Religious Studies

Beliefs and teachings

• Akhirah (life after death)
• Angels (Mala'ikah)
• Anointing of the Sick
• Arhat and Bodhisattva ideals
• Atman
• Atonement and the role of Christ
• Beneficence (Islam)
• Brahman
• Buddhahood and the Pure Land
• Catholic beliefs about creation
• Catholic beliefs about life after death
• Christian beliefs about creation
• Christian beliefs about salvation
• Christian beliefs about the afterlife
• Dependent arising (paticcasamupada)
• Dharma in Hinduism
• God as Creator (Sikhism)
• Gurmukh, manmukh and haumai
• Hindu personal virtues
• Holy Orders
• Islamic holy books
• Jewish beliefs about life after death
• Karma, rebirth and mukti
• Key moral principles
• Male and female deities
• Nature of God in Islam
• Nibbana / Nirvana and Enlightenment
• Omnipotence (Christianity)
• Omnipotence (Islam)
• Pikuach Nefesh
• Prakriti, tri-guna, maya and cosmology
• Predestination and human freedom
• Redemption
• Risalah (Prophethood)
• Sacrament of Baptism (Catholic)
• Sacrament of Confirmation
• Sacrament of Matrimony
• Sacrament of Reconciliation
• Samsara, karma and moksha
• Sewa
• Sikh belief in equality
• Sikh virtues
• Sin and original sin
• Sunyata and Buddha-nature (Mahayana)
• Tawhid
• The 613 mitzvot
• The Ascension
• The Buddha's life and its significance
• The concept of avatara
• The concept of Dhamma (Dharma)
• The Covenant at Sinai
• The Covenant with Abraham
• The Crucifixion
• The Eightfold Path
• The Eucharist (Catholic)
• The Five Aggregates (skandhas)
• The Five Khands
• The Five Roots of Usul ad-Din (Shi'a)
• The Four Aims of human life
• The Four Noble Truths
• The Four Sights
• The Imamate (Shi'a)
• The Incarnation
• The Incarnation (Catholic)
• The Messiah
• The Mool Mantra
• The nature of God (Christianity)
• The nature of God (Judaism)
• The Resurrection of Jesus
• The Sangat
• The Seven Sacraments
• The Shekhinah
• The Six Articles of Faith (Sunni)
• The Ten Commandments
• The Three Marks of Existence
• The Three Poisons
• The Tri-murti
• The Trinity
• The Trinity (Catholic)
• Three features of the divine

Practices

• Akhand Path
• Amrit Sanskar and the Khalsa
• Ashura
• Bar and Bat Mitzvah
• Brit Milah
• Buddhist death and mourning ceremonies
• Buddhist meditation
• Buddhist places of worship
• Catholic agencies
• Catholic funeral rite
• Catholic mission and evangelism
• Catholic pilgrimage
• Catholic prayer
• Catholic social teaching
• Christian prayer
• Christmas
• Compassion (karuna)
• Corrymeela community or Pax Christi
• Divali (Sikh)
• Diwali (Hindu)
• Easter
• Focuses of worship and representations of the divine
• Forms of Christian worship
• Forms of Hindu worship/meditation
• Forms of popular piety
• Gurpurbs
• Hajj
• Hindu charities
• Hindu environmental projects
• Hindu pilgrimage
• Hindu places of worship
• Holi
• Id-ul-Adha
• Id-ul-Fitr
• Jewish dietary laws (kashrut)
• Jewish marriage ceremony
• Jewish mourning rituals
• Jewish public worship and Amidah
• Jihad
• Kamma (karma) and rebirth
• Langar
• Loving kindness (metta)
• Mission, evangelism and Church growth
• Nam Japna
• Parinirvana Day
• Pesach
• Pilgrimage to Iona
• Pilgrimage to Lourdes
• Puja (devotional ritual)
• Role of the Church in the local community
• Rosh Hashanah
• Salah
• Sawm
• Shabbat
• Shahadah
• Sikh birth and naming ceremonies
• Sikh historical gurdwaras
• Sikh prayer in the home
• Society of Saint Vincent de Paul (SVP)
• Ten Obligatory Acts (Shi'a)
• Tenakh and Talmud
• The Eucharist (Holy Communion)
• The Five Moral Precepts
• The Five Pillars of Sunni Islam
• The four paths of yoga
• The Gurdwara
• The names Singh and Kaur
• The Sacrament of Baptism
• The Six Perfections (Mahayana)
• The synagogue
• The worldwide Church
• Vaisakhi (Baisakhi)
• Wesak
• Yom Kippur
• Zakah

Theme A: Relationships and families

• Contraception
• Families and gender equality
• Homosexual relationships
• Sex, marriage and divorce

Theme B: Religion and life

• Abortion
• Animal experimentation
• Euthanasia
• The origins and value of human life
• The origins and value of the universe

Theme C: The existence of God and revelation

• Arguments based on science against God
• Different ideas about the divine
• Enlightenment as a source of knowledge
• Evil and suffering as an argument against God
• General revelation
• Special revelation
• The Argument from Miracles
• The Design Argument
• The First Cause Argument
• Value of revelation and alternative explanations

Theme D: Religion, peace and conflict

• Forgiveness (Theme D)
• Holy War
• Justice (Theme D)
• Pacifism
• Peace (Theme D)
• Reasons for war
• Reconciliation (Theme D)
• Religion and peace-making
• Religion as a cause of war and violence
• Terrorism
• The Just War theory
• Violence and violent protest
• Weapons of mass destruction

Theme E: Religion, crime and punishment

• Aims of punishment
• Forgiveness
• Good and evil intentions and actions
• Reasons for crime
• The Death Penalty
• Treatment of criminals
• Types of crime

Theme F: Religion, human rights and social justice

• Human rights and responsibilities
• Poverty and exploitation of the poor
• Prejudice and discrimination in religion
• Racial prejudice and discrimination
• Social justice
• Wealth and right attitudes

Theme G: St Mark's Gospel — life of Jesus

• Authority of St Mark's Gospel (life of Jesus)
• Bartimaeus
• Jairus' daughter
• Jesus as teacher and miracle worker
• Jesus in Gethsemane
• Jesus' baptism and temptation
• Jesus' passion prediction
• John's preparation for Jesus' ministry
• Meaning of Jesus' words at Last Supper
• Significance of death and resurrection
• The conversation at Caesarea Philippi
• The crucifixion and burial
• The empty tomb
• The entry into Jerusalem
• The feeding of the five thousand
• The Last Supper
• The paralysed man
• The rejection at Nazareth
• The request of James and John
• The Transfiguration
• The trial before Pilate
• The trial before the Jewish authorities
• Titles of Jesus

Theme H: St Mark's Gospel — religious truths

• Authority of Jesus' teaching in St Mark
• Jesus and the children
• Jesus' attitudes to those disregarded by society
• Parable of the growing seed
• Parable of the mustard seed
• Parable of the sower
• Peter's denials
• Significance of discipleship
• The anointing at Bethany
• The call of Levi
• The call of the first disciples
• The commission and ascension
• The cost and rewards of discipleship
• The epileptic (demon-possessed) boy
• The greatest commandment
• The Kingdom of God (interpretations)
• The man with leprosy
• The mission of the Twelve
• The nature and importance of faith
• The rich man
• The Syro-Phoenician woman's daughter
• The widow at the treasury
• The woman with a haemorrhage