Religious Studies

Course summary

Religious Studies will encourage learners to: • Develop their interest in a rigorous study of religion and belief and relate it to the wider world • Develop knowledge and understanding appropriate to a specialist study of religion • Develop an understanding and appreciation of religious thought and its contribution to individuals, communities and societies • Adopt an enquiring, critical and reflective approach to the study of religion • Reflect on and develop their own values, opinions and attitudes in the light of their study. Themes/Units Paper 1 Philosophy of religion • Ancient philosophical influences • The nature of the soul, mind and body • Arguments about the existence or non-existence of God • The nature and impact of religious experience • The challenge for religious belief of the problem of evil • Ideas about the nature of God • Issues in religious language. Paper 2 Religion and ethics • Normative ethical theories • The application of ethical theory to two contemporary issues of importance • Ethical language and thought • Debates surrounding the significant idea of conscience • Sexual ethics and the influence on ethical thought of developments in religious beliefs Paper 3 Developments in religious thought (CHRISTIANITY) • Religious beliefs, values and teachings, their interconnections and how they vary historically and in the contemporary world • Sources of religious wisdom and authority • Practices which shape and express religious identity, and how these vary within a tradition • Significant social and historical developments in theology and religious thought • Key themes related to the relationship between religion and society