Religion and Contemporary Society Resource Page

A level Religion in Contemporary Society Resource Page

Resources for teaching and studying Religion in Contemporary Society for A level (WJEC Spec). Currently this is a work in progress, but I'll be adding more resources regularly. If you have any suggestions for useful links / resources, or find a broken link, please add a comment below.

General

WJEC Specification for A Level Religious Studies (pdf)
QEHS AS/A2 Religion and contemporary society moodle (excellent resource for the WJEC course)

Introduction to Religion in Contemporary Society

Lesson 1
Lesson Slides notebook PDF
Pre-Lesson Research Prep Task
 

Medical and Environmental Issues

Dignity in Dying (website of UK organisation campaigning to change the law to allow assist dying)
Care Not Killing (website of UK palliative care organisation)
'Peter Singer: Architect of the Culture of Death' (article giving a Catholic perspective on Singer's views)


Euthanasia 1: Introduction, GCSE Recap, Active and Passive Euthanasia
Lesson Slides notebook PDF
Euthanasia Blank Circle Map (d0c)
Active and Passive Euthanasia Presentation Task (d0c)
Active and Passive Euthanasia Presentation Mark Scheme (d0c)
Types of Euthanasia (video for prep task 2)

Euthanasia 2: Voluntary and Non-voluntary Euthanasia
Lesson Slides  notebook PDF
Panorama: I Helped My Daughter Die (video for prep task 3)
Tree Map Template (for prep task 3)

Euthanasia 3: Consolidation / Is Non-voluntary Euthanasia Ever Right?

Euthanasia 4: The Sanctity of Life
Christian Views on Euthanasia Worksheet (for prep task 5)
Christian Views on Euthanasia (video A for prep task 5)
Christian Churches Opposed to Assisted Dying (video B for prep task 5)

Euthanasia 5: Christian Views on Euthanasia
Christian Arguments on Euthanasia (card sort and differentiated worksheet)
Church of England Views on Euthanasia (pdf)
A Christian Case for Assisted Dying (link for worksheet)
Former Archbishop Backs Assisted Dying (link for worksheet)
Peter Singer: The Sanctity of Life is Outdated (link for worksheet)
Buddhist Views on Euthanasia (video for prep task 6)
Buddhist Views on Euthanasia Worksheet (for prep task 6)



Euthanasia 6: Buddhist Views on Euthanasia
Keown: Euthanasia in Buddhism and Christianity (extension or G&T reading)


Animals 1: Humans and Animals
Lesson Slides notebook pdf
Ways Humans Have Used Animals Circle Map
Ten Animals That Use Tools (video)
Chimpanzee Tool Use (video)
Animal Language - Bonobos (video)
Prairie Dog Language (video)
The Language of Dolphins (video)
Crow Intelligence (video)
Three Animals That Are Smarter Than You Thought (video)
Max Bekoff - Animal Behaviour and Emotions (video)
Elephants Grieving (video)
Elephants in the Mirror - Animal Self-Consciousness (video)
Ethics: Moral Status (video for prep task)
Understanding Moral Status (worksheet for prep task - blow up to A3)
Peter Singer: 'Speciesism and Moral Status' (alternative prep extension reading)

Animals 2: The Moral Status of Animals
Lesson Slides notebook pdf
Moral Status Definitions Worksheet
Moral Status Tree Map
Moral Status Plenary
Peter Singer: Religion's Regressive Hold on Animal Rights (prep task)

Animals 5: Animal Rights Issues
Presentation Task Sheet
Presentation Peer Assessment Mark Scheme
Animal Issues Worksheet (prep task)

Animals 6: Essay Planning
Animal Rights Essay Task

Revision
Student Revision Checklist - Medical and Environmental Ethics
Animal Research Revision (webpage for GCSE revision - covers the basics well)

Religion and TV

BBC iPlayer Religion (religious-themed TV shows)
Grey's Anatomy Season 1 Episode 8: Save Me (useful for thinking about TV portrayals of religion. You 'll have to buy the DVD or pay to watch online)

Religion and Community

British Religion in Numbers (comprehensive online religious data source)
BHA Surveys and Statistics (Humanist site giving a perspective on religious statistics)
Christianity in Decline? (a quick look at religion in the 2011 census)
Make Bradford British (Channel 4 documentary examining identity in a multi-racial, multi-religious city)
In Our Time: Fundamentalism (audio - Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the roots and consequences of religious fundamentalism)
The Big Questions: Is Fundamentalism Undermining Faith? (BBC discussion show)
The Real Meaning of Fundamentalism (blog article on the origins of the term)
Features of Fundamentalism (a mnemonic on the different features)
Features of Fundamentalism Test (blank sheet to recap on key features)
Fundamentalism: The Challenge to the Secular World (article by Lloyd Geering)
Fundamentalism Revision Self-Assessment  Sheet (for WJEC)
Beyond Belief: Are Institutions in Decline? (audio - Ernie Rea and guests consider the decline of religious institutions)
Different Definitions and Explanations of Secularisation (pdf file - chapter from an A2 Sociology textbook)
Secularisation Revision Self-Assessment (for WJEC)

 

 

Religion and the Individual

Psychology of Religion and Religion and the Individual posts on this blog.
The Mark Steel Lectures Sigmund Freud - Pt 1 (video - contains swearing)
The Mark Steel Lectures Sigmund Freud - Pt 2 (video - contains swearing)
The Mark Steel Lectures Sigmund Freud - Pt 3 (video - contains swearing)

Religion and Contemporary Issues (A2)

What's wrong with Blasphemy (NY Times article)
Blasphemy Discussion Web (to go with NY Times article)

 

Religion and the Community (A2)

Some Definitions of Religion
In Our Time: Weber's The Protestant Ethic (radio - Bragg and co talk Weber)
Critical Evaluation of Max Weber (essay by Aleksandra Stankova)

 

Religion and Film (A2)

Matrix Jesus Bingo (game to play while watching The Matrix)
How Hollywood Found Religion (Guardian article)