Dealing with ‘ultimate’ questions of the meaning and substance of life, theology is a challenging and stimulating subject which will develop your evaluative and reflective skills essential for most subjects.  Literally translated ‘theology’ means a science of the study of God.  In this course we concentrate on Christian approaches to God, the universe, ethical theory and philosophy.

AS Topics

Ethics – ethical theory which includes Natural Law, utilitarianism and the Categorical Imperative, Religious Ethics and applied ethics
Philosophy – arguments for the existence of God, Theodicy.

A2 Topics

Ethics – freewill, conscience & determinism
Philosophy – Death & the afterlife, Soul.

Why you should study theology?

Philsophy and ethics teaches you to think beyond the obvious; it gives you opportunities to evaluate why people make decisions and upon what they base these decisions on.  It also encourages you to think about human existence - are we here by accident or were we created to a design and for a purpose.

Where does it lead?

Philosophy & Ethics is a well respected A Level and welcomed by all universities. Philosophy & Ethics combined particularly well with Law and English.

What skills do I need to be successful in this subject?

Ability to write essays and consider views that differ to your own. A willingness to listen to other people’s opinions and respect these.  It is essential that you are prepared to enter into lively debate which will be instrumental to your learning.

Preparing for Study

Sophie’s world – Jostein Gaarder
AS/A2 Philosophy of Religion and Religious Ethics for OCR, Robert Bowie.

The Matrix film.

Enrichment Activities

Classroom learning is enriched by visits to conferences and the opportunity to visit Auschwitz. There are also opportunities to attend A level conferences run by leading philosophers on topics relevant to the syllabus.

Other Information

This course is fully resourced online.