Programmes of Study: Ages 14-18
Click on the icons for the Topic-related Questions and Learning Objectives for each Big Idea
SUBJECT CONTENT in the Programme of Study Ages 14-18
Pupils should be taught about:
BI 1: Continuity, Change and Diversity
- the contested meaning of the word ‘religion’ and about how or whether a religious worldview may be clearly distinguished from a non-religious worldview
- how during the 20th and 21st centuries systems of belief have had to respond to new global, political and social issues.
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BI 2: Words and Beyond
- the use of specialised religious language and how people may use metaphor and analogy to describe metaphysical or abstract concepts
- artists and musicians of all genres who have created works in order to express their, or their sponsors’, views on a moral or religious issue
- how people inside and outside a tradition are likely to interpret its creative works very differently
- people who are learning to value and be moved by the arts of traditions other than their own.
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BI 3: A Good Life
- different theories about how and why humans ought to live a good life
- why religious and non-religious groups agree on some moral issues and disagree on others
- attempts by religious and non-religious organisations to identify rules and principles that should apply universally
- why some religions / worldviews have different expectations for different groups of people.
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BI 4: Making Sense of Life’s Experiences
- different views about ‘consciousness’ and different views about ‘spirituality’
- the potential impact on individuals from membership of groups with whom they share beliefs, values and traditions.
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BI 5: Influence and Power
- why religions / worldviews may hold varying degrees of influence and power in a particular society
- how, when an aspect of a religion / worldview, such as a text or leader, becomes authoritative in a community, it may be used to justify social and political actions
- how the outcomes of these actions can be varied and complex
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BI 6: The Big Picture
- the overarching narratives of religions / worldviews, sometimes called ‘grand narratives’
- the focus of most narratives on the relationship between God or ultimate reality and the world, the nature of human beings and their place in the universe
- how most narratives that attempt to explain what the world is like claim an authority for their explanation
- variations of belief within each tradition about the truth and meaning of these narratives
- why many religious people accept scientific accounts and find no conflict with their religious beliefs, while others, both religious and non-religious, say it is only possible to believe one or the other.
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[Source: BIIP2022, pp. 39-44]
To see programmes of study for individual key stages, click on one of the buttons below.
1. Continuity, Change and Diversity
(within and across traditions, through time and places)
2. Words and Beyond
(expression/interpretation through texts and creative arts)
3. A Good Life
(being a good person, living a good life, ethics)
4. Making Sense of Life’s Experiences
(life experience, religious experience, ritual)
5. Influence and Power
(social, cultural, political influences and interactions)
6. The Big Picture
(overall account of life/ universe / everything)