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This week I go through the main content and exam questions needed for GCSE AQA Paper 2 Theme D: Religion, Peace and Conflict

In theme D we should study religious teachings, and religious, philosophical and ethical arguments, relating to the issues that follow, and their impact and influence in the modern world. We should be aware of contrasting perspectives in contemporary British society on all of the issues.
Our three special topics are Violence, weapons of mass destruction and pacifism. For these we must be able to explain contrasting beliefs with reference to the main religious tradition in Britain (Christianity) and one or more other religious traditions:
The specification is separated into two sections as are the other themes. The first section is Religion, violence, terrorism and war and the second section is Religion and belief in 21st century conflict.

Give one way in which religious believers help victims of war.

Raise money

4-marker

Explain two different beliefs in contemporary British society about weapons of mass destruction. In your answer you should refer to the main religious tradition of Great Britain and one or more other religious traditions.
One Christian belief is that weapons of mass destruction should be owned but not used.
This prevents war therefore saves human lives which is important because they believe in the sanctity of life
A different Christian belief is that they should not be used because they go against the Just War Theory
This states that war should be proportional and using nuclear weapons is not proportional

6 marker

Explain two religious beliefs about forgiveness. Refer to sacred writings or another source of religious belief and teaching in your answer.
One Christian belief about forgiveness is that it is an important part of being Christian as it is what Jesus did
This means that in a war, Christians must forgive the enemy
This is shown in the Bible when Jesus said ‘forgive them father for they do not know what they do’.
This shows that like Jesus forgave those who tortured and killed him, Christians must forgive people who kill in a war
Another belief about forgiveness is that it can lead to peace and prevent war
This is because if you have forgiven someone, you will not want to fight them.

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In this episode I will unpack;

3.2.1.3 Theme C: The existence of God and revelation

Philosophical arguments for and against the existence of God

• The Design argument, including its strengths and weaknesses.
• The First Cause argument, including its strengths and weaknesses.
• The argument from miracles, including its strengths and weaknesses, and one example of a miracle.
• Evil and suffering as an argument against the existence of God.
• Arguments based on science against the existence of God.

The nature of the divine and revelation

• Special revelation as a source of knowledge about the divine (God, gods or ultimate reality) including visions and one example of a vision.
• Enlightenment as a source of knowledge about the divine.
• General revelation: nature and scripture as a way of understanding the divine.
• Different ideas about the divine that come from these sources:
  • omnipotent and omniscient
  • personal and impersonal
  • immanent and transcendent.
• The value of general and special revelation and enlightenment as sources of knowledge about the divine, including:
  • the problems of different ideas about the divine arising from these experiences
  • alternative explanations for the experiences, and the possibility that the people who claimed to have them were lying or mistaken.

https://www.lourdes-france.com/en/antonietta-raco-72nd-lourdes-miracle/

Explain two different beliefs in contemporary British society about visions. In your answer you should refer to the main religious tradition of Great Britain and non-religious beliefs.

Most Christians believe visions are a valid way that God reveals truth to his people.

This is because there is evidence of visions in the Bible for example when Mary saw a vision of an angel who told her she would give birth to Jesus

However, most non-religious people do not think visions are a valid way of understanding what is true

This is because there is no proof of that vision happening and the person's account may be unreliable

Explain two religious beliefs about miracles. Refer to sacred writings or another source of religious belief and teaching in your answer.

One Christian belief is that miracles demonstrate God’s omnipotence which means he is all powerful.

This is because only an all powerful God could perform miracles

An example of a miracle that shows God’s power is the resurrection of Jesus in the Bible

This shows the miracle of Jesus coming back to life after death which could only be done though the power of God

Another belief is that miracles show God’s omnibenevolence which means he is all loving

This is because an all loving God would want to heal people as an expression of that love.

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Last year, Ofsted published it's new inspection framework and the word that weaves through everything is INCLUSION. It is now a separate area of inspection. And the list of students we need to include is broader than before.

So how do we help ALL students in our classrooms to achieve, belong and thrive - the three words in the back of every Ofsted Inspectors mind.

Surprisingly, very little research has been done into how to support SEND in our mainstream RE classrooms. Luckily, the answer isn't as difficult or as time consuming as you might think.

'If we get it right for vulnerable students, we get it right for all' This quote by Sir Martyn Oliver sums up the message in this episode. Quality First Teaching is what helps ALL students, particularly those with barriers to learning.

In this episode I give the current stats on SEND student, look at the areas in the renewed Ofsted guidelines that are relevant to inclusion, look at how to plan for SEND students, how to resource for them, design powerpoints for them, support them with the right pedagogy and when to give bespoke support. I also look at how you can create an atmosphere in your class that promotes students with poor mental health.

And I give specific examples of what that might look like in RE.

I really hope this is a practical episode which positively impacts your RE classrooms.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/200-million-landmark-send-teacher-training-programme

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/68b9a6b8b0a373a01819fe4b/Schools_inspection_toolkit.pdf

https://news.sky.com/story/how-children-with-send-from-poorer-families-are-being-left-behind-at-school-13450800

EEF Blog: Five evidence-based strategies to support high-quality teaching for pupils with SEND

EEF Blog: Supporting pupils with SEND – 3 key messages for schools

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a7dcb85ed915d2ac884d995/SEND_Code_of_Practice_January_2015.pdf

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/access-arrangements-for-gcse-as-and-a-level-2024-to-2025-academic-year/access-arrangements-for-gcse-as-and-a-level-2024-to-2025-academic-year

https://www.kialo-edu.com/p/470f6228-2213-467d-bbdb-dcb915057db8/356549

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