GCE Religious Studies

Transcription

1 GCE Religious Studies RST4B Religious Fundamentalism OR Religion and Contemporary Society OR Religion and the Visual Arts Report on the Examination 2060 June 2013 Version: 1.0

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3 General comments There were some extremely well-informed and skilful essays which scored highly. In general these stood out because of their use of apt examples and/or evidence to explain and support the points being made. In contrast, some answers were very general and summarised examples or information without making the intended point clear or made points without any supporting development, examples or evidence. In many ways this is best summed up by saying that only the better essays examined the ideas presented, while weaker essays merely summarised. Section A: Religious Fundamentalism Question 1 01 There were some very full answers to this question, but also some which focused on the reasons for the development of religious fundamentalism rather than what the term may mean. Other answers largely summarised lists of characteristics of such movements without unpacking them in any way. Where there was clear examination of the term, it often included identifying movements which shared the supposed defining characteristic(s) contrasted with movements which are also considered fundamentalist which did not. This allowed the students to consider the strengths and weaknesses of the definition they were exploring. 02 Many good responses to this question reflected on the meaning of essentially. Many focused on the reasons for the emergence of fundamentalist movements, but some also referred to the contemporary situation, and both approaches were acceptable. Some of the best answers generally supported the claim and argued that, while both mainstream religious traditions and fundamentalist movements had to react to challenges from secularisation and science, it was because the fundamentalist groups rejected the response of mainstream religion to those challenges that they broke away. Others strongly argued that, in specific cases, secularisation and political issues were the driving force. As always, the best answers supported their argument with specific examples. Some weaker answers merely debated whether fundamentalist groups were or were not opposed to liberal, modernist, religious ideas. Question 2 03 This was the more popular question in this section and there were some very well-informed answers, although some simply summarised key features of two movements without drawing attention to similarities and differences. Of those answers that referred to movements from two different religions some repeatedly made the point that, for example, one movement was Christian and the other Jewish or Muslim. While this was clearly a difference between the two movements, the point could be simply made and rarely benefited from any development. Popular choices of movements included: Exclusive Brethren, Amish, Southern Baptists, the Taliban, Khomeini s Iran, the Muslim Brotherhood, Chabad Lubavitch, Haredi Judaism and Gush Emunim. The Society of St Pius X was another interesting and effective choice, but those who drew on the Nation of Islam were not able to respond so easily to the question. Many students who considered the Plymouth Brethren either conflated Open Brethren and Exclusive Brethren, resulting in some contradictory material, or confused the two so that material was factually inaccurate. 3 of 6

4 04 There were some very good answers to this question which made good use of specific examples to make their points. Many were able to offer examples of movements which have rejected society as a whole and try to live separate lives, and those which are fully involved in society and try to reform it from within. Exploration of the relationship between religious fundamentalist movements and mainstream religion were often less effective and it appeared that some less able students were unaware of the comparisons / contrasts between the two. A few students seemed to be confused by the use of the word traditions and discussed religious customs rather than the religion as a whole. The best answers tended to refer to the historical and the contemporary rejection of both society and religious tradition and some argued that, in fact, fundamentalists have been rejected rather than the other way around. Section B: Religion and Contemporary Society Question 3 05 In general, students were more familiar with the challenges from secular sources than they were with challenges from other faiths, and not all dealt with both teachings and practices as the question required. There were, however, some very good and wide ranging answers which dealt with such issues as the divinity and humanity of Christ, the status of Muhammad as a prophet, miracles, the existence of God, religious dress, food, worship and festivals as well as recent examples from the European Court of Human rights. Some answers showed clear awareness of challenges from different interpretations of the same texts (e.g. between Jews and Christians) or of the same figures (e.g. between Judaism, Christianity and Islam) while others focused on the challenges to established religions from New Religious Movements or from the different faiths to which people are exposed in a multicultural society. 06 Not all the students who tackled this question showed enough understanding of the challenge from other faiths to answer it successfully and some simply stated that another challenge was greater, then described that challenge but gave no justification for the conclusion they had reached. Some good answers considered the challenge of practising a non-christian religion in a country where Christianity is the established religion and weighed that up against the challenge from secularisation, reaching a variety of conclusions. These included the view that the challenge religion as a whole faces from materialism and empiricism is much greater than any challenge one faith may face from another. Question 4 07 There were some very well-prepared answers to this question but also many narrative answers which merely described a range of activities. There was a clear opportunity for students to consider interactions between the faiths at different levels, international, national and local, but some answers did not go beyond the local context. When students unpacked or examined the ways they considered such elements as the extent and strength of commitment to interfaith dialogue, its importance, benefits and challenges. A few also considered how far interfaith dialogue was encouraged, and enabled, by secular authorities rather than by the faiths concerned, in order to meet the needs of a multicultural and pluralistic society in which tensions between faiths need to be minimised. 4 of 6

5 08 It appeared that not all students who chose this question had considered the impact of interfaith relations and dialogue on religion and there were some very weak answers. Others, however clearly had access to information that allowed them to answer the question and were able to sustain a good debate. Many considered the advantages of dialogue in a society in which religion is in danger of being marginalised and the common interests of religion when contrasted with the secular world.they also considered the social advantages of dialogue in societies divided along religious or ethnic lines. Some also explored how interfaith understanding and tolerance can lead to the idea that in a secular society all religions are equal, which challenges the claim made on behalf of many religions that they are the only means of salvation and the only source of religious truth. Section C: Religion and the Visual Arts Question 5 09 This was the more popular of the two questions in this section, but not all answers dealt with all of its aspects i.e. two artists, their impact and their continuing relevance for religion. Various artists were chosen, but most choices reflected the Unit 3 paper that many of the students had apparently studied, which is a perfectly acceptable approach. Some answers dealt with the general impact and relevance of specific works of art rather than their impact and relevance for religion. 10 Some of the answers to this question were particularly well thought out. Students were able to discuss if art was necessary in religion or a luxury that could be disposed of, or done without, to raise funds. Some students chose excellent examples to support their various points but not all recognised the difference between the argument that art was useful and the argument that it was necessary. Some argued that art in religion was not necessary, but that its value in religion, for example as an aid to worship or a witness to the glory of God, meant that it could not be considered a luxury. Question 6 11 The best answers here drew on a range of examples, including, for example, anthropomorphic images of God contrasted with abstract evocations of his presence and portrayals of Mary or Jesus in icons, statuary and religious paintings. Weaker answers were much more general and made very limited use of examples. When examining the ideas, students could comment on the similarity between approaches, for example in depictions of the Christ figure, as well as differences, for example in the very varying approaches to the depiction of angels. There was also much that could be said about the cultural influences on depictions of God, but many answers used a narrow range of examples in which variety was limited. 12 There were some very impressive answers which drew on current or recent controversies and considered the value, and dangers, of freedom of expression. There was no consensus of opinion, but there was some appreciation of the power of art to insult or even incite religious hatred, Greater awareness of the 2006 law relating to this might have been expected. Weaker answers showed little understanding of what censorship could involve, and instead offered general criticisms of particular works of art such as Serrano s Piss Christ. 5 of 6

6 Mark Ranges and Award of Grades Grade boundaries and cumulative percentage grades are available on the Results Statistics page of the AQA Website. Converting Marks into UMS marks Convert raw marks into Uniform Mark Scale (UMS) marks by using the link below. UMS conversion calculator 6 of 6