Religious Studies

Course summary

WHY STUDY RELIGIOUS STUDIES? This course helps students to develop skills of analysis and evaluation by close study of some key philosophical questions. Students learn to appreciate the ideas of others, while being encouraged to develop their own arguments. The subject aims to teach students how to think, not what to think. CONTENT OF THE COURSE: The A Level course consists of three units, with the key focus being on Philosophy of Religion and Ethics. For the former, this includes a study of Ancient Greek philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle, arguments for and against the existence of God, consideration of religious experience and the question of the soul. For Ethics, students consider a range of ethical theories, both religious and secular, and apply these to personal, societal and global issues of importance, such as issues of business, medicine and sex. The third paper, Developments in Religious Thought, looks at important religious philosophical questions, such as the afterlife, gender and religious pluralism.