Religion and World Views

Subject intent

Students will wrestle with the mysteries of life and the answers given by a variety of religions and worldviews. This will help students to uncover the important cultural capital that religious stories provide and how students religious backgrounds overlap as well as how religion has contributed to the arts, sports, and science.  This can assist our students in having a clear sense of what is of real value in life today and the role that religion has had in shaping the world we live in.  Students will explore the teachings, beliefs and practices of the main world religions which will allow students to consider their own views and opinions in light of what they have learnt, as well as to experience empathy and tolerance when applying a critical mind to the exploration of these religious and world views. The aim is to produce students who are religiously literate in that they can work as:

Theologians who are clear on what people believe, why they believe this and the impact this has on individuals, communities, and wider society

Philosophers who uncover how and why people think.

Ethicists who investigate moral codes.

Social scientists who can discuss how these disciplines contribute to how people live and interact with each other.

Our aims for all students of Religion and World Views are:

To provoke challenging questions about the ultimate meaning of life, beliefs about God, the nature of reality and morality.

To develop pupils’ knowledge and understanding of Christianity, other principal world religions, religious traditions and worldviews, which offer answers to ultimate questions.

To encourage pupils to develop their sense of identity and belonging, to flourish within communities, as responsible citizens in society and global communities.

To teach pupils to develop respect for others and their beliefs, and to learn to identify and challenge prejudice in constructive ways.

To prompt pupils to consider their responsibilities to themselves and to others, and to explore how they might contribute to their communities and to wider society encouraging empathy, generosity, and compassion.

Link to KS4 specification

RS specification

Curriculum plan

Religion and World Views – Key Stage 3