A Level Religious Studies WJEC

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Content Overview

223 topics in 3 modules

☑️ Component 1: A Study of Religion 156 topics
- Christianity: role of the community of believers
- Christianity: key moral principles
- Christianity: beliefs about the self
- Christianity: beliefs about death
- Christianity: beliefs about the afterlife
- Christianity: sources of wisdom and authority
- Christianity: scrupture and/or sacred texts
- Christianity: key religious figures
- Christianity: key teachers and their teachings
- Christianity: practices that shape religious identity
- Christianity: significant social/ historical developments in theology
- Christianity: challenges of secularisation
- Christianity: science
- Christianity: responses to pluralism and diversity
- Christianity: migration
- Christianity: changing roles of men and women
- Christianity: feminist approaches
- Christianity: liberationist approaches
- Christianity: ideas of key scholars of religion and belief
- Christianity: religion and identity
- Christianity: religion, equality and discrimination
- Christianity: religious freedom
- Christianity: political and social influence of institutions
- Christianity: religious tolerance
- Christianity: respect and recognition
- Christianity: view of other religions and world views
- Islam: role of the community of believers
- Islam: key moral principles
- Islam: beliefs about the self
- Islam: beliefs about death
- Islam: beliefs about the afterlife
- Islam: sources of wisdom and authority
- Islam: scrupture and/or sacred texts
- Islam: key religious figures
- Islam: key teachers and their teachings
- Islam: practices that shape religious identity
- Islam: significant social/ historical developments in theology
- Islam: challenges of secularisation
- Islam: science
- Islam: responses to pluralism and diversity
- Islam: migration
- Islam: changing roles of men and women
- Islam: feminist approaches
- Islam: liberationist approaches
- Islam: ideas of key scholars of religion and belief
- Islam: religion and identity
- Islam: religion, equality and discrimination
- Islam: religious freedom
- Islam: political and social influence of institutions
- Islam: religious tolerance
- Islam: respect and recognition
- Islam: view of other religions and world views
- Judaism: role of the community of believers
- Judaism: key moral principles
- Judaism: beliefs about the self
- Judaism: beliefs about death
- Judaism: beliefs about the afterlife
- Judaism: sources of wisdom and authority
- Judaism: scrupture and/or sacred texts
- Judaism: key religious figures
- Judaism: key teachers and their teachings
- Judaism: practices that shape religious identity
- Judaism: significant social/ historical developments in theology
- Judaism: challenges of secularisation
- Judaism: science
- Judaism: responses to pluralism and diversity
- Judaism: migration
- Judaism: changing roles of men and women
- Judaism: feminist approaches
- Judaism: liberationist approaches
- Judaism: ideas of key scholars of religion and belief
- Judaism: religion and identity
- Judaism: religion, equality and discrimination
- Judaism: religious freedom
- Judaism: political and social influence of institutions
- Judaism: religious tolerance
- Judaism: respect and recognition
- Judaism: view of other religions and world views
- Buddhism: role of the community of believers
- Buddhism: key moral principles
- Buddhism: beliefs about the self
- Buddhism: beliefs about death
- Buddhism: beliefs about the afterlife
- Buddhism: sources of wisdom and authority
- Buddhism: scrupture and/or sacred texts
- Buddhism: key religious figures
- Buddhism: key teachers and their teachings
- Buddhism: practices that shape religious identity
- Buddhism: significant social/ historical developments in theology
- Buddhism: challenges of secularisation
- Buddhism: science
- Buddhism: responses to pluralism and diversity
- Buddhism: migration
- Buddhism: changing roles of men and women
- Buddhism: feminist approaches
- Buddhism: liberationist approaches
- Buddhism: ideas of key scholars of religion and belief
- Buddhism: religion and identity
- Buddhism: religion, equality and discrimination
- Buddhism: religious freedom
- Buddhism: political and social influence of institutions
- Buddhism: religious tolerance
- Buddhism: respect and recognition
- Buddhism: view of other religions and world views
- Hinduism: role of the community of believers
- Hinduism: key moral principles
- Hinduism: beliefs about the self
- Hinduism: beliefs about death
- Hinduism: beliefs about the afterlife
- Hinduism: sources of wisdom and authority
- Hinduism: scrupture and/or sacred texts
- Hinduism: key religious figures
- Hinduism: key teachers and their teachings
- Hinduism: practices that shape religious identity
- Hinduism: significant social/ historical developments in theology
- Hinduism: challenges of secularisation
- Hinduism: science
