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Religious StudiesQ&A by dot point
A short Q&A bank for every England Religious Studies syllabus dot point. Each question and answer is drawn directly from our worked dot-point page, so you can scan key concepts before opening the long-form answer.
Christianity: Beliefs and teachings
- The Christian belief in God as creator, the role of the Word and the Spirit in creation, and the incarnation as God becoming human in Jesus Christ.2Q&A pairs
- Christian eschatological beliefs about death, resurrection of the body, judgement, heaven, hell and (for some) purgatory, and the impact of these beliefs.2Q&A pairs
- The Christian beliefs in sin and the Fall, salvation through grace, faith and good works, and atonement through the death of Jesus.2Q&A pairs
- The crucifixion of Jesus, his resurrection on the third day and his ascension into heaven, and what these events mean for Christians.2Q&A pairs
- The nature of God as omnipotent, loving and just, the oneness of God, and the doctrine of the Trinity as Father, Son and Holy Spirit.2Q&A pairs
Christianity: Practices
- Christian forms of worship, including liturgical, non-liturgical and informal worship, private worship, and the different types and importance of prayer.2Q&A pairs
- The role of mission and evangelism (sharing the faith), the importance of the worldwide Church, and Christian work for reconciliation.2Q&A pairs
- The role and importance of pilgrimage (including Lourdes and Iona) and the major festivals of Christmas and Easter for Christians.2Q&A pairs
- The role of the Church in the local community (food banks, street pastors, support) and in the worldwide community (charities such as Christian Aid and CAFOD).2Q&A pairs
- The meaning and practice of the sacraments, focusing on baptism (infant and believers') and the Eucharist (Holy Communion), and divergent Christian understandings of them.2Q&A pairs
Exam skills
- How to plan and write the OCR 15-mark evaluation (Discuss this statement) question, including both-sides argument, sources and a justified conclusion, and how the SPaG marks are earned.3Q&A pairs
- How to answer the OCR short-answer AO1 questions (the 1, 2, 3 and 6 mark questions), matching each answer to its tariff and command word.2Q&A pairs
- What sources of wisdom and authority are, how to build a bank of Christian and Muslim sources, and how to use them to raise AO1 and AO2 marks.2Q&A pairs
Islam: Beliefs and teachings
- The belief in Akhirah (life after death), the Day of Judgement (Yawm ad-Din), and Paradise (Jannah) and Hell (Jahannam).2Q&A pairs
- The belief in angels (Malaikah) and their roles, and the belief in predestination (Al-Qadr) and its relationship to human free will.2Q&A pairs
- The belief in Risalah (prophethood), the role of prophets including Adam, Ibrahim and Muhammad, and the holy books, especially the Qur'an.2Q&A pairs
- The belief in Tawhid (the oneness of God), the nature and characteristics of Allah, and the importance of Tawhid for Muslims.2Q&A pairs
- The six beliefs of Sunni Islam and the five roots of Usul ad-Din of Shia Islam, and how they shape Muslim faith.2Q&A pairs
Islam: Practices
- Hajj, the pilgrimage to Makkah, including its origins, the main rituals (ihram, tawaf, Arafat, stoning the pillars) and its importance for Muslims.2Q&A pairs
- The meaning of jihad (greater and lesser), and the celebration and significance of the festivals Id-ul-Fitr, Id-ul-Adha and Ashura.2Q&A pairs
- Sawm (fasting in Ramadan) and its purpose, and Zakah and khums (giving to charity) and their importance in Muslim life.2Q&A pairs
- The Shahadah (declaration of faith) as the first pillar, and Salah (prayer five times a day), including wudu, the rak'ah and Jummah prayer.2Q&A pairs
- The Five Pillars of Sunni Islam, the Ten Obligatory Acts of Shia Islam, and their importance as the foundation of Muslim practice.2Q&A pairs
Religion, philosophy and ethics in the modern world
- Dialogue between religious and non-religious beliefs, including attitudes to other religions and none, freedom of religious expression, interfaith dialogue, and religious and non-religious approaches to moral questions.2Q&A pairs
- The just war theory, holy war, pacifism, and religious attitudes to weapons of mass destruction.2Q&A pairs
- Religious teachings on the nature and purpose of marriage, sexual relationships, contraception, divorce and remarriage, and same-sex relationships.2Q&A pairs
- Religious teachings on the nature and purpose of families, the roles of parents and children, and gender equality, prejudice and discrimination.2Q&A pairs
- Religious teachings on peace, justice, forgiveness and reconciliation, the causes of war, religion and terrorism, and responses to the victims of war.2Q&A pairs
- Philosophical arguments for the existence of God (design and cosmological), the argument from miracles and revelation, science and the origins of the universe, and the problem of evil as an argument against God.3Q&A pairs