Course aims

To provide an understanding of the philosophical and ethical foundations of religious belief.

Entry requirements

You will require a grade 6 in English language and a grade 5 in a humanities subject (preferably R.E), in addition to the general entry requirements.

Course content

Unit 1 – Philosophy of Religion

Topics include:

• Ancient philosophical influences
• The nature of the soul, mind and body
• Arguments about the existence or non-existence of God
• The nature and impact of religious experience
• The challenge for religious belief of the problem of evil
• Ideas about the nature of God
• Issues in religious language.

Unit 2 – Religion and ethics

Topics include:

• Normative ethical theories
• The application of ethical theory to two contemporary issues of importance
• Ethical language and thought
• Debates surrounding the significant idea of conscience
• Sexual ethics and the influence on ethical thought of developments in religious beliefs.

Unit 3 – Developments in Christian Thought

Topics include:

• Religious beliefs, values and teachings, their interconnections and how they vary historically and in the contemporary world
• Sources of religious wisdom and authority
• Practices which shape and express religious identity, and how these vary within a tradition
• Significant social and historical developments in theology and religious thought
• Key themes related to the relationship between religion and society in the context of Christianity.

Course assessment

Written examinations.

Materials

Textbooks provided.

Progress

Employment, higher education, teaching and social work.