OCR AS Level Religious Studies Past Papers

OCR AS Level Religious Studies (H173) develops critical philosophical and theological thinking through three assessed components: Philosophy of Religion, Religion and Ethics, and a study of Developments in one world religion (chosen from Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, or Judaism). All three components are examined by written paper. Component 1: Philosophy of Religion (H173/01, 1 hour, 40 marks) covers the principal arguments for and against the existence of God, the philosophical analysis of religious language, and the problem of evil and suffering. Topics include: the cosmological argument for the existence of God (Aquinas's Five Ways, Leibniz, and Kalam versions), the teleological argument (Paley's watchmaker analogy, Tennant's anthropic principle), ontological arguments (Anselm, Descartes, and modern formulations), the problem of evil (the logical problem, the evidential problem, and theodicies — Irenaeus, Augustine, Hick's soul-making theodicy). Religious language questions cover verification theory (Ayer), falsification (Flew, Hare, Mitchell), symbolic language (Tillich), and analogy (Aquinas). Component 2: Religion and Ethics (H173/02, 1 hour, 40 marks) covers normative ethical theories and their application to contemporary moral issues. Ethical theories include: utilitarianism (Bentham's act utilitarianism, Mill's rule utilitarianism, preference utilitarianism), Kantian deontological ethics (categorical imperative, universalisability, duty), natural law (Aquinas, primary and secondary precepts, the doctrine of double effect), virtue ethics (Aristotle, eudaimonia, the role of character), and situation ethics (Fletcher, agape, the six propositions). Applied ethics topics include sexual ethics, euthanasia, business ethics, and environmental ethics. Component 3: Developments in a World Religion (H173/03–07, 1 hour, 40 marks) examines one of five world religions. For Christianity: the development of Christian thought from the early church through the Reformation, the theological debates around sin and salvation, feminist theology, and liberation theology. For Islam: the development of Islamic thought including the role of the Quran and Hadith, Sunni and Shia perspectives, Sufism, and contemporary Islamic reform movements.