Key Stage 5 - Core RE

Religious Studies Core & A Level

Religious Studies and Life (Why study it?)

Firstly it is about people: understanding their different views, learning about their beliefs, and understanding what makes people tick whether they have a religious worldview or not. RS involves thinking deeply about what it is to be human and how we relate to others. Now I'm not promising that studying RS will improve your friendships but it helps our emotional intelligence so it can't hurt! Yes, you can argue that the world is changing but as long as there are people, you will need RS. 

Secondly, it is an opportunity to think through the really big questions of life. 'An unexamined life is not worth living' Socrates may or may have actually said this but the point stands. Whether or not God exists, how we make moral decisions, questions about gender and justice, life and death - the meaning (if there is one) of life itself. These are important questions and in no other subject is wrestling with such questions so central. Science can tell us what we are able to do, but only RS perhaps assisted by other Humanities type courses can help us answer ethical questions about whether we should do it.