Religious Studies (A Level)
Details
Qualification
A LevelExamination Board
EDUQASSpecification
What Do I Need To Study This Course?
Grade 6 or above in GCSE Religious Studies and a grade 6 or above in GCSE English (Literature or Language).
Students who did not take GCSE Religious Studies will be considered with a grade 6 or above in GCSE English (Literature or Language).
What Will I Study?
This A Level is a study of Philosophy, Ethics and Judaism. You will learn about philosophical issues and questions; the nature and influence of religious experience; problems of evil and suffering and philosophical language.
There will be four themes within this component: arguments for the existence of God; challenges to religious belief; religious experience and religious language.
In Ethics you will study significant concepts and issues and debates in religion and ethics; medical ethics and ethical language. There will be four themes within this component: ethical thought, deontological ethics, teleological ethics, determinism and free will.
Your study of religion will include Jewish religious beliefs, values and teachings, sources of wisdom and authority and practices that shape religious identity.
How Will I Be Assessed?
There are 3 examinations of equal weighting which are all essay based:
Philosophy (33.3%), Ethics (33.3%), Judaism (33.3%)
What Next?
Degrees linked to Religious Studies A Level:
- Philosophy degree
- Religious Studies degree
- Theology degree
- Anthropology degree
- PPE – Philosophy, Politics and Economics degree
Jobs where studying Religious Studies could be useful include:
- Primary/ Secondary school teacher
- Human resources
- Law
- Police officer
- Youth and community worker
- Social work
- Public sector work
Suggested Reading List
https://sites.google.com/horsforthschool.org/horsforth-school-careers/subjects/religious-studies
Reading and Film List
Philosophy of Religion and Ethics
- Peter Vardy, The Puzzle of Ethics (William Collins, 1999)
- Peter Vardy, The Puzzle of God (Harper Collins, 1999)
- Peter Vardy, The Puzzle of Evil (Fount, 1999)
- Tim Bayne, Philosophy of Religion: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press, 2018)
- Brian Clack, An Introduction to Wittgenstein’s Philosophy of Religion (Edinburgh University Press, 1991)
- George Pattison, A Short Course in the Philosophy of Religion (SCM Press, 2009)
- Richard Swinburne, The Existence of God (Clarendon Press, 2004)
Judaism
- Norman Soloman, Judaism: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press, 2014)
- Dan Cohn-Sherbok, Judaism: History, Belief and Practice (Routledge, 2003)
- Jacob Neusner, Torah Through the Ages: a Short History of Judaism (Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2004)
- Wayne Dostick, Living Judaism: The Complete Guide to Jewish Belief (HarperCollins, 2010)
- Pete Tobias, Liberal Judaism: A Judaism for the Twenty-First Century (Liberal Judaism, 2013)
- Judith Plaskow, Standing Again at Sinai: Judaism from a Feminist Perspective
- (Bravo Ltd, 1991)
Ted Talks
3 interesting Ted Talks that will get you thinking like an A Level RS student:
- Ted Talk by Kwame Anthony Appiah — Is Religion Good or Bad? (This is a trick question)
- Ted Talk by Damon Horowitz – We Need a Moral Operating System
- Ted Talk by Tom Honey – Why Would God Create A Tsunami?
Films/ TV
- Watch The Matrix (film). Note down your thoughts on the themes of truth, perception and reality.
- Watch Lost (TV series). What moral and ethical points does this raise?
- God on Trial ( film). What responses are given to the Holocaust ?