<![CDATA[All official religions in Indonesia has claimed to have a collaborative relationship with the state, because religious values are closely linked to national values and the spirit of nationalism. However, the existence of religion in Indonesia up today is considered not to carry out its duties optimally as a moral and ethical force for the nation and state affairs. The contributing factor is that religious education being too ritualistic, dogmatic, and exclusive. Therefore, a transformation of religion and religious education is very much needed as a primary source and vehicle for public moral and ethical strength. This transformation can be done through the integration of national character education in religious teaching, meaning that religious values should be inspiring and sanctifying the values of nationality and nationalism. The research was conducted with the specific aim of exploring so called integration of national character education through religious teaching in the high schools. The research used a qualitative descriptive approach. Data were collected using purposive sampling techniques then analyzed using the Miles and Huberman model. The research results indicate that national character education can be integrated through religious teaching. Strategies that can be developed for the effectiveness of integrating national character education through religious teaching include improving teachers' abilities and skills related to the said integration, and implementing a more reflective-contextual, active, and interactive model of religious learning.]]>
