A-level Religious Studies

Transcription

1 A-level Religious Studies RST3C The History of Christianity OR Religion and Art Report on the Examination 2060 June 2014 Version: 1.0

2 Further copies of this Report are available from aqa.org.uk Copyright 2014 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved. AQA retains the copyright on all its publications. However, registered schools/colleges for AQA are permitted to copy material from this booklet for their own internal use, with the following important exception: AQA cannot give permission to schools/colleges to photocopy any material that is acknowledged to a third party even for internal use within the centre.

3 Section A The History of Christianity (The Christian Church in the 20th Century) Question 1 Feminist theology 01 This proved to be a popular question on this section of the paper and by and large was well done. The best answers traced the historical development of feminist theology from the beginnings of the movement at the end of the 19th century. Several students made clear and accurate reference to the development of the feminist theology movement through the steps outlined by Grenz and Olson. The top Level answers made sure that they remained focused upon the development of feminist theology, rather than the development of feminism, the weaker answers often tended to do the reverse. There was evidence of clear and accurate reference to the writings of Daly, McFague, Radford Reuther to substantiate and exemplify points. The majority of answers were clear and well executed. 02 The question asked for an evaluation of the extent to which feminist theology as a movement had successfully promoted the place of women in the ordained ministry. In many cases this turned into a wider debate about the merits and demerits of the ordination of women in general, rather than focussing on the debate posed by the question. Some answers were confused and inaccurate about the place of women in the ordained ministry; others were prophetic in predicting the result of the debate in General Synod of the Church of England about the ordination of women to the episcopate. The best answers were those that remained tightly focused on the contribution of feminist theology to the ordination of women and how this manifested itself across various Christian traditions. Question 2 The Roman Catholic Church in the second part of the 20th century 03 For those who had studied the reasons for the calling of Second Vatican Council (Vatican II) accurately and in detail, the question proved very popular and well executed. The best answers referred to the effects of the legacy left by Vatican I, and the perception of the Catholic Church in the light of the Modernist crisis. Virtually all students who answered the question made clear and accurate reference to the desire and need for Aggiornamento expressed by John XXIII, and the more perceptive students examined reasons which responded to the already developing attitudes in the liturgical movement and the need to embrace a more modern attitude towards biblical studies. There were very few weak answers and it was clear that students had been well taught and were well-prepared for this type of question. 04 The debate of the effects on and benefits of Vatican II to the Roman Catholic Church were well rehearsed and tended to focus upon the effects on the liturgy and Biblical studies. Some of the better answers suggested that Vatican II went only part of the way in updating the Catholic Church and many expressed clearly and accurately why they felt that Vatican II could be regarded as a missed opportunity, and could exemplify this with good examples that pushed beyond reference to the liturgy and Biblical studies, to include the attitudes towards Liberation Theology and other areas which were left unsuccessfully resolved. Again it was clear from the answers seen that students had been well taught and well prepared for this type of question. 3 of 7

4 Question 3 New forms of Christian fundamentalism in the second half of the 20th century 05 This question and 06 tended to attract students with a wider range of ability. Two moral issues were highlighted by the question, abortion and gay rights, and both needed to be successfully addressed for students to progress beyond Level 5. Many students wrote at length about one issue only, often reading the question as and either / or rather than a both / and style question. Students wrote well in virtually every case about fundamentalist attitudes towards abortion and could make some very effective links between fundamentalist attitudes about abortion and fundamentalist attitudes about sexual behaviour and promiscuity in general. There was also some effective and accurate reference to fundamentalist attitudes to abortion derived from their understanding of scripture in most answers. Attitudes towards gay rights proved the more difficult issue for many where they had tackled both issues as demanded, and others just focused their answers on abortion. Answers on attitudes towards gay rights tended to be narrow but correct and concentrated on reference to the biblical Levitical laws, the general rejection of homosexuality and the resulting in demands for gender re-education, without looking much beyond these areas as highlighted by the mark scheme. 06 The range of responses here was possibly the greatest among all the evaluation questions on this paper. The best answers focused on the attractions of other areas such as community identity, liturgical styles and eschatological teachings, and many saw these as being more appealing in the wider expression of fundamentalism and why this attracted a young and growing population and could balance these against accurate arguments supporting the view expressed in the statement arriving at a reasoned conclusion. Weaker responses tended to side with the view expressed and could provide clear reasons for supporting such a view but provided very little effective counter argument or debate, resulting in developed but very one-sided answers. Question 4 Black-led churches in the UK today 07 Those who chose to answer this question did so well and it was very clear that students had been well taught and well prepared for this topic. There were very few weak answers and some of the best answers wrote at length and very accurately about both the sociological needs and the theological reasons why black-led churches developed and the variety of theological needs that became evident across a variety of examples. These students had a strong foundation when they came to the evaluation section in The best answers for this question demonstrated excellent evaluation skills and almost encyclopaedic knowledge of the theological needs of various groups which they could effectively balance against the more obvious sociological factors associated with the development of blackled churches. Most students could supply good factual examples to substantiate their views in debating the issue. The biggest single factor in determining the difference between a very good answer and a weaker one often came down to the conclusion reached and how the argument led towards this. The best answers gave conclusions that provided evidence of An appropriate evaluation supported by reasoned argument. 4 of 7

