RE

• Introduction to RE: Students look at why we study RE, the nature of religious belief, and also an introduction to the beliefs and practices of the 6 major world religions.
• Big questions: an introduction to philosophy where students will study and think about some of the most important questions that can be asked like ‘Who am I? What can I really know? Are we responsible for what we do? Does God exist?’
• The life of Jesus: allows students to investigate the life of Jesus to find out why his life has inspired millions of Christians and non-Christians around the world.
• Islam: students study the history and core beliefs of Islam. They will then analyse how these beliefs are put into practice today.
• New religious movements: gives students an opportunity to explore and contextualise the importance of religion today and will explore a range of new religions from Eastern and Western traditions.
• Eastern religions: gives a thorough introduction to Eastern religious traditions, especially Hindu, Buddhist and Jain. Students will look at the philosophical, social and historical importance of these traditions and what impact they have today. Topics will include karma, reincarnation, the caste system, the four noble truths, nirvana, meditation, etc.
• The problem of evil: challenges students to reflect on the nature of good and evil and seeks an answer to the issue of how an all loving and all powerful God could allow evil to exist.
• Representations of Religion (Science, art, media, etc.): students will study how religion has been represented from a range of angles including science, art and the media and look at debates including whether religion and science are in conflict, how religious ideas have been expressed through art, as well as analysing the impact the media plays in how religion is portrayed today.
• Sikhism – A foundation for GCSE:provides students with a thorough introduction to the Sikh faith, and provide a foundation for GCSE RE
• Crime and Punishment: allows students to discuss ethical dilemmas surrounding crime, theories of punishment, law, and the importance of justice in society.
• Religion and Conflict: requires students to consider important issues that arise today with respect to conflict in today’s world. They will explore a range of topics including Islamophobia, racism, media stereotyping, terrorism and freedom of expression

Students will study Edexcel GCSE Religious Education. This course is mainly split into two sections:

• Study of Religions: We have chosen to focus on Christianity and Sikhism. For each religion we will explore the following: beliefs, teachings and every day practices. These units combine theory and practice whereby pupils will be able to study the philosophical underpinning of religious beliefs as well as seeing how these beliefs are put into everyday lived practice.
• Thematic study:
  • Crime and Punishment (including the aims of punishment, reasons for crime, the death penalty, treatment of criminals and the importance of justice);
  • Peace and Conflict (including the use of violence and war, the link between religion and war, war in the 21st century, nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destruction as well as terrorism);
  • Matters of Life and Death (origins of the universe and life, big bang theory, evolution, abortion, euthanasia, animal rights, pollution and the environment relationship between religion and science, arguments for and against life after death);
  • Marriage and the Family (including ideas on marriage and divorce, sex, contraception, homosexuality, gender equality and gender prejudice and discrimination)