There are three parts to the OCR GCE Religious Studies course: Philosophy of Religion, Religion and Ethics and Developments in Religious Thought. Throughout the course students are encouraged to adopt an enquiring, critical and reflective approach and reflect on and develop their own values, opinions and attitudes. Students do not need to have taken a GCSE in Religious Studies in order to take the subject at A-Level, but they should be interested in philosophical ideas and writing evaluative essays. The Philosophy of Religion paper covers the following topics: 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. The Religion and Ethics paper cover the following topics: 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. The Developments in Religious Thought paper covers the following topics in the context of 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.