5 Section B Religion and Art Question 5 Iconography in the Orthodox Church 09 The question asked students to examine the defence of icons as proposed by John of Damascus. One or two students mistakenly focused on the defence of icons as proposed by the Seventh Ecumenical Council 787 AD (Nicea II) rather than specifically on the earlier defence proposed by John of Damascus. Other students managed to get their chronology wrong suggesting that John of Damascus not only called the Seventh Ecumenical Council but was also a leading participant at it. Those that did focus precisely on the defence of John of Damascus tended to do so exceptionally well and several students wrote excellent and very full answers which provided not only a thorough examination of why there was a need to defend icons in the light of the rise of Islam and the ideas held by Paulicians and Monophysite theologies and then went on to develop and thoroughly examine the theological defence of icons as proposed by John of Damascus. Several could provide clear evidence of and quotations from the writings of John of Damascus to substantiate their points. Invariably such answers were into the top two levels with ease and several managed to gain full marks. 10 The weakest answers in this section tended to go off at a tangent and discuss the idea of icons in a very popular sense referring to images of Marilyn Monroe or James Dean, these failed to grasp the thrust of the evaluation posed and scored very few marks. The majority of answers were able to take the idea of icons as being sacramental images and developed this to good effect, or that icons possessed sacred status and were painted to a convention and thus an icon writer did not have the freedom of expression associated with normal religious art. There were several potentially very good answers that were marred by a lack of time management and the potential which was clearly evident in what had been written failed to come to fruition. 5 of 7

6 Question 6 Protestant art of the Reformation 11 This question allowed students a very wide choice in selecting art that addressed the question set. The best answers pushed beyond merely the named examples in the specification and included the Cranach altarpieces at Weimar Schneeberg and Wittenberg, and other works of Lucas Cranach such as Law and Grace and his illustrations for Melancthon s Passional Christi und Anti Christi. It was very clear from many of the answers seen that students had a good knowledge of the works of Bonnie Noble on Lucas Cranach and The Serpent and the Lamb by Steven Ozment. The key to providing full and thorough answers to the question was the requirement for students to push beyond merely the named Cranach paintings in the specification and to include the use of woodcuts both those that positively promoted Lutheran / Protestant teaching and those which attacked the excesses and the corruption of the Catholic Church. 12 If the AO1 section of this question was usually well done by the majority of students the reverse was true for the AO2 section. The weakest answers merely suggested that the art of the Reformation was time limited and no longer of any relevance either artistically, historically or theologically. However there were students who took those three headings and provided some excellent balanced and reasoned answers. Several commented upon the art which attacked the Catholic Church and evaluated this against attitudes towards certain areas of the Catholic Church today in the light of recent scandals, others took a more theological line often using Law and Grace as a working example. These answers were in the main very good. Question 7 Catholic art of the Counter-Reformation 13 The answer expected not just a list of the key works of Bernini but a clear indication of how these works reflected the teachings of the Catholic Reformation. The selection of works which illustrated these points was vital and the key theological points of the Catholic Church as an agent of salvation, the power of the papacy, the efficacy of saints and relics, the legitimacy of the Petrine succession and the importance of the mass, were all expected to be dealt with effectively and by use of good examples. It was perfectly possible for students to confine their answers to the works of Bernini in St Peter s Rome and many did to varying degrees of success. Even where students had good knowledge of a variety of Bernini s works, the weaker answers fell into a rather descriptive mode rather than offering any clear analysis of how Bernini s art reflected the theological teachings of the Catholic Church. 14 Those who knew Bernini s biographical details well were able to engage with the fact that as a Catholic layman who followed the Ignatian Spiritual exercises Bernini s art was more than just an expression of the orders of his patrons but was in many cases a reflection of his own beliefs too. The best answers ran with this and offered some excellent balanced and reasoned arguments that debated whether it was merely a reflection of his faith or a desire to express both his own faith and the wishes of his Catholic patrons. 6 of 7

7 Question 8 Pre-Raphaelite religious art 15 Students were asked to comment upon Holman Hunt s use of religious imagery in either The Shadow of Death or The Finding of the Saviour in the Temple. Of the two works The Shadow of Death proved to be the most popular though arguably the least well done. Weaker responses merely described the painting and listed some of the key religious imagery used without any further examination or analysis, and in many cases there were some interesting and inaccurate attempts at invention which scored no credit. The best answers in regard to the question related the imagery used back to the biblical texts, especially the Christological hymn in Philippians 2, the gospel expressions of Jesus as the carpenter, and accurate reference to the unseen horror on Mary s face reflecting the prophetic utterance of Simeon to Mary in the Temple (Luke 2:35). Students who opted to answer on the Finding of the Saviour in the Temple tended to produce more analytical and developed answers. Of these, the best examined the imagery on the frame as a crucial part of their analysis in preparing the viewer for the purpose of the imagery used in the image before going on to analyse the religious imagery used in the actual painting. The best students had clearly had access to works of Jacobi and Barringer, and wrote intelligently and analytically without falling into a basic descriptive mode. Such answers were able to highlight a particular image and then provide clear biblical or theological reflection upon it; these were the hallmarks of top level answers. 16 Most students were able to offer some sound structured and balanced argument in response to this evaluation question. Most made reference to other works of Holman Hunt named on the specification, such as The Scapegoat and The Light of the World, and others pushed beyond those named in the specification to include The Hireling Shepherd The awakening conscience or A Christian family sheltering a priest from Druids. Where students had examined the various types of symbolism used by Holman Hunt (symbolic realism, typological, and / or allegorical symbolism) they were able to provide some good and well-constructed arguments and arrived at a conclusion clearly based on the arguments presented, balancing full understanding derived from a process of decoding against a basic understanding that could be derived from a casual viewing. 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 7 of 7