AQA and OCR only, no Edexcel version

A-Level Religious Studies is offered by AQA and OCR only. Both cover philosophy of religion (arguments for the existence of God, the problem of evil, religious language), religious ethics, and developments in religious thought, with paper structure and exact emphasis differing slightly between the two.

Named philosophers and theologians, used precisely

A-Level specifically wants you engaging with named philosophers' and theologians' actual arguments, accurately represented, not a simplified, generic version of their position. Misrepresenting a philosopher's argument, even while using their name correctly, undermines an answer's credibility and gets marked down accordingly.

Building a genuinely balanced philosophical argument

Evaluation questions reward presenting real objections to a position, not a token counter-argument before you swing back to your preferred conclusion. The highest mark bands specifically look for sustained, genuine engagement with counter-arguments, including how a defender of the original position might respond to the objection.

Religious ethics: applying theory to real dilemmas

  • Apply ethical theories precisely to the specific dilemma or scenario in the question, not in the abstract.
  • Consider how different ethical theories would actually disagree about a specific case, rather than describing each theory separately.
  • Acknowledge genuine difficulties or criticisms within the theory you're applying, not just praise it uncritically.

Developments in religious thought

This component often connects straight back to philosophy of religion and ethics. Questions about how religious belief has responded to specific philosophical or ethical challenges reward drawing those connections explicitly, rather than treating the three components as entirely separate bodies of content.

Where marks quietly go missing

  • Misrepresenting a named philosopher's actual argument while still using their name correctly.
  • One-sided evaluation with only a token counter-argument.
  • Applying ethical theory in the abstract rather than to the specific scenario or dilemma asked about.

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