Religious Studies

Course summary

Component 1: A study of religions – Buddhism. Specifically you will look at the life of Buddha, ancient texts, the historical development of Buddhism, Buddhist practices (eg. meditation) and at sources of authority. Component 2: Philosophy of Religion. You will study a variety of topics including the existence of God, evil and suffering, religious experience and religious language. Component 3: Religion and ethics. You will look at ethical thought, including divine command theory, virtue theory and ethical egoism, natural law and its application to abortion and voluntary euthanasia. Also you will look at situation ethics and its application to homosexuality. Finally, utilitarianism and its application to animal testing and the use of nuclear weapons as a deterrent.