Introduction to the Study of Religion provides an overview of the different methodological approaches to the study of religion. You will study the main attempts to define religion and to engage in the debates surrounding such definitions. You will engage in multi-disciplinary approaches to the idea of religion through the traditional fields of historical, anthropological, philosophical, sociological and textual studies. In addition, you will examine religion in more contemporary fields such as the visual arts, politics, environmentalism, psychology and gender.

Introduction to the Sacred provides you with an opportunity to analyse concepts such as ‘religious experience’, ‘spirituality’, ‘revelation’ and ‘Mysticism’. The module draws on studies in psychology, anthropology, theology, esoteric philosophy and a range of wisdom traditions. It will provide you with a framework in which to investigate non-rational forms of knowing and the epistemology of religious experience.

Eastern Dharma provides you with a philosophical and theological survey of the significant religious traditions of the east. You will focus on the Dharmic traditions emanating from India as the modules addresses the central aspects of Buddhism, Hinduism and Sikhism. You will also examine the interaction between individuals and communities in diverse and complex religious settings both globally and in modern Britain.

Abrahamic Traditions provides you with a philosophical and theological survey of the significant religious traditions of the west, introducing the three major Abrahamic traditions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. By looking at core beliefs, practices and texts, the module examines key developments and shared aspects of the formation of the Abrahamic Traditions up to modern times. The module will also investigate the concept of a shared ‘Abrahamic Tradition’ and explore key similarities and differences between the three faiths through an exploration of selected themes such as ‘the Oneness of God’, ‘Salvation’ and ‘the Afterlife”.

Professional Practice 1A provides an initial professional practice experience in a secondary school with an additional short placement in a primary setting. Initial professional practice is based upon observation and practical experience. You will have frequent opportunities to observe experienced teachers in the classroom, in addition to shadowing pupils and staff. The school’s safeguarding processes will also be explained. The placement will enable you to carry out a variety of school-based tasks, participate in lessons under your mentor’s supervision, and gradually increase your responsibility for both planning and teaching.

Personal and Professional Conduct – Transition into Higher Education and the Teaching Profession equips you with the required academic study skills for Higher Education and the necessary professional vocational skills for your teaching experience. The module will also raise your wider professional awareness of the importance of secondary teaching. The aim is to encourage you to make purposeful links between theoretical understanding, the implementation of national policies and initiatives, and your practice-based experiences. Self-evaluation, reflection and the setting of professional development targets are key features of the module.

Principles, Pedagogy and Planning in Religious Education introduces subject-specific professional responsibilities for Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4, covering lesson preparation, delivery, evaluation and pupil assessment. The module enables you to develop the required professional vocational skills and knowledge for your teaching experience, working towards effective classroom delivery for all pupils. This will include an introduction to how to plan and deliver effective and well-structured lessons which promote a love of learning and encourage children’s intellectual curiosity. You will discover how to plan for the effective use of homework and other out-of-class activities to consolidate and extend pupil knowledge.

Professional Practice 1B allows you to prepare for, and subsequently complete, a placement in which you will undertake up to 50% of a full teaching timetable, comprising observation, small group or whole class teaching with your mentor or another trainee, and solo teaching as appropriate. You will have responsibility for planning lessons or parts of lessons, maintaining sound discipline, ensuring appropriate teaching methods are used, assessing learners’ progress, and making written evaluations of your own teaching. You will also be expected to take a full role in the wider life of the school, participating in tutor work, pastoral care, extra-curricular activities, professional development opportunities, parents’ evenings and school events.

Personal and Professional Conduct – Legal Requirements for Professional Practice helps you to understand the required professional conduct, duties and responsibilities of a secondary teacher. The aim is to encourage you to make purposeful links between theoretical understanding, the implementation of national policies and initiatives, and your practice-based experiences. Self-evaluation, reflection and the setting of professional development targets are key features of the module.

Creative Medium Term Planning and Teaching in Religious Education enables you to consider effective teaching in religious education, through the discussion and evaluation of alternative approaches. In addition, the module will analyse the role of religious education in the curriculum and examine how it contributes to a range of whole-school issues. There will be a clear focus on the planning, teaching and assessment cycle, which lies at the heart of the most effective professional practice, and on evaluation and review, which lies at the heart of ongoing professional development.

Educational Research Methods for School Improvement provides you with an introduction to qualitative and quantitative educational research methods for personal and school improvement. The reading and assessment of publications, combined with reflection on methodological issues, forms a key element of the module. You will formulate a research plan which provides an excellent foundation if you wish to pursue higher degree study or further research work in the future. The module will demonstrate the need to keep up to date with both research and development in knowledge and pedagogy in your chosen subject area and encourage you to critically evaluate your own learning.

Ethnography: Living with Religions draws upon the academic heritage of post-war religious studies and interpretative qualitative research. The module requires you to critically engage with religion as it is lived and experienced by practitioners. It presents religion as a plural and complex reality shaping the beliefs, practices and lifestyles of human beings locally and globally. You will explore the theory and practice of the critical study of religion through consideration of methodologies such as ethnography, phenomenology, post positivism and related ethical issues such as ‘representation’ in the field of the empirical study of religion. You will take part in a three day ethnographically oriented field work investigation to explore the practices of a religious community.