- Hinduism: responses to pluralism and diversity
- Hinduism: migration
- Hinduism: changing roles of men and women
- Hinduism: feminist approaches
- Hinduism: liberationist approaches
- Hinduism: ideas of key scholars of religion and belief
- Hinduism: religion and identity
- Hinduism: religion, equality and discrimination
- Hinduism: religious freedom
- Hinduism: political and social influence of institutions
- Hinduism: religious tolerance
- Hinduism: respect and recognition
- Hinduism: view of other religions and world views
- Sikhism: role of the community of believers
- Sikhism: key moral principles
- Sikhism: beliefs about the self
- Sikhism: beliefs about death
- Sikhism: beliefs about the afterlife
- Sikhism: sources of wisdom and authority
- Sikhism: scrupture and/or sacred texts
- Sikhism: key religious figures
- Sikhism: key teachers and their teachings
- Sikhism: practices that shape religious identity
- Sikhism: significant social/ historical developments in theology
- Sikhism: challenges of secularisation
- Sikhism: science
- Sikhism: responses to pluralism and diversity
- Sikhism: migration
- Sikhism: changing roles of men and women
- Sikhism: feminist approaches
- Sikhism: liberationist approaches
- Sikhism: ideas of key scholars of religion and belief
- Sikhism: religion and identity
- Sikhism: religion, equality and discrimination
- Sikhism: religious freedom
- Sikhism: political and social influence of institutions
- Sikhism: religious tolerance
- Sikhism: respect and recognition
- Sikhism: view of other religions and world views
☑️ Component 2: Philosophy of Religion 31 topics
- Theme 1: Inductive arguments- cosmological
- Theme 1: Inductive arguments- teleological
- Theme 1: Challenges to inductive arguments
- Theme 1: Deductive arguments- origins of ontological argument
- Theme 1: Deductive arguments- developments of ontological argument
- Theme 1: Challenges to ontological arguments
- Theme 2: The problem of evil and suffering
- Theme 2: Augustinian type theodicy
- Theme 2: Irenean type theodicy
- Theme 2: Religious Belief and Freud
- Theme 2: Religious Belief and Jung
- Theme 2: Issues around rejection of religion (Atheism)
- Theme 3: Religious Experience: Visions
- Theme 3: Religious Experience: Conversion
- Theme 3: Religious Experience: Mysticism
- Theme 3: Religious Experience: Prayer (Teresa of Avila)
- Theme 3: Mystical Experience: William James
- Theme 3: Mystical experience: Rudolf Otto
- Theme 3: Challenges to authenticity of religious experience
- Theme 3: Influence of religious experience on faith
- Theme 3: Miracles: Thomas Aquinas
- Theme 3: Miracles: David Hume
- Theme 3: Miracles: R. F. Holland
- Theme 3: Miracles: Richard Swinburne
- Theme 4: Inherent Problems of Religious Language
- Theme 4: Religious Language as Cognitive (Traditional religious view)
- Theme 4: Religious Language as Meaningless (Logical Positivists' View)
- Theme 4: Religious Language as non-cognitive and analogical
- Theme 4: Religious philosophers' solutions to problems of religious language
- Theme 4: Exclusive context of religious belief for understanding religious language
- Theme 4: Religious Language- meaningful or meaningless?
☑️ Component 3: Religion and Ethics 36 topics
- Theme 1: Divine Command Theory
- Theme 1: Virtue Theory
- Theme 1: Ethical Egoism
- Theme 1: Meta-ethical approaches: Naturalism
- Theme 1: Meta-ethical approaches: Intuitionism
- Theme 1: Meta-ethical approaches: Emotivism
- Theme 2: Thomas Aquinas' Natural Law
- Theme 2: Aquinas' Natural Law: Law as the basis of morality
- Theme 2: Aquinas' Natural Law: role of virtues in supporting moral behaviour
- Theme 2: Aquinas' Natural Law: Applied to Abortion
- Theme 2: Aquinas' Natural Law: Applied to Euthanasia
- Theme 2: John Finnis' development of Natural Law
- Theme 2: Bernard Hoose on Proportionalism
- Theme 2: Finnis' Natural Law applied to Immigration
- Theme 2: Finnis' Natural Law applied to Capital punishment
- Theme 2: Proportionalism applied to Immigration
- Theme 2: Proportionalism applied to Capital punishment
- Theme 3: Fletcher's Situation Ethics; importance of agape
- Theme 3: Fletcher's Situation Ethics; assessing morality
- Theme 3: Fletcher's Situation Ethics applied to homosexual relationships
- Theme 3: Fletcher's Situation Ethics applied to polyamorous relationships
- Theme 3: Classical Utilitarianism
- Theme 3: Bentham's Act Utilitarianism
- Theme 3: John Stuart Mill and Utilitarianism
- Theme 3: Bentham as applied to animal experimentation
- Theme 3: Bentham as applied to nuclear weapons
- Theme 3: Mill as applied to animal experimentation
- Theme 3: Mill as applied to nuclear weapons
- Theme 4: Predestination: St Augustine
- Theme 4: Predestination: John Calvin
- Theme 4: Determinism
- Theme 4: Implications of predestination and determinism
- Theme 4: Free Will: Pelagius
- Theme 4: Free Will: Arminius
- Theme 4: Libertarianism
- Theme 4: Implications of libertarianism and free will

