Religious Studies

GCSE

In today’s world it is vital that pupils have an opportunity to consider spiritual and moral issues. They will be encouraged to explore the fundamental questions of faith and life and to develop an understanding and appreciation of religious and cultural diversity.

All pupils take GCSE Religious Studies (short course) at the end of their Lower Fifth year. The course covers a range of issues looked at from a Christian perspectives.  The topics fall under four broad categories.

Believing in God  

1) Why do people believe in God - a study of how a religious upbringing and religious experience can lead to belief in God. 

2) The problem of evil and suffering - an in-depth analysis of whether God’s existence can be maintained in the face of evil and suffering in the world with reference to Augustinian and Irenaean theodicy.

3) Proof from the world - an in-depth analysis of the traditional arguments for the existence of God from empirical evidence; the design argument and the cosmological argument.

Matters of Life and Death

1) The Christian belief in Life after death - why and how Christians believe that there is life after death and the criticisms. 

2) Abortion - a study of how the sanctity of life and Christian belief affects the issue of abortion and the current legal position in the UK.

3) Euthanasia - exploring the nature of euthanasia, including both the European and the UK legal position and the arguments for and against legal euthanasia. 

4) World Poverty - the causes of world poverty, how and why Christians want to respond to the challenge of poverty.

Marriage and Family Life

1) Attitudes in the UK to marriage, divorce and family life - a study of the changing statistics and attitudes towards marriage, remarriage, divorce and other units of family life.

2) Marriage - the reason and purpose of marriage and Christian attitudes towards it.

3) Divorce - Christian attitudes and teaching about divorce.

4) Homosexuality - the attitudes and teaching on homosexuality and how the church has responded.

5) The Church - how the church has responded to the changes in society.

Religion and Community Cohesion

1) The role of males and females - how and why attitudes to the role of men and women have changed in the UK.

2) Equality - the legal position over equal rights and human rights including the position of women within religion.

3) Prejudice - the reasons for prejudice, the Christian teachings on prejudice and how the Government are acting to reduce discrimination.

4) Multi-ethnic and multi-faith societies - the nature of UK society and the issues and challenges raised by living in a multi-ethnic society including the Christian teachings. 

Sixth Form

The study of theology and religion entails the intellectual exploration of the beliefs and theories that have played a vital role in shaping our society and culture over the centuries. Human beings are engaged in a search for meaning and truth; studying Philosophy of Religion will give you an opportunity to examine some of the answers to life's fundamental questions and to examine them in a critical and academic manner. 

The AS/A2 course gives you the opportunity to explore both philosophical theories and ethical practices as you engage with the scholars of the past and the present in a rational and critical environment, whilst giving you the chance to develop your own answers to the questions that our modern multicultural society asks. This subject is not just for those with a personal faith but for anyone who is interested in gaining insight into the reasons why society is as it is and the fundamental questions that lie behind human existence. The course follows a modular system where you will be required to study four modules.

AS Philosophy of Religion

This module gives you the opportunity to engage in the classical works of Plato and Aristotle and their approaches to reality and truth and the impact that this has made on modern philosophy. The module then builds upon this knowledge by studying the influences of Judaeo-Christian thought on the philosophical arguments for the existence of God: the ontological, cosmological, teleological and moral arguments for God's existence. You will study the arguments both for and against God's existence including the problem of evil and suffering. 

AS Religious Ethics

This module introduces you to the practical ethical theories of both classical and modern scholars. You will study Kantian Ethics, Aquinas's version of Natural law and Utilitarianism according to Bentham and Mill. Once the knowledge has been mastered, the module then applies the theories to varying dilemmas ranging from abortion to genetic engineering so that you will fully understand the implications of each of these approaches to the moral dilemmas of society.

A2 Philosophy of Religion

The A2 course builds upon the knowledge gained at AS Level and looks to analyse the questions of: What is God like? How can humans talk about God in a meaningful manner? How can man experience God? And what happens when we die? The A2 course focuses on a broader range of issues and gives you the space to explore any specific areas of interest ranging from evolutionary theory of human nature to the biblical accounts of miracles.

A2 Religious Ethics

The A2 Ethics module tackles the topics of meta- ethics, free will and determinism, the nature and role of the conscience, and virtue ethics. The A2 Philosophy and Ethics papers run in tandem to each other as the Ethics course looks to understand how scholars understand right and wrong and whether we can confidently say that anything is right or wrong. The module looks to analyse the debate about whether humans are in control of their own destinies or just puppets to be played with on the moral chessboard of life. These theories will then be applied to the areas of business and sexual ethics so that you will understand the modern-day relevance of the theories that you have studied.