Religious Education

Religious Education (RE) is seen by Trustees and School Leadership as part of the core curriculum at Bishop Ramsey as well as a key aspect of the school’s Christian identity. All students study RE through to GCSE and have the option to continue this study at A Level.

Religious Education is studied from a position of positive yet critical enquiry about the diverse religious views and practices found both in the UK and around the world. The syllabus allows students to develop their higher-level thinking skills and develop their own sense of identity through open and honest discussion about the nature of humanity, concepts of God and the relationship between the two.

Key Stage 3

Throughout KS3 there is a focus on the study of Christianity. However, by the end of Year 9, students will also have studied the five other main world religions as well as non-religious viewpoints. Students explore RE through an Integrated Thematic Curriculum.

Year 7: Students study the topic of 'Beginnings' and ‘Biblical Figures’ in the Autumn Term. In the Spring Term, they study a unit on Christian Philosophy and a unit which explores different Christian virtues. Students then go onto study Islam and Hinduism as world religions in the Summer Term.

Year 8: Students continue their thematic study of Christianity, studying Christian worship and Christian festivals in the Autumn Term, then Christian Ethics in the first half of the Spring Term. They go on to study two more world religions, Sikhism and Buddhism, before a topic on Culture in the UK in the second half of the Summer Term.

Year 9: Students begin their studies with the topic of ‘Humanism’ and then go on to look at the issue of suffering and religious approaches to this. In the Spring Term there is a study of Judaism and also Islam. Students then study Christianity in the Modern World and at the end of Year 9 there is a project-based topic which requires students to reflect on their own belief systems and influences.

Key Stage 4

AQA GCSE Religious Studies (8062)

Paper 1: Students at GCSE will study the key beliefs, practices and teachings of Christianity and Islam. They will explore the diverse religious traditions and beliefs in Great Britain today with a focus on the main religious tradition in Great Britain today being Christianity. They will learn about the sources of wisdom and authority and be able to refer to the Bible, Qur’an or Sunnah using specific quotes or examples. The students will look at the influence of these teachings on believers, communities and the wider society.

They will also explore the common and divergent views within the religions and the way that different belief may be understood in different traditions.

Paper 2: Students will explore four religious, philosophical and ethical themes. They will learn about the different religious perspectives on the issues studied and the different perspectives from religious perspectives.

Students must also study the impact and influence that the religious, philosophical and ethical themes have on the modern world.

AQA GCSE Religious Studies 8062

Key Stage 5

OCR A Level Religious Studies (H173)

Students study 3 main strands:

Philosophy of Religion (H173/01). This includes the study of the following topics:

• Philosophical Language and Thought (Ancient Philosophical Influences Soul, Mind and Body)
• God and the World (Religious Experience and Problem of Evil)
• Existence of God (Arguments based on Observation and Arguments Based on Reason)
• Religious Language – Negative, Analogical or Symbolic
• Theological and Physiological Developments
• Twentieth Century Perspectives.

Religion and Ethics (H173/02). This includes the study of the following topics:

• Normative Ethical Theories: Religious Approaches (Natural Law and Situation Ethics)
• Normative Ethical Theories (Kantian Ethics and Utilitarianism)
• Applied Theories (Euthanasia and Business Ethics)
• Ethical Language – Meta-ethics
• Significant Ideas (Conscience and Sexual Ethics).

Developments in Christian Thought (H173/03). This includes the study of the following topics:

• Insight (Augustine’s Teaching on Human Nature and Death and the Afterlife)
• Foundations (Knowledge of God’s Existence and person of Jesus Christ)
• Living (Christian Moral Principles and Christian Moral Action)
• Development (Religious Pluralism and Theology and Religious Pluralism and Society)
• Society (Gender and Society and Gender and Theology)
• Challenges (Challenge of Secularism and Liberation Theology and Marx).

OCR GCE Religious Studies H173