Religion, Philosophy & Ethics

Religious Studies is a thought provoking subject that allows you to explore a variety of worldviews and ways of thinking, both religious and non-religious. The course will offer you the opportunity to debate, discuss and analyse. As you do this you will be able to develop key skills that will be of great benefit ; ability to form reasoned argument, critical analysis, explanation and evaluation, the study of texts and extended writing.

The course is split into three areas of study:

1. Philosophy of Religion: arguments for God’s existence, evil and suffering, religious experiences and miracles, self and life after death.

2. Ethics and Religion: ethical theories, issues of human life and death, free will and responsibility, conscience and animal ethics.

3. Study of Religion: Hinduism. In this part students explore different aspects of the religion covering; sources of wisdom, ideas of god, self, death and the afterlife, gender and sexuality, religion and science, secularisation and pluralism. All of these are studied with a focus on the religion of Hinduism, exploring it’s past and it’s role in the lives of believers today.