Edexcel A-Level Religious Studies Paper 4B Study of Christianity: a complete overview
A complete overview of Edexcel A-Level Religious Studies Paper 4B, the systematic study of Christianity. Explains the structure of the exam, the AO1 and AO2 split, and ties together Christian beliefs about God and the self, sources of wisdom and practices, and Christianity, society and developments.
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Edexcel A-Level Religious Studies Paper 4B is the systematic study of Christianity, one of six Paper 4 religion options. It studies the whole religion: its beliefs, its sources of authority, its practices, and its engagement with modern society. This overview ties together the three topic pages and explains how the paper is examined. A candidate cannot combine it with Paper 3.
How Paper 4B works
Paper 4B is a two-hour written exam worth 80 marks. It covers beliefs, values and teachings, sources of wisdom and authority, practices, significant social and historical developments, and religion and society. As in the other papers, questions include structured tasks, a textual-reasoning question on an extract, and an extended evaluative essay, with AO1 and AO2 weighted equally.
Christian beliefs about God and the self
Christianity is monotheistic but Trinitarian (one being in three persons, defined at Nicaea and Constantinople), with the classical divine attributes. The human person is made in the image of God but affected by the Fall and sin; the prescribed debate is Augustine (original sin, grace) versus Pelagius (free will). Christianity teaches resurrection and an afterlife (heaven, hell, purgatory).
Sources of wisdom and practices
Authority is drawn from the Bible, tradition and the Church, with the Reformation principle of sola scriptura set against the Catholic magisterium. Approaches to scripture run from literalist to liberal. Practice expresses belief through worship, the sacraments (seven in Catholic and Orthodox teaching, two for most Protestants, with rival views of the eucharist), prayer and the festivals of the liturgical year.
Christianity, society and developments
The religion's engagement with modernity includes secularisation (Bruce versus Davie), gender and feminist theology (Daly versus Ruether), science (conflict, NOMA, integration), religious pluralism (exclusivism, inclusivism, pluralism), liberation theology (Gutierrez) and new movements such as Pentecostalism.
How Paper 4B is examined
- The textual-reasoning question. Explain and evaluate a printed extract.
- The extended essay (AO2-heavy). Weigh an internal Christian debate and reach a justified conclusion.
Sources & how we know this
- Pearson Edexcel A-Level Religious Studies (9RS0) specification — Pearson Edexcel (2016)