Key Stage 3 Exploration
In Year 7, students explore the foundations of religious belief.
In Year 8, students explore the implications of religious belief.
Year 7
Autumn 1: What is Religion?
The five main world religions, mythology and the ancient religions
Autumn 2: What are the origins of life?
Religious sources: interpreting religious and scientific
Interpretations of creation
Spring 1: Who was Jesus and who killed Him?
Jesus’s life and trial. Introduction of the link between Judaism and Christianity.
Spring 2: Does religion divide or unite?
Islamic beliefs, including divergent beliefs (Sunni/Shia) as well as Protestantism/Roman Catholicism
Summer 1: Can we prove God’s existence?
Philosophical concepts of the existence of God and atheism
Summer 2: How do religions use art?
Jesus depictions, mandalas, community cohesion
Year 8
Autumn 1: Is religion disappearing?
Secularisation, Religious Pluralism, Humanism, Fundamentalism, New Age, the difference of faith
Autumn 2: Does life have a beginning or an end?
The soul, resurrection, reincarnation, rebirth, life after death
Spring 1: Are some Lives more important than others?
Animal rights
Caste systems
Spring 2: Why do we suffer?
Causes, explanations and implications, including Christian theodicies
Summer 1: Where do our morals come from?
Non-religious (humanism) and religious views, the morality of living biblically, situation ethics
Summer 2: Do we exist?
Introduction to applied philosophy, is happiness the greatest pursuit?