Religious Education

Key Stage 3


Year Group

Areas of Study


Term 1 What is Religious Education? Sikhism (1) Beliefs; concepts; authority, expressions of spirituality: What does the gurdwara tell us about Sikh beliefs?

Term 2 Sikhism (2) How do Sikh beliefs affect their actions? Sikh attitudes towards moral issues - reference to the Khalsa

Term 3 Christianity(1) Beliefs; concepts; authority: Beliefs about Jesus’ birth

What do Christians believe about the importance of Jesus’ incarnation?    

Term 4 Christianity(2) Beliefs; concepts; authority: Jesus’ controversial teaching; events of the Last Week.

Term 5 Buddhism (1) Beliefs; concepts; authority: Why was Gotama Buddha so special? Life of the Buddha, 4 Noble Truth, the Middle Way

Term 6 Christianity (3) Rights and responsibilities; What does justice mean to Christians? Christian idea of service and self-sacrifice; Mother Teresa; The work of TEAR Fund/Christian Aid


Term 1 Islam (1) Beliefs; concepts; authority: How do Muslims make decisions on ethical issues? Muhammad as the final prophet; Importance of the Qur’an Expressions of Spirituality: The Mosque –prayer; the Hajj

Term 2 Islam (2) Islam (3) Rights and responsibilities; Global issues: Islam and attitudes to women;

Term 3 Christianity (4) Rights and responsibilities: Christians and attitudes to prejudice and discrimination Martin Luther King

Term 4 Interfaith unit: What do religions say about human rights and responsibilities? Apartheid

Term 5 Buddhism (2) Expressions of Spirituality; Ethics and relationships:

What is a Buddhist’s goal in life? Wheel of Life, 5 precepts, the Sangha, Relevance of stillness and meditation

Term 6 Christianity (5) Expressions of Spirituality: How do Christians express their beliefs about God in worship? What would a Church for all Christians be like?


Term 1 (1) Questions of meaning relating to human life: Why do some people find it hard to believe in God? Questions of meaning relating to human life (2) Are science and faith in conflict?

Term 2 Questions of meaning relating to human life (3) Beliefs about life after death 

Term 3 Questions that inform people’s moral choices: Anti-Semitism + The Holocaust

Term 4 Questions of meaning: Does suffering make it impossible to believe in God?

Term 5 Interfaith unit: Religion, War and Peace – Is it ever right to fight?

Term 6 Interfaith unit: Planet Earth


Key Stage 4


Subject:        Religious Studies                (Exam board) AQA Spec B

Link to other subjects/degrees/careers:

Religious studies graduates have gone into careers in a variety of fields that require critical thinking, subtle analysis, and skilled articulation.

The application of ethical principles is essential to most disciplines but particularly to modern-day medicine, science, technology, environmental studies, economics and business. It obviously has great value for such careers as social work, medicine, the law, nursing and teaching.

Skills/competencies developed:

The Religious Studies GCSE is designed to link closely with other subjects, particularly

Citizenship and Personal, Social and Health Education.  It encourages skills in investigation; interpretation; reflection; empathy; evaluation; analysis; synthesis; application; expression.

It also includes developing attitudes such as care and concern of others; commitment; sense of fairness; respect, including respecting those who have different beliefs and customs to one’s own, recognising the rights of others to hold their own views, and appreciating other  people’s religious convictions; self-understanding; enquiry.

Content (broken down by units at GCSE):

Year 10

Unit 3 Religion and Morality

The aim of this unit is to enable candidates to address fundamental questions about the basis for religious beliefs and behaviour and to investigate ways in which religious beliefs and values are relevant to specified moral issues and behaviour.

Topic 1 Religious Attitudes to Matters of Life (Medical Ethics)

Topic 2 Religious Attitudes to the Elderly and Death

Topic 3 Religious Attitudes to Drug Abuse

Unit 2 Religion and Life Issues

This unit is intended to encourage candidates to reflect upon religion and life including animal life and environmental issues, prejudice, the right to life, war and peace, religion and young people. In the examination candidates will be expected to illustrate their answers by reference to actual examples in relation to the issues raised, and to make appropriate references to religious stories, teachings and practices that they have studied

Topic 1 Religion and Animal Rights

Topic 2 Religion and Planet Earth

Topic 3 Religion and Prejudice

Topic 6 Religion and Young People

Year 11

Unit 3 Religion and Morality continued

Topic 4 Religious Attitudes to Crime and Punishment

Topic 5 Religious Attitudes to Rich and Poor in British Society

Topic 6 Religious Attitudes to World Poverty

Unit 2 Religion and Life Issues continued

Topic 4 Religion and Early Life

Topic 5 Religion, War and Peace

To gain a Full Course candidates take two final examination on each unit in Year 11.

Each unit accounts for 50% of the total Full Course marks. Written papers – 2 x 1 hour 30 minutes.

Candidates answer four structured essay questions from the choice of six given.

Each question is worth 18marks.There are four additional marks on the paper for SPaG.

The question paper is worth 76 marks in total.