Eduqas A-Level Religious Studies (A120QS): how A Study of Religion, Philosophy of Religion and Religion and Ethics fit together

Eduqas (WJEC) A-Level Religious Studies (specification A120QS) is a rigorous, scholar-led course in the study of a living religion, the philosophy of religion and ethics. It is not a faith course: it asks you to understand religious ideas precisely and then analyse and evaluate them. This page explains how the three components fit together and how this site is organised around them.

The three components

Each component is a two-hour written exam worth 100 marks and a third of the A-level. Every candidate sits all three.

Component 1: A Study of Religion

Eduqas offers six religions; most centres, and this site, take Christianity. It covers religious figures and sacred texts (the birth and resurrection of Jesus, the Bible as authority), religious concepts and religious life (the nature of God, the Trinity, the atonement, Christian moral principles), significant social and historical developments (the early Church and the state, secularisation, liberation theology), and the practices that shape religious identity (baptism, the Eucharist, attitudes to wealth, migration and equality).

Component 2: Philosophy of Religion

Arguments for the existence of God (cosmological, teleological, ontological), challenges to religious belief (the problem of evil and the theodicies, religion as a product of the human mind), the nature and value of religious experience, and the problem of religious language.

Component 3: Religion and Ethics

Ethical thought (divine command theory, virtue theory, conscience, the relationship between religion and morality), deontological ethics (Aquinas's natural law and Hoose's proportionalism), teleological ethics (Fletcher's situation ethics and the utilitarianism of Bentham and Mill, applied to issues of life and death), and determinism and free will (predestination, hard determinism, libertarianism).

The paper format

Each paper has two sections. In Section A you answer one question from a choice of two; in Section B you answer one from a choice of three. Every question is in two parts: part (a) is worth 20 marks and tests AO1 (knowledge and understanding), and part (b) is worth 30 marks and tests AO2 (analysis and evaluation). Two questions at 50 marks each give the 100-mark total. There are no short-answer or stimulus questions: the whole A-level is examined through the structured AO1-plus-AO2 essay.

The two assessment objectives

• AO1 (40%). Knowledge and understanding of religion and belief: religious, philosophical and ethical thought, the influence of beliefs and practices, and similarities and differences within and between traditions. This is the part (a) question.
• AO2 (60%). Analysis and evaluation: weighing arguments and approaches and reaching a justified conclusion. This is the larger part (b) question.

Each part is marked by levels of response bands. The part (a) AO1 question runs over five bands, with band 5 (17 to 20 marks) rewarding extensive, accurate, well-organised knowledge with thorough reference to scholars and sources. The part (b) AO2 question runs out of 30, with the top band rewarding sustained, balanced argument that engages opposing views and judges. Because AO2 carries the larger tariff, evaluation is the single biggest lever.

The modules on this site

This site covers the whole specification through five modules, each with a matching overview guide and quiz:

• Christianity: figures and texts (Component 1, Themes 1 to 2): the birth and resurrection of Jesus, the Bible as authority, the nature of God, the Trinity, the atonement and Christian moral principles.
• Christianity: developments and practices (Component 1, Themes 3 to 4): the early Church and the state, secularisation, liberation theology, baptism and the Eucharist, and wealth, migration and equality.
• Philosophy of Religion (Component 2): the three arguments for God, the problem of evil, religion as a product of the human mind, religious experience and religious language.
• Ethical thought and deontology (Component 3, Themes 1 to 2): divine command theory, virtue theory, conscience, natural law, proportionalism and the relationship between religion and morality.
• Teleological ethics and free will (Component 3, Themes 3 to 4): situation ethics, utilitarianism, the application of ethics to life and death, determinism, libertarianism and predestination.

How to study for A120QS

Build an argument bank per theme: the named scholars, what each claims, and the strongest objection to each. Then practise AO2 by writing the 30-mark part (b) as a case that sets two views in tension and concludes, while keeping the 20-mark part (a) as accurate, organised exposition. Rehearse both halves against Eduqas past papers, because the levels-based bands reward sustained, supported argument over coverage, and you must produce two questions in two hours.