Religious Studies

Course summary

The course is open to candidates of any religious persuasion or none, but is designed to promote an enquiring, empathetic and critical approach to the study of religion. Half the course is a study of Christian and Islamic beliefs and practices. The second half is a study of four themes, which are explored from Christian, Muslim, and secular perspectives. Starting in Year 9, all pupils will cover the following units: Component 1: The study of Christianity: beliefs, teachings, and practices Beliefs and teachings: the nature of God, sin, the person of Jesus, salvation, resurrection, eternal life. Practices: various types of worship, prayer, sacraments, pilgrimage, celebrations, role of the Church both social and spiritual, mission and evangelism, the experience of the worldwide Church (including persecution), the work of one Christian charity. The study of Islam: beliefs, teachings, and practices Beliefs and teachings: six Articles of Faith in Sunni and the Five Roots in Shi’a, the nature of God, angels, afterlife, authority, prophethood, Qur’an and other holy books, Imamate of Shi’a Islam. Practices: Five Pillars, jihad, Ten Obligatory Acts of Shi’a, Shahadah, Salah, Sawm, Zakah, Hajj, festivals. Component 2: The study of four themes from Christian and Muslim (and secular) perspectives: Theme A – Relationships and families: marriage, divorce, gender roles, sexuality Theme C – Religion, peace, and conflict: violence, pacifism, war, just war theory, terrorism, nuclear weapons Theme E – Religion, crime and punishment: factors in the causes of crime, mental illness, different types of crime, aims of punishment, types of punishment, treatment of criminals, forgiveness, death penalty Theme F – Religion, human rights and social justice: prejudice and discrimination, rights and responsibilities, equality, wealth, poverty, charity