Cambridge Pre-U
Some people think that you would only study Religious Studies if you wanted to become a priest, or a Religious Studies teacher, or just because you were very religious. However, like most of the traditional academic subjects, Religious Studies is studied by anyone who wants to improve their knowledge and intellectual capacity, just as most people who study History do not go on to become historians, nor do students of Mathematics devote their lives to that subject. Religious Studies is a similarly rigorous discipline where students are asked to use their logic, their skills of argument, and abilities to articulate in order to come to reasoned conclusions about the subject.
Religious Studies has much in common with any subject where evidence is sought (the arts and sciences). It shares with English, History, and Classical Civilisation the discipline of analysis of texts and evidence, and seeks to train the student to assess this material in order to draw reasoned conclusions. Although some may think that Religious Studies is very different from the sciences, it actually uses the same approaches in order to find ‘the truth’. Sometimes this is using empirical evidence (assessing material which is proven), and sometimes using the rational side of our brain to prove something or come up with sensible theories.
In 2017 our two candidates both scored the top D1 grade at Pre-U. This demonstrates our department’s ability to get the very best out of our pupils if they work hard.
The Specification
The Theology and Philosophy Pre-U is taught in three sections with exams at the end of the Upper 6th year. There are three papers:
INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY AND THEOLOGY
Plato and Aristotle: an overview of their philosophies concerning the body and the soul.
Epistemology: Rationalism and Empiricism.
Ethics: Moral absolutism and moral relativism; the Euthyphro Dilemma.
Foundation of beliefs: Rationalism, revelation, and sacred texts.
Conscience, free will and Determinism: Augustine, Aquinas, Libertarianism, Determinism, and Calvin.
NEW TESTAMENT STUDIES
An assessment of life and religion of first-century Palestine: Common religion in Judaism of the first century, and the impact of Roman occupation on the religion and thought of the people.
The Synoptic Problem: Looking at the sources for the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke and how similarities and differences raise questions and solutions.
Authorship, dating, and purpose of the gospels: including an assessment of their historical accuracy and readership.
Passion, Resurrection, and Christological debate: This looks at the different narratives in the gospels and assesses the importance of phrases like Son of Man, Son of God, and Messiah.
Jesus’ teaching: Parables, Miracles, Kingdom of God, conflict with authority.
RELIGIOUS ETHICS
Christian Ethics: Sermon on the Mount, St Paul’s ethics, Natural Law, Aquinas, Fletcher’s situation ethics.
Non-Christian Theories: Utilitarianism, Kantian ethics, Virtue ethics, and existentialist ethics.
Applied ethics: War and Peace, Abortion and Euthanasia, embryo research, genetic engineering, environmental ethics, business ethics.
SET TEXTS
For the New Testament and ethics papers there are some set texts which the boys will study in a special set texts class:
The Gospels;
Utilitarianism by John Stuart Mill;
Existentialism and Humanism by Jean-Paul Sartre.
