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Form 6 Ethics and Religious Studies Practice Paper: Religious Traditions, Religion and Science, Social Justice (12 questions, 100 marks, 90 minutes)
Form 6 Ethics and Religious Studies – 12 questions – 100 marks – 90 minutes
Form 6 Ethics and Religious Studies practice paper: 12 original questions, 100 marks, 90 minutes on religious traditions, religion and science, and social justice.
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Paper details Form 6 Ethics and Religious Studies practice paper with marking points: 12 original questions on religious traditions, religion and science, and social justice, plus free PDF downloads.
Section A – The Nature of Religion and Religious Traditions (34 marks)
Section A: Answer all questions in this section.
| # | Question | Answer and marking notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1. Sociologists usually define religion by several elements. (a) List three common elements of religion and give one example of each. (3 marks) (b) Explain how these three elements together sustain a religious tradition. (3 marks) (c) State one difference between religion and superstition, and explain it. (3 marks) |
Answer: (a) Three elements with examples: a object of faith (God in Christianity), scripture and doctrine (Buddhist texts and the Four Noble Truths), ritual and organisation (baptism and the church). 1 mark each. (b) The three support one another: doctrine explains the object of faith, ritual makes doctrine concrete, and the community transmits and teaches it, so the tradition remains stable across generations. (3 marks) (c) A religion has systematic doctrine, ethics and organisation; superstition is a loose set of taboos or fortune-seeking acts without a system or community. (3 marks) |
| 2 | 2. Christianity and Buddhism each explain suffering. (a) Explain one Christian explanation of the origin of suffering. (4 marks) (b) Explain the Buddhist Four Noble Truths on the cause and the ending of suffering. (5 marks) |
Answer: (a) One Christian explanation: suffering entered the world through human sin, and free will makes evil possible; suffering may also be understood as a trial that calls people back to God. (4 marks) (b) Four Noble Truths: suffering exists; it arises from craving and attachment; it can cease when craving is abandoned; the Eightfold Path is the way. 1 mark each, 1 mark for overall explanation. (5 marks) |
| 3 | 3. Compare the Daoist idea of wu wei with the Confucian idea of ren in self-cultivation. (a) Explain wu wei and give one everyday example. (4 marks) (b) Explain ren and state one difference between the two approaches to self-cultivation. (4 marks) |
Answer: (a) Wu wei means acting without forcing, in line with natural patterns rather than human contrivance. Example: keeping to the rhythms of the seasons instead of forcing outcomes. (4 marks) (b) Ren means loving others and extending oneself to others, practised through ritual and human relationships. Difference: Confucianism stresses active moral practice within relationships, while Daoism stresses reducing interference and returning to nature. (4 marks) |
| 4 | 4. Religious rituals serve several functions in community life. (a) Name two religious rituals and explain the meaning of each. (3 marks) (b) Explain how rituals strengthen social cohesion. (3 marks) (c) State one situation in which a ritual may become controversial. (2 marks) |
Answer: (a) Examples: baptism marks cleansing and entry into the community; a religious wedding confirms the sacred nature of the marriage covenant. 1.5 marks each. (3 marks) (b) Shared ritual strengthens identity and belonging, and regular gatherings build networks of mutual support. (3 marks) (c) Example: a ritual in public space disturbs others, or involves animal sacrifice or gendered roles that provoke public debate. (2 marks) |
Section B – Religion, Science and Religious Culture (33 marks)
Section B: Answer all questions and support your points with examples.
