Religious, Moral and Philosophical Studies
Staff
- Ms Margaret McClean (Acting P.T)
- Mr Alasdair Clarkson
What do we do?
Learning through religious and moral education enables children and young people to:
- learn about and from the beliefs, values, practices and traditions of Christianity and the world religions selected for study, other traditions and viewpoints independent of religious belief
- explore and develop knowledge and understanding of religions, recognising the place of Christianity in the Scottish context
- develop respect for others and an understanding of beliefs and practices which are different from their own
- develop their beliefs, attitudes, values and practices through reflection, discovery and critical evaluation
- make a positive difference to the world by putting their beliefs and values into action
S3/4: National 4 & 5 RMPS
RMPS is a diverse and controversial course where we explore a range of current moral issues and philosophical questions. Between August and Christmas pupils will continue with BGE units of work and then begin the National 5 course with the Assignment. This is a personal research project worth 1/5th of the overall grade. Pupils will then start to explore the units outlined below;
National 4/5 helps to equip pupils to answer these real life questions by enabling pupils to:
- Develop knowledge and understanding of the main beliefs and values of a World religion.
- Develop a range of skills (transferable) including investigating, analysis, evaluation and the ability to express beliefs and values in a reasoned manner (‘Let’s have a good argument’)
- Develop the ability to reflect and relate their knowledge and understanding to practical and theoretical contexts i.e. contemporary society.
The course consists of three units:
- World Religion (Islam)
- Morality and Belief (Religion and Justice; Capital Punishment, the effectiveness of prisons)
- Religion and Philosophical Questions. (If God is “good” why is there suffering?)
S5/6: Higher RMPS & Advanced Higher RMPS
Higher RMPS
RMPS looks at many of the biggest and most challenging questions of life. How was the world created? Why are we here? What is right and what is wrong? Why is there so much suffering in the world? The Religious, Moral and Philosophical Courses are suitable for pupils in S5 or S6. You do not have to be ‘religious’ to take this course and the skills, which are developed, such as knowledge, understanding, analysis and evaluation are common to other subjects. The course allows individuals to explore their own beliefs and values and to develop an appreciation of the beliefs and values of others. It provides a qualification acceptable for University entrance and is useful for careers such as teaching, law and the caring professions. The course provides an excellent training in ‘thinking skills’.
A Major world religion is studied in depth, a key moral issue is examined, and the controversial relationship between science and religion is investigated.
The course comprises of three units:
- World Religion: Buddhism. All Key Buddhist concepts and practices are studied.
- Morality and Belief: Religion and Relationships. Topics include gender roles and inequalities, marriage, forced marriage, child marriage, transgender, same sex relationships.
- Religious and Philosophical questions: Origins? Big Bang vs Evolution vs God.
Advanced Higher RMPS
This course is well suited for candidates looking to explore RMPS further, has an interest in Medicine, or is interested in studying any social science at University level. Advanced Higher RMPS has 3 sections of work that candidates must complete:
- Philosophy of Religion Module. This is a compulsory module which explores the issue surrounding the coherence of God, Cosmological Arguments, Teleological Arguments, and Atheism.
- Medical Ethics. This module explores medical issues such as Abortion, Euthanasia, Stem Cell Research, Organ Donation and Use of Embryos for research.
- Dissertation. This is an independent research unit of work which is worth 33.3% of the overall course award.