Course Features

Philosophy of religion

• ancient philosophical influences.

• the nature of the soul, mind and body

• arguments about the existence or non-existence of God

• the nature and impact of religious experience

• the challenge for religious belief of the problem of evil

• ideas about the nature of God

• issues in religious language

Religion & Ethics

• normative ethical theories

• the application of ethical theory to two contemporary issues of importance

• ethical language and thought

• debates surrounding the significant idea of conscience

• sexual ethics and the influence on ethical thought of developments in religious beliefs.

Developments in religious thought

• religious beliefs, values and teachings, their interconnections and how they vary historically and in the contemporary world

• sources of religious wisdom and authority

• practices which shape and express religious identity, and how these vary within a tradition

• significant social and historical developments in theology religious thought

• key themes related to the relationship between religion and society

Assessment

One 3 hour written exam on each unit.

Each exam worth 1/3 of A level grade