Curriculum

GCSE Religious Studies is an optional subject for study as GCSE. Students learn about two religions in depth, their beliefs and practices. We usually study Christianity and Islam. However, at the same time, the subject is also an opportunity to analyse what we mean by a ‘religion’ .We may test this by looking at other examples. We place emphasis on questions of authority: Where does guidance come from? Who represents the religion? Who is the authentic believer? We also look at diversity of belief within traditions, not just between groups such as Protestant and Catholic but diversity across practice and opinion.

At University level, a Religious Studies course can involve a range of disciplines- sociology, history, philosophy and theology. It is the same at GCSE level in much simplified form.

In addition to studying two world religions, we also look at a number of ethical questions in depth and apply religious teaching down the ages, as well as contemporary thinking to these: Religion and Life, which includes the environment and other topical issues such as abortion and euthanasia; Peace and Conflict, which looks at religious and other attitudes to war, peace-making and peacebuilding; Crime and Punishment, which explores many ethical questions about the purpose and methods of punishment and finally Human Rights and Social Justice, which analyses what makes for a just world and what humans need to flourish..