GCSE RELIGION, PHILOSOPHY & APPLIED ETHICS

Religious Studies, Philosophy and Applied Ethics

GCSE is an exciting and highly contemporary course. It is designed to help students engage with major philosophical and ethical questions about life whilst developing a deeper understanding of how two religions respond to them.

What willyou study?

You will develop a broad and deep understanding of religious and philosophical (e.g. humanist and atheist) perspectives on a range of major questions in society today. For example;

 What rights and responsibilities do we have?

 When does life begin?

 Is it morally acceptable to test on animals?

 Does someone have the right to choose when they die?

 Can violent protest ever be justified?

 How should criminals be treated?

Skills

You will learn how to express your own well-reasoned opinions on contemporary issues and debates. You will gain a deeper understanding of how different people view the world and how those variations affect our lives. This will help you to understand the complex links between morality, society, religion and culture. You will also develop verbal and written skills: how to discuss well, how to apply content to a range of topics and how to write effectively to demonstrate knowledge and understanding, analysis, evaluation and balanced essay writing.

Paper 1: Religion

You will also study the beliefs, teachings and practices of two distinct major world religions: Christianity and Buddhism. You will be learning about the core views believers hold, how they show thesebeliefs through actions and diversity within the faith. You will also apply these views to think about how believers may respond differently to the questions above.

Paper 2: Philosophical & Ethical Studies

 Religion & Life (e.g. origins of universe, use and abuse of the environment, abortion, euthanasia, animal rights)

 Peace & Conflict (e.g. reasons for war, holy war, pacifism, peace keeping, violent protest and terrorism)

 Crime & Punishment (e.g. aims of punishment, death penalty, treatment of criminals, forgiveness)

 Human Rights & Social Justice (e.g. issues of racial & gender equality, along with the distribution of wealth in society)

EXAM BOARD

AQA: 8062 A

How will you be assessed?

 100% Examination (2 Exam papers, 1 hour 45 minutes each)

 Paper 1: Christianity and Buddhism (Beliefs and Practices)

 Paper 2: Philosophical and Ethical Themes

You should consider this option if …

 You enjoyed Religious Studies, Social Wellbeing and Citizenship at Key Stage 3

 You have had positive feedback from your Religious Studies teachers about your work and if you’ve made good progress in this subject

 If you have an enquiring mind, an interest in ‘big ideas’ and a love of discussing, thinking about and investigating difference

 You want to develop high quality reading, writing and evaluative skills

 You are thinking about a futurecareer in journalism, education, law, policing, politics, social work, and even medicine (amongst many others).

For more information see Mr Cappleman scappleman@cherwellschool.org or Miss Dorn ldorn@cherwellschool.org