<![CDATA[Vocational education is expected to produce graduates who are not only professionally competent but also demonstrate religious values in their daily behavior. This study examines how the principal of SMK Negeri 1 Ponorogo, Indonesia, interprets and enacts leadership in developing a religious school culture and transforming ‘stated values’ into ‘lived values.’ Using a qualitative single-case study design, data were collected through semi-structured interviews, observations, and document analysis involving the principal, vice principals, teachers, students, parents, and alumni. Data were analyzed thematically, and credibility was strengthened through source and method triangulation. The findings identify five interconnected leadership roles: value interpreter, cultural architect, moral and religious exemplar, institutionalizing agent, and community mobilizer. Value transformation occurs through interpretation, role modeling, institutionalization, role distribution, habituation, student participation, evaluation, leadership succession, and continuity between school and family. The study shows that religious culture operates as a socio-organizational process that shifts student behavior from supervision-based compliance toward value internalization while reproducing shared values across actors and generations. Its sustainability depends on institutionalization, collective ownership, and the integration of religious values with the moral and professional dispositions required in vocational education.]]>
