Opinions on A level Religious Studies

I just wanted to know what people think of Religious Studies as an A level subject. Is it hard? And is it possible to do in one year?

(edited 4 years ago)

Reply 1

imdeded

Original post by aleeza.ajaz

I just wanted to know what people think of Religious Studies as an A level subject. Is it hard? And is it possible to do in one year?

RS is quite a respected A-level, and I have heard that it is relatively difficult. What other A-levels are you doing? Any A-level in general will be hard to do in one year - maybe think about swapping another A-level you're doing with RS (only if you just started Y12 ofc) if that's what you enjoy?

Reply 2

aleeza.ajaz

Original post by imdeded

I'm doing Biology and Chemistry, but I'm deciding on what to do for my third A-level. I'm thinking of Religious Studies. I've heard that it's easy because it is based on your opinion. I haven't learnt a lot in RS yet but I find it very boring and confusing.

(edited 4 years ago)

Reply 3

confuzzledteen

Original post by aleeza.ajaz

I'm doing Biology and Chemistry, but I'm deciding on what to do for my third A-level. I'm trying to choose between Psychology and Religious Studies. I've heard that it's easy because it is based on your opinion. I haven't learnt a lot in RS yet but I find it very boring and confusing.

If you find it boring & confusing, especially so early on, then I'd really suggest dropping it for psychology.
Anyway, I think that psychology links better w your other A levels (bio & chem).
And is a lot more useful lol

Reply 4

returnmigrant

Psychology is much more 'science' than many people expect - ie. its not entirely social science.

RS involves ethics, philosophy, history as well as 'religion'. Its a useful, literate, A level, and would leave doors open for you in terms of Uni study.

Hard/easy. It all depends on your ability, skills and interests - as does any subject.

It might be useful to look at the relevant A level textbooks - and what optional papers your school does - ie. what areas would you be studying if you took it?

Reply 5

aleeza.ajaz

Original post by confuzzledteen

Thanks for the help : )

Reply 6

å¦ç”Ÿã®çˆ¶

Original post by aleeza.ajaz

RS would be fine alongside Biol and Chem. It's a well respected essay subject. However, it isn't just based on your own opinion. You have to study specific aspects of one religion (either Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism or Sikhism) in detail, as well as themes in the philosophy of religion and religious ethics. The content is quite prescriptive, although you are perfectly entitled to build your answers based on your own opinion.

Reply 7

imdeded

Original post by aleeza.ajaz

That's a common misconception - I do philosophy A-level, and while I have heard that RS is easier than philosophy, people also told me that philosophy would be easier because it's all wishy washy opinion-arguments. Couldn't be further from the truth - at least in philosophy, you have to learn the arguments precisely as they have been argued by other philosophers, and be able to express it clearly and concisely.
If you find RS boring and confusing then you will find A-level RS even more so and I honestly can't see why you would be considering it then; as others said, go for something that you genuinely want to study, or you will hate hate hate your subject for the next 2 years.

Reply 8

username3318492

I can only speak for OCR A-level Religious Studies, I don't know what it's like for other exam boards or whether other exam boards even do it. I found the Ethics and Philosophy module really interesting, but not so much the Christian Theology module (a new one OCR introduced). It's probably because I'm not a Christian or religious at all so I found it hard to empathise with many of the topics that were covered in the module.

Overall, I'm re-applying to study Sociology at university and I am so grateful that I completed A-level Religious Studies as I was able to put in my personal statement that I have valuable essay-writing skills, the ability to evaluate sources and to incorporate my own independent thought into my work. If you are applying for a very essay-based degree (like Sociology), then having an A-level like Religious Studies is very useful. Of course there are other essay-based A-levels out there, but Religious Studies relies very heavily on being able to evaluate and give your own opinion which is a skill that a lot of universities look for.