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A Level Religious Studies WJEC Revision Content

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A Level Religious Studies WJEC - Component 1: A Study of Religion - Christianity: role of the community of believers Content Preview

Component 1: A Study of Religion

Revision ContentExam Question

Christianity: role of the community of believers

The Theological Basis of Christian Community

Community is core to Christianity, tracing its roots to the Trinity - the belief in one God in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Jesus emphasised the importance of community in his teachings and actions. The greatest commandment, loving one's neighbour as oneself (Matthew 22:39), encouraged the development of close-knit Christian communities.
The concept of koinonia (fellowship) embodies the ideal Christian community, depicting a deep, spiritual camaraderie among believers.
The early Christian Church, as depicted in Acts 2:44-47, exemplifies communal living, with believers sharing resources to meet everyone's needs.

The Role of Christian Community

Christian communities provide spiritual support, facilitating group prayer, meditation, and biblical study.
The community performs sacramental functions, like baptisms and communion, which are critical rites of initiation and ongoing participation within Christianity.
Christian communities offer moral guidance through collective interpretation and application of biblical teachings.
The community of believers often function as a caring support network, providing assistance in times of need, such as illness, sorrow or financial strain.
Christian communities also engage in missionary activities and charitable works as part of Christ’s command to spread the gospel and serve the needy (Matthew 28:19, Matthew 25:35-40).

Variations Among Christian Communities

Different Christian denominations interpret the nature of community and its role in distinct ways. For example, Catholic and Orthodox traditions emphasise the authoritative role of the clergy, while Protestants focus more on the priesthood of all believers.
While some communities, especially those with an Anabaptist heritage, may practice separation from the world, others embrace dialogue and engagement with modern society.
The practice of communal living and resource sharing, as evident in the early church, continues in some Christian groups, like the Hutterites and several monastic communities.
In the emerging house church movements, there is a shift towards smaller, more intimate gatherings, often devoid of traditional clergy and formal liturgical practices.
The rapid growth of online church communities reflects the advent of digital technology, providing new opportunities and challenges for the role of community in Christianity.

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