| Religion and Ethics: |
Christian ethical principles; utilitarianism;
situation
ethics; Kant; the connection between religion and
ethics; several examples from: issues of medical and
social ethics: abortion; euthanasia; sexuality; suicide;
contraception; genetic engineering; organ
transplantation; experiments on animals and humans;
wealth and poverty; warfare; third world, conservation
and environmental issues; racism and sexism. |
| Philosophy of Religion: |
definitions of God; religious language; arguments
concerning the existence of God; the problem of evil
and suffering; psychoanalytic and sociological
arguments concerning God; issues of proof and
epistemology; life after death. |
| Religion and Science: |
the presuppositions, benefits and limitations
of science;
historical interactions between religion and science: the
rise of science, the mechanistic world view,
evolutionary theories; advances in theoretical physics;
theories of the universe's origins; process theology. |
| C. 20th Christianity: |
church growth in third world countries; religion
in
Communist and post-Communist countries;
secularisation in the West; inter-faith dialogue; Vatican
II; alternative theologies including liberation theology,
black, feminist and 'green'/environmental theologies;
fundamental, conservative and liberal attitudes to the
Bible, tradition and beliefs; current issues for the
churches; sects and cults. |
| World Faiths: |
a course in at least one non-Christian world faith
dealing with its Founder(s), beliefs, practices and
attitudes; its history and contemporary issues of
significance; its sacred texts and their compilation and
interpretation. |
| Religion and Literature: |
religious themes which are explored in well-known
literature: examples from - |
| the problem of suffering: |
Camus - La Peste |
| and |
Dostoievsky - The Brothers Karamazov |
| progress and humanity: |
Huxley - Brave New World |
| conflict of good and evil: |
Greene - The Power and the Glory |
| religious intolerance: |
Ibsen - Brand |
| religious experience: |
Whiting - The Devils |
| attitudes to death: |
Waugh - The Loved One |
| superstition & morality: |
Hawthorne - The Scarlet Letter |
|
Further examples are easily available, from Chaucer's pilgrims
through
to Eliot's poetry. This study could combine with English Literature.
|
Contemporary
Christian Living: |
issues of faith, commitment and conduct,
in relation
to Church's sacraments and festivals; change and
development in styles of worship and leadership;
aspects of the 'Twentieth Century Christianity' course;
challenges to commitment from secular and
antagonistic responses, as evidenced in the media; the
devotional life. |
Work Project
Evaluation: |
twenty-hour work placement in an organisation with
a
religious basis, evaluated in the light of the goals and
principles of the Faith. This would involve one of
following: work-shadowing, community work, office
work, care placement. This might be an extension of a
Community Service Work Experience course already
being undertaken or of a GNVQ placement. |
Religion and
Psychology/Sociology: |
the work of Freud, Jung, Durkheim, Weber,
Marx and
others; developmental theories: faith development
(Fowler), moral development (Kohlberg and Gilligan);
religion in a secular society; the development of
religious sects and cults; the moral, social and
psychological effects of religion on individuals. |
| Religion and the Arts: |
an exploration of the various ways artists are able
to
express, through their work, their understanding of the
human situation and the great themes of man's
relationship with God. Great choral works, modern
'Gospel' music, classical and/or modern painters and
sculptors may be studied. A study of a specific piece
or painting or artist/composer/performer should be
undertaken. |
| Christian History: |
major landmarks and movements since the time
of
Christ; problems of heresy and schism; Christianity's
contribution to the arts, politics and science;
Christianity in the Third World and post-Communist
countries; some leading Christian thinkers: e.g.
Augustine, Aquinas, Luther, Calvin, Loyola, Newton,
Bonhoeffer, and Tillich. A study of an issue, theme or
character from this section. |