A Level Religious Studies

Course title: Advanced GCE in Religious Studies

Exam board: AQA

Subject specific entry criteria: Minimum Grade 6 in English and a relevant Humanities subject at GCSE (ideally Religious Studies or History, although Religious Studies GCSE is not essential).

Course overview

Paper 1: Philosophy of Religion and Ethics

Section A: Philosophy of religion

  • Arguments for the existence of God
  • Evil and suffering
  • Religious experience
  • Religious language
  • Miracles
  • Self and life after death

Section B: Ethics and religion

  • Ethical theories
  • Issues of human life and death
  • Issues of animal life and death
  • Introduction to meta ethics
  • Free will and moral responsibility
  • Conscience
  • Bentham and Kant

Paper 2: Study of Religion and Dialogues

Section A: Study of religion – Christianity, the following topics are covered:

  • Sources of wisdom and authority
  • God/gods/ultimate reality
  • Self, death and the afterlife
  • Good conduct and key moral principles
  • Expression of religious identity
  • Religion, gender and sexuality
  • Religion and science
  • Religion and secularisation
  • Religion and religious pluralism

Section B: The dialogue between philosophy of religion and religion
— How religion is influenced by, and has an influence on philosophy of religion in relation to the issues studied

Section C: The dialogue between ethical studies and religion
— How religion is influenced by, and has an influence on ethical studies in relation to the issues studied

Assessment overview

Paper 1: Philosophy of Religion and Ethics

  • 3 hours
  • 100 marks
  • 50% of A Level

Section A: 1 x 2-part question
Section B: 1 x 2-part question

Paper 2: Study of Religion and Dialogues

  • 3 hours
  • 100 marks
  • 50% of A Level

Section A: 1 x 2-part question
Section B: 1 question
Section C: 1 question

Future progression

Religious Studies is one of the most versatile A Levels you can study. Religious Studies contains the logic and reason that can be applied to many pathways. Religious Studies is perfectly suited to wider study at university in the fields of Philosophy, Law, Politics, Economics, History, Sociology, Psychology, Anthropology, Business and/or Management Degrees as well as the study of Theology, Classics and Criminology.

Potential careers

Religious Studies can provide a lead into virtually any career; the logical thinking and reasoning you use is applicable in many potential future pathways. You will gain critical and evaluative skills sought by employers – particularly in Law, Education, Social Work, Politics, Medicine, Administration and the media. Other options are Publishing, Public Relations, Ministry, Journalism, Business and Management as well as fundraising and non-profit work. It also opens doors to roles in Advertising, the Civil Service and Social Work; and that is just to name a few.

How to succeed in Religious Studies

You will need to:

  • be organised, read around the subject and seek out/ read the work of a variety of different philosophers
  • write essays with good critical analysis of arguments and formulate logical responses
  • engage in the wider world through the news and other sources in order to apply current issues to the theory.
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