Religion, Philosophy & Ethics

 

Department staff:

C M Yeadon:  Subject Leader

R J Parmiter: Subject Teacher

R F Eden: Subject Teacher

 

 

Key Stage 3:

Overview of the course

Key Stage 3 RPE is a subject that builds empathy, understanding and respect in a world often characterized by diversity, conflict and change.  The Year 7 and 8 curriculum provides a unique opportunity to learn about, and from, faiths, cultures and people in an open, respectful and objective way.  It hopes to increase understanding about faith communities which are so often misrepresented by the extremists.  It celebrates the contributions religions and religious people have made to our world; but it also provides opportunities to critique certain beliefs, practices and structures.  In Year 9 we explore Philosophy, Ethics and Philosophy of Religion as well as winning the book ‘Night’ by Nobel Prize winning author and activist Elie Wiesel. In line with the opening of the 2013 ‘Realising the Potential’ report, we agree that;

‘Religious education (RE) should make a major contribution to the education of children and young people. At its best, it is intellectually challenging and personally enriching. It helps young people develop beliefs and values, and promotes the virtues of respect and empathy, which are important in our diverse society. It fosters civilised debate and reasoned argument, and helps pupils to understand the place of religion and belief in the modern world’.

What will I learn?

 

Year 7:

Buddhism	Christianity	Sikhism
Who founded Buddhism? What are the Three Marks of Existence? What are the Four Noble Truths? How do I reach Enlightenment? Meditation – theory and practice. Different types of Buddhism Who is Aung San Sui Kyi? Buddhism in Britain	Who is Jesus? Did he meet expectations? What did he really teach? Death and Resurrection? Prayer and Worship. Who was George Foxx? Who was Margaret Clitheroe? Christianity and York.	What is a guru? Who founded Sikhism and why? Why put a book to bed? Why is equality for women so important? Why do religious people wear what they do? The importance of symbolism.

 

 

 

 

Year 8:

Hinduism	Islam	Judaism
Monotheism or Polytheism? Trimurti Gods and Goddesses Puja Diwali Holi Gandhi	Who is the founder? The Qur’an What do Muslims really believe? The Five Pillars Malcolm X Islam in Britain	The Birth of Monotheism Abraham Moses and Passover Shabbat Sukkot Yom Kippur Hanukkah

 

 

Year 9:

Philosophy	Philosophy of Religion	Night by Elie Wiesel
What is real? Plato’s Allegory of The Cave Baudrillard and The Matrix Nozick’s Pleasure Machine Free Will and Determinism	Who or What is God? The Design Argument The Cosmological Argument Miracles? The Problem of Evil What is a Theodicy and can they answer the problem of evil?	How did the Holocaust affect Elie’s faith and humanity? What questions does the Holocaust raise about belief in God?

 

 

What will I do?

• Discuss
• Debate
• Reflect
• Create
• Question
• Design
• Read
• Argue
• Think
• Listen
• Empathise
• Evaluate
• Explain

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Key Stage 4:

CORE Religion, Philosophy & Ethics:

Overview of the course

Philosophy for Life is a course which allows students to reflect on the most important questions of all:  What is the point of life?  What should I be aiming for? How should I live?  What do I really want?  How can I be happy?  How do I deal with anxiety?  How do I manage my anger?  What job do I actually want to do?

Students will explore these questions by learning about, and from, a variety of philosophers from Socrates to Nietzsche. They will also look at different religious approaches to these questions from the likes of Jesus and The Buddha.

 

What will I learn?

Stoicism:  Managing anxiety and anger.

Epicurus: Happiness, pleasure and the present moment.

Cynicism: Free from fear.

Pythagoras: Memory, reputation and incantation.

Scepticism: Question everything (especially yourself).

Plato: How do societies flourish?

Aristotle: Character and friendship.

Nietzsche: Hardship and happiness.

Schopenhauer:  Love and happiness.

Michel de Montaigne: Self-esteem

Siddhartha Guatama: Attachment and Letting Go

And more…

 

GCSE Religion, Philosophy & Ethics:

Overview of the course

The quest will be two-fold: students will investigate religious beliefs, teachings and practices from Buddhist and Christian faiths. They will then apply these to an ethical investigation into a variety of issues:  war, violence and peace; crime and punishment and the origins and sanctity of human life.

Examination board: AQA Specification A

Assessment:

2 x written exams  ( 1 hour and 45 minutes x 2).

Useful Links:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/rs/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/