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Religious Studies AS & A Level OCR

Socrates is regarded by many as the ‘Father of Philosophy’.  However, he was tried, condemned and executed for his teachings.  This is because many of his contemporaries argued that his method of inquiry was irreligious, as it attempted to understand ‘the Divine’.  Socrates died but his legacy lives on in the development of this academic area which continues to be controversial, interesting, intriguing and baffling.

Many people have suggested that science was the ‘new religion’ of the 19th century.  If this is the case, surely philosophy is the ‘new religion’ of the 21st century, for exactly the same reasons; that is, it enables an individual to question what he or she is told, and to reach his or her own conclusions.

As such, the study of the philosophy of religion and ethics develops an inquiring mind, the ability to analyse a point of view, the ability to develop and reason through an argument, and the ability to reach a logical and justified conclusion.

Philosophy of Religion

Ancient Greek influences on religious philosophy

  • Plato: the Analogy of the Cave
  • Plato: the concept of Forms
  • Aristotle: ideas about cause and purpose in relation to God

Judaeo-Christian influences on philosophy of religion

  • The concept of God as Creator
  • The goodness of God

Traditional arguments for the existence of God

  • The Ontological argument for Anselm and Descartes; challenges from Gaunilo and Kant
  • The Cosmological argument from Aquinas and Copleston, challenges from Hume and Russell
  • The Teleological argument from Aquinas and Paley; challenges from Hume, Mill and Darwin
  • The Moral argument from Kant: psychological challenges from Freud

Challenges to Religious Belief

  • The problem of evil
  • Religion and Science

Religious Ethics

  • Ethical Theories: Natural Law
  • Ethical Theories: Kantian Ethics
  • Ethical Theories: Utilitarianism
  • Ethical Theories: Religious Ethics

Applied Ethics

  • The ethical theories of Natural Law; Kantian Ethics, Utilitarianism; Religious Ethics;  as applied to the following ethical topics: abortion; the right to a child; euthanasia; genetic engineering; war and peace

A2

Philosophy of Religion

Religious Language

Religious Experience

  • Experience and religion
  • Miracle—a study of how God might interact with humanity, by looking at the concept of miracle

Attributes

  • Nature of God

Life and Death; the Soul

Religious Ethics

  • Ethical topics and theories: Meta–ethics
  • Ethical topics and theories: Free Will and Determinism
  • Ethical Topics and Theories: Nature and Role of the Conscience
  • Ethical Topics and Theories: Virtue Ethics

Applied Ethics

  • The ethical theories of Natural Law; Kantian Ethics, Utilitarianism; Religious Ethics; Virtue Ethics; as applied to all the following applied ethics topics: Environmental and Business ethics; Sexual Ethics.
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