| # | Question | Answer and marking notes |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | 5. Religion and science have both clashed and conversed in history. (a) Use one historical case to explain a cause of conflict between religion and science. (4 marks) (b) Explain the argument that religion and science address different levels of questions. (4 marks) |
Answer: (a) Example: Galileo supported heliocentrism and faced church censure in the seventeenth century. Causes include the authority of a received reading of scripture and the challenge a new theory posed to an accepted worldview. (4 marks) (b) Argument: science studies observable mechanisms through experiment, while religion addresses ultimate meaning, value and purpose; different methods and different questions mean no necessary conflict. (4 marks) |
| 6 | 6. Creation accounts and the Big Bang theory are often compared. (a) State the main claims of the Big Bang theory. (4 marks) (b) Explain why some religious thinkers hold that the two can coexist. (4 marks) |
Answer: (a) The universe expanded from an extremely hot, dense state over about 13.8 billion years; galaxies are still receding, and the cosmic microwave background is key evidence. (4 marks) (b) Reason: the Big Bang explains how the universe developed, while a creation account states its ultimate ground; they answer different questions and can coexist, for example a creator initiating a natural process. (4 marks) |
| 7 | 7. Religious art and architecture are important media of belief. (a) Name two forms of religious art and explain the belief each expresses. (3 marks) (b) Explain how the design of a religious building shapes worshippers’ religious experience. (3 marks) (c) State one challenge facing religious art in modern society. (3 marks) |
Answer: (a) Examples: icons express the incarnation and the object of veneration; sacred music carries prayer and praise. 1.5 marks each. (3 marks) (b) Axial layout and controlled light (nave and stained glass) direct sight and movement, create a sense of the sacred, and encourage reflection and prayer. (3 marks) (c) Challenge: commercialisation and tourism detach works from their faith setting, or tension arises between traditional forms and contemporary artistic expression. (3 marks) |
| 8 | 8. Gene editing raises questions in religious ethics. (a) Explain one main concern of religious ethics about human gene editing. (4 marks) (b) Use one ethical approach to assess whether the technology should be permitted. (4 marks) |
Answer: (a) Main concern: humans rewrite the basic structure of life and treat persons as designable objects, which damages human dignity; access may also be limited to the wealthy. (4 marks) (b) Deontology: treating embryos as means rather than ends violates respect for persons, so use may be allowed for therapy but not for enhancement. A consequentialist assessment is also acceptable if risks and benefits are weighed. (4 marks) |
Section C – Religion and Social Justice (33 marks)
Section C: Answer all questions; in discussion questions consider both sides.
| # | Question | Answer and marking notes |
|---|---|---|
| 9 | 9. Many religious groups take part in poverty relief and social service. (a) Explain two reasons why religious groups engage in poverty relief. (4 marks) (b) Assess one strength and one limitation of social services run by religious groups. (4 marks) |
Answer: (a) First: teaching requires love of neighbour and care for the poor, so relief work is faith in practice. Second: groups see social justice as a witness of faith and respond to social need. 2 marks each. (4 marks) (b) Strength: mobilisation and trust networks allow long-term reach at grassroots level. Limitation: limited resources and expertise, and services may carry religious conditions that raise fairness concerns. (4 marks) |
| 10 | 10. In environmental ethics, stewardship and anthropocentrism are often compared. (a) Explain the stewardship view of nature. (4 marks) (b) Explain one environmental problem that anthropocentrism may cause, and offer one religious response. (4 marks) |
Answer: (a) Stewardship: nature belongs to the creator, and humans hold it in trust, using resources with regard for future generations and other creatures. (4 marks) (b) Problem: measuring everything by human benefit leads to over-exploitation, species loss and climate change. Response: simplicity of life, repentance and a renewed role as guardians of creation. (4 marks) |
| 11 | 11. The death penalty involves different ethical approaches. (a) Use deontology to explain one argument against the death penalty. (3 marks) (b) Use consequentialism to explain one argument for the death penalty. (3 marks) (c) State what virtue ethics can contribute to this debate. (3 marks) |
Answer: (a) Deontology: life has intrinsic value, so state killing breaches the duty to respect life and mistakes are irreversible. (3 marks) (b) Consequentialism: punishment can deter serious crime, protect society, and answer victims’ claims for justice. (3 marks) (c) Virtue ethics asks what character a society and its officials should cultivate, such as compassion, prudence and fairness, and whether the system breeds callousness. (3 marks) |
| 12 | 12. Religious differences sometimes lead to conflict, and interfaith dialogue is seen as a way forward. (a) Explain one social cause of religious conflict. (4 marks) (b) Explain one concrete practice of interfaith dialogue and its limitation. (4 marks) |
Answer: (a) Social cause: religious identity overlaps with ethnicity, politics and competition for resources, and exclusivist readings and historical grievances mobilise difference into conflict. (4 marks) (b) Practice: religious leaders build dialogue platforms and work together on concrete social issues. Limitation: representation is weak given doctrinal differences, and outcomes may not be accepted at grassroots level. (4 marks) |
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