Religious Studies

Course summary

This A-level course is officially called Religious Studies but it is essentially the philosophy of religion and ethics (hence the name of the department at King’s). During the two-year A-level, pupils learn that merely holding an opinion is not good enough. Hitler had opinions. Islamic State has opinions. Pupils will also learn that tolerance is insufficient as a guiding principle for life. There are many things we ought not to tolerate: slavery, racism, sexism, terrorism, genocide. Commitment to an unexamined set of opinions and tolerance of every other unexamined set of opinions will not get us very far if we want to become deep thinkers and live good lives. As Socrates said, ‘An unexamined life is not worth living.’ The aim of this subject is to turn pupils into a deep thinker, critically aware not just of the world around them and the variety of religious and other belief structures, but of the world of ideas that serve as its foundation. We aim above all else to make pupils into interesting conversationalist, able to talk about and share ideas. Is it necessary to say that every employer highly values those who can think well and share ideas? To be the best you can be – whether that is a lawyer, doctor, business leader or academic – you need to discipline the mind and train in philosophy.