation earned GPAs that were 0.144 points higher on average than those who did not participate in religious activities.
The report, titled “Faith in Educational Renewal: Religion as a Resource to Transform Learning Opportunities,” was published last week by the BYU Wheatley Institute and Harvard’s Leadership Initiative for Faith and Education. It analyzes a wide body of research “on the role of religious faith in human flourishing.”
The study was authored by Bryant Jensen, a professor of teacher education at Brigham Young University and an affiliate scholar with the Wheatley Institute, and Irvin L. Scott, a senior lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and founding director of the Leadership Initiative for Faith and Education.
According to the findings, students who participate in religious life tend to achieve higher academic success, pursue more years of education and express stronger aspirations for higher learning.
Researchers suggest these benefits stem from several factors, including moral formation, improved study habits and the social networks developed through religious communities.
The report noted that faith traditions often instill behavioral expectations that discourage harmful activities such as substance abuse, delinquency, violence and truancy, while encouraging discipline and responsibility.
In addition to moral guidance, students also develop practical skills through religious involvement. These include “social competencies,” such as public speaking and service to others, which can support both personal growth and academic performance.
“These prosocial competencies reduce misbehavior in school and have been found to increase student motivation and student confidence to do well in school,” the report stated.
The analysis also pointed to evidence that religious practices can strengthen academic skills. For instance, engagement with religious texts can improve literacy, while participation in worship services may help students develop “an ability to extract and summarize key ideas.”
The report further examined the role of faith among educators, noting that teachers who view their work as a calling — often influenced by spiritual conviction — tend to demonstrate higher intrinsic motivation.
The authors concluded by recommending increased collaboration between schools and faith-based organizations as a way to enhance student outcomes across diverse communities.
