What are the Big Ideas for Religious Education?
Our ‘Big Ideas’ are ideas that are crucial in understanding the content in the study of Religion and Worldviews.
These Big Ideas help prioritise subject knowledge, help make sense of a mass of information, are memorable, and transferable to events outside the classroom in both present and future.
They require a paragraph to describe them, so please find the full definitions below, but in brief, they are:
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)
Big Ideas in full
Each Big Idea has a general description, plus more specific age-related statements. They are being constantly reviewed and can be amended in the light of experience!
Big Idea 1: Continuity, Change and Diversity
Religions / worldviews involve interconnected patterns of beliefs, practices and values. They are also highly diverse and change in response to new situations and challenges. These patterns of diversity and change can be the cause of debate, tension and conflict or result in new, creative developments.
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Age-Related Big Idea for Ages 5-7
We are surrounded by distinctive things that are very important to people. Some of these are called ‘precious’, ‘sacred’ or ‘holy’. People belonging to the same religion / worldview may have different ‘holy’ or important things and express their religion / worldview in different ways.
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Age-Related Big Idea for Ages 7-11
The name ‘religion’ or ‘worldview’ is commonly given to an overall approach to life which includes beliefs, practices, values and a sense of identity. In each religion / worldview there are people who believe different things and practise in different ways. There is a variety of reasons why some aspects have changed over time and why some have stayed the same.
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Age-Related Big Idea for Ages 11-14
There are important differences in beliefs, values and practices between religions / worldviews but also close connections between some of them. Religions / worldviews tend to be made up of several smaller groups, which are similar in some ways and very different in others. Many of these similarities and differences relate to their history and changing cultural context.
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Age-Related Big Idea for Ages 14-18
There is no consensus on the meaning of the word ‘religion’ or how it relates to the term ‘worldview’. During the 20th and 21st centuries in particular, religious and non-religious worldviews have faced challenges from a range of moral, political and social issues in national and international contexts.
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Big Idea 2:
Words and Beyond
People often find it difficult to express their deepest beliefs, feelings, emotions and religious experiences using everyday language. Instead, they may use a variety of different approaches including figurative language and a range of literary genres.
In addition, people sometimes use non-verbal forms of communication such as art, music, drama and dance that seek to explain or illustrate religious or non-religious ideas or experiences. There are different ways of interpreting both verbal and non-verbal forms of expression, often depending on a person’s view of the origin or inspiration behind them.
The use of some non-verbal forms of communication is highly controversial within some religious groups, particularly their use in worship or ritual.
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Age-Related Big Idea for Ages 5-7
People often give words different meanings when they are trying to express what is most important to them. Many people also use symbols to express important ideas. We need to interpret these words and symbols to find out what they mean.
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Age-Related Big Idea for Ages 7-11
People often express their feelings and beliefs through art, music, poetry, story, drama and physical movement – both creating and observing/performing. These creative forms of expression also play important roles in most religions and cultures.
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Age-Related Big Idea for Ages 11-14
People convey their beliefs, values, commitments and identities through different media. Some things are regarded by some as divinely created or inspired. All works are subject to different interpretations.
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Age-Related Big Idea for Ages 14-18
It is very difficult to describe metaphysical or abstract concepts using everyday language. In attempting to express the inexpressible, people have used what philosophers call ‘religious language’. They also use everyday language through metaphor and analogy.
Many artists and musicians of all genres have created works in order to express their, or their sponsors’, views on a moral or religious issue. This continues to the present today.
People of all beliefs and none are equally capable of being moved by creative works that communicate a religious message, although people inside and outside a tradition are likely to interpret them very differently.
In more recent times, people are learning to value the arts of traditions other than their own.
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Big Idea 3:
A Good Life
Many people, whether religious or not, strive to live according to what they understand as a good life. Religious and non-religious communities often share an understanding as to the sort of characteristics and behaviours a good person will seek to achieve, as well as dealing with what is, or is not, acceptable moral behaviour.
The ideal is usually presented in the lives and character of exemplary members. There are points of agreement and disagreement over the interpretation and application of moral principles both across and within different religions / worldviews.
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Age-Related Big Idea for Ages 5-7
Most religions / worldviews introduce children to stories from the lives of their exemplary people as examples of the qualities and characteristics they might try to achieve. They also teach about specific actions that are right and wrong and about good and bad attitudes.
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Age-Related Big Idea for Ages 7-11
Most religions / worldviews have stories about people from the distant past or from recent times who set a moral example to their followers. Religions / worldviews provide guidance for their followers on how to live a good life. There are different ideas about why people should aim to live a good life and considerable agreement and disagreement over desirable virtues and qualities and what is right and wrong, good and bad, between and within groups.
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Age-Related Big Idea for Ages 11-14
Many of the rules of religions / worldviews were created a long time ago. Different interpretations of such rules may be needed for application to today’s world. Some religions / worldviews distinguish between rules revealed by God, those developed as a result of reasoned human reflection, those that are customs and traditions developed by community leaders over many years, and those that reflect the nature of the world.
This matters because people need to know the origin of a ‘rule’ before deciding how far it can be changed. All our moral actions have consequences for ourselves and others. Some believe that the consequences extend beyond this life.
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Age-Related Big Idea for Ages 14-18
Religious and non-religious groups agree on some moral issues and disagree on others. Different theories are offered about how and why humans ought to live a good life; these theories are not necessarily religious. When these perspectives are used in discussions about moral issues, they yield very different answers.
