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Religious Studies

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Head of Faculty

mr lee bradbury

Subject Leader

Mr Matthew Brimacombe

Vision

To promote social cohesion in our school environment and wider community. To ignite an interest in philosophy and the different religions in the World.

Disciplinary Concepts

  • Compare and contrast key concepts across world religions
  • Significance
  • Application of abstract theological ideas to our modern world
  • Explanation
  • Evaluation

Big Questions

  • What is religion?
  • What is discrimination?
  • Does God exist?
  • When does life begin and end?
  • Why have groups of people been denied their rights?
  • Is war ever acceptable?
  • Is religion still relevant in our society?
  • Is religion a man-made concept to create order in society?
  • Has religion ever been used to bring about social change?

Curriculum Content

Year 7

Introduction to World Religions (baseline assessment sat in first lesson, basic knowledge of world religions covered to help ensure all students at the same starting point, baseline then resat at the end of the unit to show progress). Religion & Prejudice (what is it, types of discrimination, religious attitudes towards discrimination), Miracles (what is a miracle, does God perform them, can humans perform miracles, evidence for and against miracles, David Hume’s argument on miracles), Women and Religion (role of women today, women in world religions, gender equality, is religion oppressive to women), Religion and Young People (birth ceremonies, festivals, is religion still relevant), Importance of Religious Festivals (across 6 major world faiths)

Year 8

Existence of God (Cosmological and Design Argument, miracles and the Existence of God, Religious Experience, Humanism and Atheism), Science and Religion (truth, evolution, creation, religion and the environment), Life after Death (immortality, Dualism, Hinduism – Karma / reincarnation, Christianity and LAD, Humanism/Atheism and LAD), Religion Peace & Conflict (reasons for war, JWT, pacifism, WMD and nuclear war, religious responses to victims of war), Judaism and The Holocaust (beliefs and symbols, comparing Christianity and Judaism, Christian persecution in Nazi Germany, Bonhoeffer, Moral responsibility for The Holocaust), Religion and Rights (Civil rights, MLK), LGBTQ Community and Faith (exploration of both conservative and progressive views on the LGBTQ community, including the religious arguments for both sides of the debate). Religion and Science (Evolution Vs Creationism, animal testing, contemporary and religious views on the debate between religion and science).

Year 9

Church History (an outline of the history of the Christian Church looking at the development of Nicea, the spread of Christianity in the UK, the reformation), Non-Religious Worldviews (looking at concepts such as Humanism, Atheism, secular art and the work of Grayson Perry), Religion, Relationships and Families (pre-GCSE unit covering contemporary topics such as marriage, divorce, sexuality and sexual relationships, and religious views on these topics). New Religious Movements (looking at smaller religious movements in the world, and the impact they have on a persons life e.g. Rastafarianism and Scientology).

Year 10

  • Christianity – Beliefs and Teaching:

Nature of God, Attributes of God, The Trinity, Creation, Resurrection and LAD, The afterlife and judgment, Heaven and Hell, Incarnation of Jesus, The crucifixion, the resurrection and ascension, sin and salvation.

  • Christianity – Practices

Worship, Baptism, Holy Communion, Pilgrimage, Celebrating festivals, the role of the Church, the place of mission, the importance of the world in salvation.

  • Islam – Beliefs and Teaching:

The oneness of God, Sunni and Shia Beliefs, Qur’an, What is Allah like, Angels, Predestination, LAD, Prophet hood and Adam.

  • Islam Practices:

5 pillars, Jihad, Ashura, Eid

Year 11

6 Thematic studies looked at across Christianity and Islam:

A) Relationships and family

B) Religion and Life

C) Existence of God and Revelation

D) Peace and Conflict

E) Religion, Crime and Punishment

F) Religion, Rights and Social Justice