Religious Studies

Course summary

Philosophy of Religion Learners will study: • Ancient philosophical influences • Arguments about the existence or non-existence of God • Nature and impact of religious experience • Challenge for religious belief of the problem of evil • Nature of the soul, mind and body • Possibility of life after death • Ideas about the nature of God • Issues in religious language Religion and Ethics Learners will study: • Normative ethical theories • Application of ethical theory to two contemporary issues of importance • Ethical language and thought • Debates surrounding the significant ideas of conscience and free will • Influence on ethical thought of developments in religious beliefs and the philosophy of religion Developments in Religious Thought Learners will study: • 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