Religious Studies
Course Information
| Literacy |  |
|---|---|
| Numeracy |  |
| Communications | |
| Creativity | |
| Practical |  |
| Group Work | |
| Examination Assessment | 100% |
| Non-Examination Assessment | 0% |
| EBacc | No |
| Examination Board | AQA |
| Course | GCSE |
General Information
Video Transcript
00:00:05
Hello, my name is Mr Hughes, Head of RE and Sociology at Swanmore College.
00:00:12
Today I would like to talk to you about a subject that's not only fascinating but also incredibly relevant to the world we live in, GCSE AQA Religious Studies, focusing on Christianity and Islam.
00:00:26
This course is about more than just learning about what people believe, it's about understanding the different perspectives
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asking deep questions, and developing skills that will help you in every area of life.
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Let's start with what you're studying.
00:00:43
The course is divided into two papers.
00:00:46
Paper one explores the beliefs, teachings, and practices of two major world faiths, Christianity and Islam.
00:00:54
In Christian beliefs and teachings, you'll find out about the nature of God, the Trinity, creation,
00:01:03
the life and resurrection of Jesus, and the problem of evil and suffering.
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You'll explore how these ideas shape Christian life and faith today.
00:01:14
In Christian Practices, you'll look at how Christians express their faith through worship, prayer, sacraments like baptism and Holy Communion, and through helping others in the local and global community.
00:01:27
Then, we turn to Islamic beliefs and teachings.
00:01:31
Here, you'll study the oneness of Allah, the role of prophets such as Muhammad, peace be upon him, beliefs about angels, holy books, and life after death.
00:01:42
You'll explore key concepts like taheed, the belief in one God, and how these ideas influence the lives of Muslims.
00:01:51
In Islamic practices, you'll study the five pillars, including prayer, charity, fasting, and pilgrimage, and how these acts of worship
00:02:00
shape Muslim life.
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You'll also consider festivals like Eid and how they express faith in action.
00:02:10
Paper 2 includes these religious teachings and moves beyond them to explore how faith connects with real-world ethical and philosophical issues.
00:02:20
In the Families and Relationships unit, you'll study topics like marriage, divorce, gender equality, and the role of family in Christian and Muslim thoughts.
00:02:31
In the Religion and Life unit, you'll tackle big questions about the origins of the universe, the value of human life, and moral debates around abortion and euthanasia.
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In the Religion, Peace and Conflict unit, you'll explore war, peace, forgiveness, and terrorism, asking about how religious teachings guide believers through conflict and promote peace.
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And finally,
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In the Religion, Crime and Punishment unit, you'll examine moral questions about justice, forgiveness, capital punishments, and the purpose of punishment for both Christian and Islamic viewpoints.
00:03:12
Each paper is one hour and 45 minutes long, and each paper is worth 50% of your final grades.
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Every paper has four sections, each divided up into 24 marks each.
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Questions test your knowledge, they test your understanding, and they test your ability to evaluate different viewpoints.
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In some sections, so clear and well-structured writing is rewarded.
00:03:43
So, why choose religious studies?
00:03:46
Because it helps you become more thoughtful, understanding, and open-minded as a person.
00:03:53
You'll develop critical thinking, essay writing, and debating skills that are valuable in any career, law, medicine, journalism, teaching, and beyond.
00:04:05
Most importantly, this course helps you understand people, what they believe, why they act as they do, and how faith shapes the world around us.
00:04:15
In a world that's increasingly diverse, that understanding is powerful.
00:04:20
So if you're curious about life's biggest questions and you want to make sense of the world and your place within it, then GCSE Religious Studies is the subject for you.
00:04:30
Thank you.
The AQA GCSE Religious Studies course is about life and the issues pupils will face when they leave education and go into the multi-ethnic, multi-faith society which is the contemporary United Kingdom. Never before has an understanding of worldwide political, moral and religious issues been more important.
The course involves a great deal of thinking and discussion, making pupils more aware of other people’s beliefs and helping them form their own opinions about the world. It helps pupils to adopt an enquiring, critical and reflective approach to the study of religion. Religious Studies enables pupils to have a much greater and deeper understanding of themselves, empowering them with the insight and maturity needed to succeed in a global economy.
It also gives pupils the opportunity to explore religious and moral beliefs in a safe but questioning environment, so that they respect other people’s ideas while clarifying their own.
Religious Studies is not about making pupils ‘religious’. It is about enabling pupils to think for themselves about issues from a religious and non-religious viewpoint. Highly divisive topics that will be studied include abortion, euthanasia, the death penalty, divorce, contraception, animal rights, war and so much more.
Christianity and Islam are the two religions that will be focused on.
Religious Studies is recognised as an increasingly important qualification for all careers where working with people is a key element. It is valued in a wide variety of careers from journalism, law, politics, education, social work, medicine, acting, the Police force or the military. It is a recognised academic qualification valued as much as other Humanities by the Russell Group universities.
What will I need to succeed?
Pupils who do well in and enjoy this subject generally:
- Enjoy discussing their views and opinions;
- Have an interest in learning about the views and opinions of other people from Different cultures and backgrounds;
- Need to be able to see both sides of an argument;
- Need to be able to remember key quotes and examples to support their opinions;
- Have an enquiring, inquisitive mind;
- Have an ability to think (and write down your thoughts) logically;
- Have an interest in psychology – i.e. where people get their ideas from;
- Have a love of argument and discussion;
- Show a willingness to listen to other people’s point of view.
Assessment details
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100% Exam |
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Paper 1: Religious beliefs and practices |
Paper 2: Thematic study |
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What’s assessed:
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How is it assessed:
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What careers can it lead to after leaving Swanmore College?
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Prominent careers |
Teaching, Civil Service, National Security, Diplomatic Service, Defence Industry, Human Rights, Law, Politics, Emergency Services: Police, Fire, Ambulance, Coastguard, Human resources. |
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|
RS with English |
Advertising, Publishing, Journalism, Media, Broadcasting, Copywriting. |
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RS with Science |
Medicine, Dentistry, Veterinary, Medical laboratories, Research & development. |
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RS with Maths |
Banking, Business, Management, Retail. |
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RS with Geography |
Pilot, Armed Forces, Aid agencies, Charity worker, Travel & Tourism. |
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RS with other subjects |
Hospitality, Youth & Social Work, Councillor, Translator, Self-Employment, Office Administrator. |