Various religious and non-religious organisations have tried to identify rules and principles that should apply universally, and they often contain teachings about the character and virtues needed to lead a ‘good’ life.
Some religions / worldviews have different expectations for different groups of people, often in relation to hierarchies within their traditions.
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Big Idea 4: Making Sense of Life’s Experiences
Many people have deeply felt experiences, which they may refer to as being ‘religious’ or ‘spiritual’ or simply part of what it means to be human. These experiences can take place in both religious and non-religious contexts and may produce a heightened sense of awareness and mystery, or of identity, purpose and belonging.
The experience is sometimes so powerful that it transforms people’s lives. As a result, people may change their beliefs and allegiances and on rare occasions the experience of a single person has led to the formation of a new religion / worldview.
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Age-Related Big Idea for Ages 5-7
Some people have amazing, puzzling or mysterious experiences that make them ask big questions about life. Others find deep spiritual meaning in everyday experiences. There are many stories about people’s experiences and encounters that have made them change their lives.
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Age-Related Big Idea for Ages 7-11
Some people have amazing, puzzling or mysterious experiences that they may explain as an encounter with a power above, beyond or within the material world, and which they may claim has given them new insights into life.
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Age-Related Big Idea for Ages 11-14
Many people find profound meaning at some points in their lives in mystical, religious, spiritual or peak experiences. Some individuals and groups say experience of religious rituals and other practices help them make a connection with God or gods and with each other, or with what is most important to them.
The experiences of a few key people are believed to have given them extraordinary insights into the nature of reality. Some believe these experiences are related to a spiritual dimension of human beings, which may or may not be associated with religion. Others deny humans have a spiritual nature, believing that a human being is no more than a complex, highly evolved animal.
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Age-Related Big Idea for Ages 14-18
Some claim that consciousness is the distinguishing feature of being human and speak of human ‘spirituality’. Some people regard their spirituality as the inner personal dimension of being religious, while others see themselves as spiritual rather than religious because they do not identify with traditional religious institutions or beliefs.
There are also people who do not identify with religion or spirituality. Membership of groups with whom they share beliefs, values and traditions often gives people a heightened sense of awareness, mystery, identity and belonging, and brings about a transformation in their lives.
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Big Idea 5:
Influence and Power
Religious and non-religious communities interact with wider society and cultures. These communities affect societies by shaping their traditions, laws, political systems, festivals, values, rituals and arts.
The patterns of influence vary significantly in different societies and at different points in time. Some societies are influenced predominantly by one religion / worldview, others by several or many.
Religions / worldviews often appeal to a highly respected authority or vision, and this can have significant impacts on societies and cultures, whether positive or negative.
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Age-Related Big Idea for Ages 5-7
All around us there is evidence of the influence of religions / worldviews on our community. Religion does not influence everyone’s life in the same way.
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Age-Related Big Idea for Ages 7-11
Many communities around the world are influenced at several levels by their traditional religions / worldviews. In some communities, one religion / worldview is influential; other communities are influenced by many different religions / worldviews living alongside each other. In some communities, religions / worldviews have little influence apart from among their followers.
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Age-Related Big Idea for Ages 11-14
Religions / worldviews are influential at several levels: individual, local, national and global. They will exert different levels of influence in different places and at different times.
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Age-Related Big Idea for Ages 14-18
Religions / worldviews reach into many different areas of human life and have various degrees of influence; their influence is often linked to the extent to which those religions possess degrees of power (see BI 1).
When something within a religion / worldview becomes authoritative, it may be used to justify social and political actions. The outcomes of these actions are varied and complex, from social improvement or spiritual development to greater intolerance and violence.
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Big Idea 6:
The Big Picture
Religions / worldviews provide comprehensive accounts of how and why the world is as it is. These accounts are sometimes called ‘grand narratives’. They seek to answer the big questions about the universe and the nature of humanity.
These narratives are usually based on approaches to life, texts or traditions, which are taken to be authoritative. People interpret and understand these texts and traditions in different ways.
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Age-Related Big Idea for Ages 5-7
People, including groups of religious people, tell stories that help them grapple with some of the big questions of life. Many of these stories are well-known as they have been handed down over generations.
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Age-Related Big Idea for Ages 7-11
People tell different stories to communicate important teachings and these stories often form part of longer narratives. Groups of religious and non-religious people tell different stories, which reflect the different ways in which they view the world.
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Age-Related Big Idea for Ages 11-14
Many religions / worldviews provide a coherent account of what the universe is like and why it is as it is. These accounts may be called ‘grand narratives’. For many religious people the most important source of their big picture of the world is found in sacred texts, often believed to have been divinely inspired.
Many people identify with narratives that deny the existence of any divine beings or predetermined purpose in life. Other people believe that science and reason can explain everything and that there is no need for religious explanations.
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Age-Related Big Idea for Ages 14-18
Many religions / worldviews have constructed an overarching narrative, sometimes called a ‘grand narrative’, which in most cases refers to the relationship between God or ultimate reality and the world, the nature of human beings and their place in the universe.
Most narratives that attempt to explain what the world is like claim an authority for their explanation. Nevertheless within each tradition there are variations of belief about the truth and meaning of these narratives. Many people accept scientific accounts and find no conflict with their religious beliefs. Others say it is only possible to believe one or the other.
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