What will I study?
The A Level Religious Studies course requires students to think critically about their own views and opinions relating to religion, beauty, life and death, humour and the mere existence of life. It is an inclusive subject, designed for people of any faith and people who have no faith. Students will learn how to construct well informed, reasoned arguments, substantiated by relevant evidence and also how to critically analyse and evaluate the views of scholars and academics from across the past 3,000 years of philosophical and ethical thought. It will also focus on the contrasts between Eastern and Western thought along with atheistic belief systems such as Humanism.
The Religious Studies A Level is a broad course designed to encourage students to develop an interest in the rigorous study of religion and belief and how it relates to the wider world and their own values, opinions and attitudes.
Assessment takes place at the end of Year 13 and is 100% external examination.
Over the duration of the two year A Level course, students will be examining the following issues:
Component 1: Philosophy of Religion and Ethics
• Arguments for the existence of God
• Evil and suffering
• Issues of human life and death
• Introduction to meta-ethics
• Free will and moral responsibility
Bentham and Kant Component 2: Study of Christianity and its Dialogues with Philosophy and Ethics
• Sources of wisdom and authority
• God/gods/ultimate reality
• Expression of religious identity
• Religion, gender and sexuality
• Religion and science
• Religion and secularisation
• Religion and religious pluralism
Where will it lead?
This subject can also be used to support entry into higher education courses, especially Religious Studies, Theology, Philosophy, Law, Sociology and the Social Sciences.
Links with other courses
English Literature, Sociology, Psychology and History.
