Philosophy and Ethics - Religious Studies

Assessment

At A Level students study three components on Philosophy, Ethics and the Development of Religious Thought. Assessment is by three two hour written examinations. Each examination is worth 33.3% of the total A level. Component 1: Philosophy of Religion includes: ● Ancient Philosophical influences, Plato and Aristotle ● Religious language- Symbol, the Verification Principle ● Religious Experience – Miracle, a study of how God might interact with humanity ● Attributes of God ● The challenges for religious belief of the problem of evil ● Life and Death – the concept of the soul (Hick and Dawkins) Component 2: Religious Ethics includes: ● Normative Ethical theories-Virtue Ethics, Deontological and Teleological Ethics ● Ethical theory – applied to Sexual Ethics and Euthanasia ● Ethical language –Meta Ethics ( naturalism, intuitionism, emotivism) the teaching of Hobbes ( egoism) ● Debates surrounding the ideas of the conscience and free will Component 3: Development in Religious Thought incudes: ● Religious beliefs, values and teachings and how they vary historically in the contemporary world- Presentations of the nature of Christ ● Significant social and historical developments in theology and religious thought, Liberation theology, the Roman Catholic Church’s response to secularism ● Sources of wisdom and authority, Knowledge and revelation of God ● Key themes related to the relationship between religion and society