Abstract
Background The issues of religious practice, healthy lifestyle behavior and academic achievement are global
agendas. Most previous research has focused on either one or two of the variables, not three of them (e.g. just the
relationship between religious practice and healthy lifestyle behavior). And addressing these three issues, by and
large, demands a systemic approach to re-thinking the current level and improving it.
Objective To examine the causal relationship between religious practice, healthy lifestyle behavior, and academic
achievement in the case of Debre Markos University (DMU) and Injibara University (IU), Ethiopia.
Methods Four hundred forty students are participated voluntarily using random sampling techniques. To attain this
objective, a cross-sectional research method design was used.
Results The mean scores of students’ healthy lifestyle behavior is more than average in all aspects. MANOVA results
revealed that batch, ethnicity (region), and the university did not display a statistically significant difference among
the composite (or combined) scores of both students’ healthy lifestyles and religious practice. However, religious
affiliation and gender religious practice and have an effect on religious practice and healthy lifestyle behavior
respectively. The correlation output informs that religious practice and healthy lifestyle behavior are positively and
significantly correlated with each other. Religious practice also significantly predicted students’ healthy lifestyle
behavior. Despite this, the academic achievement of students didn’t have any relationship with their religious practice
and healthy lifestyle behavior.
Conclusion University students’ healthy lifestyle behavior doesn’t play an intervening variable in the effect of
religious practice on academic achievement. Possible practical implications and recommendations have been
forwarded.