Religious Studies
Religious Studies – Overview
The aim of Religion Studies at Firth Park Academy is to provide students with a range of religious views and also to provide them with an opportunity to explore their own views and to apply these views to philosophical questions and ethical issues we face across the globe.
Religion has always been with us. Throughout history, it has expressed the deepest questions human beings can ask, and it has taken a central place in the lives of virtually all civilizations and cultures. RE allows students to explore ultimate questions such as: Why are we here? Where does evil come from? What happens when we die, whilst allowing them to touch base with their spirituality whatever form that may come in and also develop their self-identity.
In modern times whilst we may not directly associate ourselves with religion We still find religion everywhere, on television, in film, in popular music, in our community. We discover religion at the centre of global issues and cultural conflict. We see religion in the lives of the people we know and love, and in ourselves, as we grow and discover the person that we are.
Overall, religion is a powerful and persistent part of humanity. It provokes intense debate and critical questions, after all each and every one of us wants to know more about the world around us and ultimately what the meaning and purpose is amongst it all.
Through the study of RS, you will be able to make direct observations about the world around you, discover ethical issues and draw upon personal conclusions on ethical matters, you will learn how to think critically and form an understanding and opinions on philosophical questions, you will gain a cross-cultural understanding of the beliefs and practices that are ever increasing in modern society.
KS3 – Agreed Syllabus for Sheffield
In Year 7 and 8 students will begin the year with an introduction to the historical and geographic links between the 6 major world religions. We look at the key facts of each such as the founder, sacred text and place of worship. We then study varying philosophical and ethical issues and explore the different religious views, opinions and perspectives along with the reasons behind the views held. Such as Equality, the subconscious bias, discriminations, The environment, Animal rights, the existence of God Etc.
In Year 9 students will begin by studying the ethical subjects where they will be given opportunities to discover their personal views and opinions on ethical issues, discuss and debate these matters. Students will also be given an insight into the GCSE course and opportunities to develop detailed academic essays and responses to GCSE style questions whilst focusing on the KS3 curriculum.
In Year 9 students will begin by exploring a range of New Religious Movements and learn to distinguish these movements from ‘Cults’ through this unit we also explore important historical events such as the Great Schism and The Sunni Shia split. We then look at the concept of Life After Death from various religious and non-religious perspectives drawing upon both Abrahamic and Eastern faiths. The next topic of Year 9 is Ultimate Questions and Contemporary Ethics. This introduces students to arguments for and against the existence of God, the nature of reality and the problem of evil, before moving on to look at contemporary issues around marriage, divorce, medical ethics, euthanasia and so on. Our final KS3 topic is Religion and the media where we study a wide range of media as stimulus for lessons and to analyse the portrayal of religion amongst different media outlets.
When students move onto Key Stage 4 RE, we continue to deliver a wide curriculum that is an amalgamation of Religion, philosophy and ethics. Exploring topics such as Religion Vs Science, Peace, war and conflict, Good Vs Evil etc. The foundation received at KS3 is essential for students to build on their knowledge. Although this is a not examined we aim to deliver a curriculum that allows students to develop confidence in all forms of literacy, tasks are based on skills that support students in developing skills in writing, analysis, evaluation and so on.
KS4 – Edexcel: Religious Studies B
Religion, Philosophy and Ethics (Christianity and Islam)
At GCSE level the course focuses on the study of beliefs and practices from a Christian and Islamic perspective; this then follows the application of Christian and Islamic philosophical and ethical views to issues in the world today.The units studied are as below. The units based on Philosophy and Ethics will be taught from a Christian and Islamic Perspective. The units to be studied are as detailed below.
Christianity, Beliefs and living a religious life
Islam – Beliefs and living a religious life
Marriage and the Family
Crime and Punishment
Matters of Life and Death
Peace and Conflict
Further information can be found on the Edexcel website. https://qualifications.pearson.com/en/qualifications/edexcel-gcses/religious-studies-b-2016.html
Link to 5 year plan https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1O5G1-Sqz_rrd-F5vuPm2ygNrJxlG0J5d7p1-30IlDIw/edit#slide=id.g105f93fad17_2_0
Careers and Further Education with Religious Studies
RE is a versatile subject that incorporates skills and knowledge from a wide variety of subjects that can be studied more thoroughly at A Level. For instance, we have units based on Law, criminology and sociology. such as when we look at the influence religion has in society, how laws are formed, the purpose of punishment and the impact of crime.
organisations such as NATRE have found that Russell Group Universities have found that RE provides ‘suitable preparation for University” and that the subject compliments subjects such as History, Art, English Literature.
Those that study RE are likely to go on into a field of Law, Social work, Politics, Journalism, working in the media, teaching and work that may involve working with other people. According to NATRE Career prospects for those that take Religious Studies/Theology at degree level are very bright with 25% of 2015 graduates going on to work in the fields of legal, social and welfare, 11% choosing to become educational professionals and almost 5% managers.
RCP Staff
Director Learning for RE- Ms S Brown
Teacher of RE- Ms M Maughal