KS3 RELIGION & WORLD VIEWS
In KS3, students have three RW lessons a fortnight and cover a wide range of topics to enable students to have deeper knowledge of world faiths, including all of the six major world religions, as well as looking at non-religious worldviews and examining moral issues.
All students should gain a deeper understanding of the world around them, how others think, and allow them to develop their own critical thinking skills.
KS3 topics by year
Year 7
Unit 1: What makes a religion?
- Examining what students believe
- Introduction to Judaism
- Study of key Jewish figures, Moses and David
- The importance of food (Kosher)
- Importance of religious clothing
- Religious festivals (Shabbat and Hanukkah)
Unit 1: What makes a religion?
- Introduction to Sikhism
- Study of key Sikh figures, Guru Nanak
- Formation of the Khalsa
- The 5 K’s
- The Gurdwara and importance of food
- Sikh festivals (Bandi Chhor Divas)
- The Ten human Gurus
- The Guru Granth Sahib
Unit 2: Why are Biblical figures important?
- The Bible
- Creation story
- Adam and Eve
- Noah
- Abraham
- Jesus’ birth (nativity)
- Jesus’ teaching (parables)
- Jesus’ miracles
- Jesus’ Last Supper
Unit 2: Why are Biblical figures important?
- Crucifixion
- Resurrection
- The importance of St Paul
- Women of the Bible
- Church Leaders
- The importance of Easter
Unit 3: How should we care for the environment?
- Introducing the environment issue and climate change
- Teachings of Abrahamic faiths on the environment (Christianity, Judaism, Islam)
- How does Buddhism encourage caring for the environment
- Hindu teachings on caring for the environment
- Sikhism and Sikh environment day
- Aboriginal views of the environment
- Rastafari teaching and ital diet
- Paganism and nature worship
- Humanism and diffusion of responsibility
- How we can act to protect the environment
Unit 4: How do we express faith through art?
- Why is art important to faith?
- Christian art focussed on Doom Paintings
- Islamic art and aniconism
- Symbolism and art in Hindu belief
- Aborigine art
- Tattoos and their spiritual and cultural importance
- Native American art and its connection to the spiritual
- Art in showing your own beliefs
Year 8
Unit 1: What are the Hindu beliefs and practices?
- Intro to Hinduism and its origin (Indus Valley Civilisation)
- The Nature of God (Brahman)
- Who are the Tri-Murti
- The Avatars of Vishnu
- Importance of goddesses
- Puja (worship) in the mandir and at home
- Key Hindu concepts: karma, samsara, moksha
Unit 1: What are the Hindu beliefs and practices?
- Dharma (duty) and why we should follow it
- Hindu festivals, Diwali and why it is important
- The significance of yoga and meditation
- Hindu places of pilgrimage
- Hindu moral concepts
- Importance of Hindu faith in tackling discrimination, focused on Gandhi
Unit 2: How do we respond to inequality?
- What is equality and how this links to British Values.
- The Civil Rights Movement and faith (MLK Jr, Malcolm X, Rosa Parks, Mahalia Jackson)
Unit 2: How do we respond to inequality?
- The story of Stephen Lawrence
- How can we tackle racism today?
- What is feminism and its origins?
- Comparing the views of Rosemary Ruether and Daphne Hampson on whether the Bible is sexist.
- Learning what is meant by LGBTQ.
- Examining Christian attitudes towards homosexuality
- Attitudes towards transgender people
- What is ableism and how do we challenge it?
- What is Islamophobia?
- What is xenophobia?
- How can we tackle discrimination in all forms in modern times?
Unit 3: What does Buddhism teach us about how to live?
- Who is the Buddha?
- The significance of Samsara, Karma, and Nirvana.
- Understanding the Middle Way and the Buddha’s Four Noble Truths
- Understand the Eightfold Path and how it helps you live a good life.
- The importance of imagery around the Buddha’s face
- Why mudras are important to Buddhism.
Unit 3: What does Buddhism teach us about how to live?
- What is the life of a Buddhist monk like?
- The Buddhist holy building
- Important Buddhist symbols
- Important Buddhist celebrations
- What are the 5 moral precepts and how do they influence your life?
- What are the three Jewels of Buddhism and why are they significant?
Unit 4: How can the media influence religion and worldviews?
- What is meant by the media and the different types.
- What is sacred and profane according to Durkheim?
- Case study of the Exodus story of Moses in comparison to the film The Prince of Egypt.
- Looking at the importance of how the media deals with faith.
- The purpose of adverts and the dangers of them misusing faith.
- The importance of music for religion, including gospel music and why music is significant to people.
- Philosophy of film and how film can communicate important ideas/ideals.
Year 9
Unit 1: What are the alternative worldviews?
- Atheism and humanist beliefs and values.
- The Amish practices and their reason for different belief.
- Pagan beliefs and the reason for a resurgence in this worldview.
- The rise of Mormonism and its origin.
- The danger of conspiracy theories and how they impact worldviews.
- What is scientology and why is it considered a problematic worldview?
Unit 1: What are the alternative worldviews?
- What are new religious movements and the dangers of cults.
- Examining extreme beliefs and what leads to them: focus on the Westboro Baptist Church
- Understanding origins of the Far Right
- Understanding the origin of the Far Left
- The argument for secularism in society.
Unit 2: How can philosophy and ethics make sense of the world
- What is philosophy
- Origins of the world through cosmology.
- William Paley’s Design Argument
- The Problem of Evil as presented by J.L. Mackie
Unit 2: How can philosophy and ethics make sense of the world
- Solutions to the problem of evil through Augustine’s Free Will Defence.
- Discussion of whether God is needed to make life fair.
- Do we have a duty to be good? Examining Kantian ethics.
- Is happiness the ultimate goal? Examining Bentham’s utilitarianism.
- Modern virtue ethics compared with Aristotle’s view.
- How Christians make moral decisions
- Hedonism
Unit 3: How are worldviews weaponised?
- Introduction to the dangers of weaponised worldviews.
- Looking at the Armenian genocide and its implications on future events.
- A study of the events of the Holocaust, its cause and how hatred led to genocide.
- A look at the Kindertransport and figures like Sir Nicholas Winton.
- A look at modern genocide in Bosnia.
- Extremism in modern time and how people can weaponise hatred and how to avoid the danger of this.
- The difference between free speech and hate speech.
Unit 4: What does it mean to be Muslim?
- Understanding the importance and role of the Prophet Muhammad.
- Beliefs about Allah (God) in Islam.
- The Five Pillars of Islam – Shahadah, Salah, Zakah, Sawm, Hajj.
- Understanding the difference between Sunni and Shia Muslims and the history of this split.
- The role of women in Islam and their significance.
Unit 4: What does it mean to be Muslim?
- The Ummah and its importance to Muslims.
- The design and purpose of the mosque.
- What the Night of Power is and why it is so important.
- The Eid festivals and what they involve.
- Islamic art and the reason for its origin.
- How Islam and sport are linked.
Key Contact
If you would like any more information about this subject, please contact:
Connor Tharme at connor.tharme@thebicesterschool.org.uk