BGE RME Course Outline
S1
The following topics will be studied:


Big Questions
o
Thinking about the questions that have no answer,
o
Is there life after death?
o
Does God exist?
o
Where does evil come from?
o
What makes us Human?
Creation – exploring the various cultural and religious beliefs about the ways the universe
and the world could have been created and how this has shaped us.

Environment
o
Looking at our impact on the environment as a society and as individuals.
o
Recognising the importance of bees to a healthy environment.
S2
The following topics will be studied:
Pupils will be given the chance to choose which religions they would like to study over the
course of the first part of their time in S2.
Multicultural Scotland
Looking at Scotland’s melting pot of people and their different beliefs and cultures.
World Religions
Given the choice of five of the main religions in the Scotland to study; Buddhism, Islam,
Judaism, Hinduism, Sikhism. We will look at each religion’s:

Symbol (how we recognise it)

Beginnings/origins (where/how it began)


Key figure (who started it)
Holy book (teachings)



Key beliefs/practices (faith in action)
Holy building (community)
Festival (celebration)
Christianity
Delving into the history and influence of Christianity in Britain and how it helped shape
Scotland.
Humanism
Exploring the relatively new philosophical and ethical stance that more people are identifying
with.
Outworking of Belief
To explore how people’s religious and non-religious beliefs/values motivate them to become
involved in various types of work that shows their values in action.
Pupils will work with a local charity to better understand their motivations for choosing to
help those who suffer from leprosy and be given the chance to help raise money.
S3
The following topics will be studied:




Introduction to Morality
o
What is morality?
o
Where does it come from?
o
How does it influence or decisions?
Racism
o
Stereotypes, Prejudice and Discrimination
o
Equality Act of 2010
o
Major acts of Racism throughout history
o
Pro and anti-racism groups
o
Investigation into racist groups
o
Martin Luther King Jr, Nelson Mandela, Jane Elliott
Freedom of Speech –
o
Censorship
o
Debating the right to censor
o
Child Soldiers in Africa
LGBT+ & Gender Rights
o
Gender and Sexuality inequality
o
The fight for equal rights
o
Stonewall
o
Emma Watson - #HeForShe campaign