Aims of Religious Studies:
The principal aim of Religious Education at The Bishop of Winchester Academy is to affirm, encourage and challenge students on their spiritual journey. RS is studied by all students at both Key Stages 3 and 4.
Christianity will be taught for the majority of RS time in each key stage. This will ensure that Christianity is learned throughout the school years and that the syllabus will reflect the fact that the religious traditions in Great Britain are in the main Christian.
Key stage 4 students follow the short course AQA B GCSE course – There is only one unit of work to be studied throughout this course which is ‘Thinking about God and Morality’.
This encompasses a wide range of topics, helping students consider their own beliefs and their opinions regarding life experiences. This course is designed to allow debate about these questions, and provides scope for investigation, into the ways that religious belief and values are relevant to moral issues and behaviour in today’s society.
Options or Topics for study:
The problem of suffering and evil
Existence of God
The Nature of God
Prejudice and Discrimination
The Natural world
Abortion
War and Peace
Sex, Marriage and Divorce
Why do we study RS?
It is taught in an open, critical and sympathetic manner in which the student can enquire and raise questions without always been given any firm or conclusive answers. There is never any question of imposing particular religious values or beliefs the students, although the Christian values of education and of the school will be supported.
Religious Studies is an essential part of all students’ education because:
It addresses the fundamental questions of life which affect us all
It helps the student to develop their own beliefs and values
It exposes the students to some of the greatest thinkers the world has ever known
It helps to prepare the students to take an active role in the multi-cultural society in which we live
It promotes respect and critical tolerance of difference
It promotes many skills which are transferable into many jobs and areas of life
It provides the students with a tool so that they can begin to understand the profound influence of religion, particularly Christianity, on British history and culture
It contributes to the personal, social and spiritual development of the students in which they are encouraged To take responsibility for their own actions and beliefs and values from which they stem