Theme F: Religion, Human Rights and Social Justice

What Theme F: Religion, Human Rights and Social Justice covers

Theme F: Religion, Human Rights and Social Justice is examined in Paper 2, Thematic studies — one of the four themes chosen, marked out of 24. It covers prejudice, discrimination and equality, the status of women in religion, religious attitudes to homosexuality, racial prejudice and discrimination, human rights, freedom of belief and social justice, attitudes to wealth and poverty, exploitation and charity.

The 7 subtopics

Each one has its own page.

• Prejudice, discrimination and equalityThese questions explain prejudice, discrimination and types of prejudice, British equality law, Christian and Qur'anic teaching on equality including the Good Samaritan, positive discrimination and its lawfulness, and humanist views.Open →
• The status of women in religionStudents learn what Genesis and the New Testament suggest about women, the ordination of women in Anglican and Catholic churches, women in Islam including Khadijah, Jewish and Sikh teaching, and humanist responses.Open →
• Religious attitudes to homosexualityThe subtopic covers homophobia, the biblical texts and arguments on both sides, Catholic teaching and the 2023 decision on blessings, the Church of England and other groups, UK law, Muslim views, religious freedom, and humanist views.Open →
• Racial prejudice and discriminationThese questions explain racism and racial discrimination, Muhammad's teaching and Bilal ibn Rabah, Christianity and slavery, Martin Luther King, caste in Hinduism and Sikh teaching against it, justice, and institutional racism.Open →
• Human rights, freedom of belief and social justiceStudents learn human rights and the Universal Declaration, freedom of religion in international and British law, social justice and responsibilities, clashes of rights and religious dress, and Christian, Muslim and humanist action on rights.Open →
• Attitudes to wealthThe subtopic covers wealth and the misquoted verse about money, Jesus and the rich young man, the Christian attitude to wealth and tithing, zakah, sadaqah and khums in Islam, the responsibilities of the wealthy, and the rich man and Lazarus.Open →
• Poverty, exploitation and charityThese questions explain absolute and relative poverty, exploitation through unfair pay, interest and people trafficking, Fairtrade and the Living Wage, the responsibilities of the poor, problems with giving money, Jewish teaching on giving, and Christian charities.Open →

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Take Theme F: Religion, Human Rights and Social Justice further

The same content, four other ways.

Commonly confused

Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.

• Positive discrimination vs Positive action

  Positive discrimination: handing someone a post because of their group, which is generally unlawful. Positive action: lawful encouragement and training to widen a field.

• Absolute poverty vs Relative poverty

  Absolute poverty: lacking what is needed to survive. Relative poverty: having much less than the surrounding society.

• Racism vs Racial discrimination

  Racism: the belief that one race is superior to another. Racial discrimination: the unfair act that follows from it.

Questions from this topic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   Define prejudice.

   Model answer

   Prejudice is judging someone before you know them, usually because of the group they belong to. Prejudice is an attitude held in the mind.

2. 2

   Define discrimination.

   Model answer

   Discrimination is acting on prejudice by treating someone unfairly. Refusing someone a job because of their religion is discrimination rather than mere prejudice.

3. 3

   Name four types of prejudice.

   Model answer

   Racism, sexism, homophobia and ageism are four common types of prejudice. Each one judges a person by a single feature rather than by who they are.

4. 4

   Which law protects people in Britain from discrimination?

   Model answer

   The Equality Act 2010 makes discrimination unlawful in work, education and services. Nine protected characteristics are listed in the Act. Race, sex, religion or belief, disability and sexual orientation are among them.

5. 5

   Which Christian teaching is most often quoted in support of equality?

   Model answer

   Paul wrote that there is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, neither male nor female (Galatians 3:28). All believers are one in Christ Jesus, according to that verse.

6. 6

   How does the parable of the Good Samaritan teach against prejudice?

   Model answer

   A Samaritan, despised by the Jews of the time, was the one who helped the injured man (Luke 10:33). Jesus used the story to show that a neighbour is anyone in need.

What is inside Levo

Six ways to work the same material.

Theme F: Religion, Human Rights and Social Justice revision questions

What does Theme F: Religion, Human Rights and Social Justice cover in AQA GCSE Religious Studies A?

7 subtopics: prejudice, discrimination and equality, the status of women in religion, religious attitudes to homosexuality, racial prejudice and discrimination, human rights, freedom of belief and social justice, attitudes to wealth and poverty, exploitation and charity. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.

How is Theme F: Religion, Human Rights and Social Justice organised?

By the AQA 8062 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.