The Bible in the Modern World introduces you to the various ways that biblical themes, images and characters have an enduring presence and influence within contemporary popular culture. By learning to analyse religious and biblical references found in music, film, TV, art, advertising and the media, you will discover that, even in today’s increasingly secular world, the Bible continues to both influence and be influenced by our cultural, political, and religious landscapes. You will explore key themes and passages in the Bible as a contemporary literary work and consider how it is used by society at large as a cultural artefact. You will explore how the Bible has been used by entertainers, politicians and others, assessing on the one hand how this has shaped Western society, while at the same time people’s understanding and interpretations of the Bible are shaped by popular culture.

Religion, Belief and Reason provides you with an introduction to some of the key debates in critical thinking that have shaped religious and atheistic thought. Perspectives from philosophy, psychology and critical social sciences will be investigated to provide you with the lens through which to explore the relationship between reason and religious belief. You will develop your critical thinking skills through an exploration of the central premises of theistic belief, reasoned philosophical argument in defence and in critique of religious belief through examination of the classical and modern versions of theistic proofs. You will consider the contributions of thinkers such as Aquinas, Kant, Descartes and Hume. The module also explores the contributions of psychoanalysis and social science to post-Enlightenment thinking about religion in order to consider claims about the irrational or ideological nature of religion.

Judaism presents Judaism as a fascinating historical religion which has a variety of forms of expression in modern society. An understanding of Judaism as the foundational, Abrahamic, monotheistic faith is a fundamental pre-requisite of studying religion in the West.  You will explore religious thought within Judaism in order to understand its integrity and diversity and grasp its integrative role in relation to lifestyles, practices and ethics. You will also analyse the historical, social, philosophical, cultural and artistic role of Judaism in diverse contexts. The module provides perspectives of both practitioners and non-practioners of Judaism, as well as exploring the tradition as plural, diverse, dynamic and evolving.

British Buddhism investigates Buddhism as both ancient and modern, global and local. The three jewels of Buddha, Dharma and Sangha provide the lens through which Buddhism will be explored, enabling you to develop critical knowledge and understanding of Buddhist history, doctrine and practice. A variety of traditional and modern sources will be explored including sutras, biographies of the Buddha and iconography. Investigation of contemporary forms of Buddhism provide a special focus linked to a small scale fieldwork study exploring pluralism within modern western Buddhism.

Religion in the 21st Century enables you to reflect upon your knowledge about religion in the key challenges and evolutions of religion in the 21st century and, on completion, you will be able to reflect critically on some of the major characteristics of religion in an informed way. You will explore a number of theoretical and methodological problems in the study of religion, and reflect on these in relation to a range of faith traditions such as Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Scientology and various paganisms.

Issues in Contemporary Islam recognises that with competing constructs of Islam dominating the domestic and international news agenda, a thorough understanding of the complex issues facing Islam is an essential aspect of religious education. A range of popular, stereotypical images come to mind when considering Islam in its contemporary setting. Questions raised about Islam often parallel similar questions raised globally among Muslims themselves about the decline of Islam and its place in the modern world. This is especially true of questions around the nature of the modern secular state and the degree to which religion has a role within it, both in Muslim majority societies and those in which Muslims constitute a minority. This module draws upon empirical research and a wide range of critical literature to enable you to develop an in-depth and critically reflective awareness of the challenging issues that have impacted upon Muslims through recent history.

Professional Practice 2 consists of a synoptic placement during which you will be required to undertake up to 70-75% of a teaching timetable, comprising observation, small group or whole class teaching with your mentor or another trainee, and solo teaching as appropriate. You will have responsibility for planning lessons or parts of lessons, considering the role of a scheme of work and developing it for a specific group of learners, maintaining sound discipline, ensuring appropriate teaching methods are used, assessing learners’ progress, and making written evaluations of your own teaching. You will also be expected to take a full role in the wider life of the school, participating in tutor work, pastoral care, extra-curricular activities, professional development opportunities, parents’ evenings and school events.

Personal and Professional Conduct – Employability equips you with the advanced academic study skills required for Higher Education and the necessary professional vocational skills for your professional practice. In addition, the module enables you to further your working knowledge of the standards for teachers’ conduct, enhance your employability, prepare for job applications and interviews, and understand what to expect from your year as a Newly Qualified Teacher. Self-evaluation, reflection and the setting of professional development targets are key features of the module.

Classroom Assessment and Target Setting Skills in Religious Education develops your understanding of assessment theory in relation to both formative and summative assessment practice in school. You will grade work against school-based and national benchmarks relevant to religious education studies, as well as developing strategies for giving meaningful feedback and targets to pupils in order to secure progression. The module also outlines the cycle of evaluation and review, examining its impact on future planning.

School Improvement Study in Religious Education enhances your skills in qualitative and quantitative educational research methods for personal and school improvement. The reading and assessment of publications, together with reflection on the design, implementation and critical evaluation of methodological issues, form key elements of the module. You will implement and evaluate a research plan during a professional placement and gain a strong foundation for potentially pursuing higher degree study or further research work in the future.

Professional Skills Tests have been removed from the entry criteria for September 2020 entry onwards. Details of the replacement for the tests are still to be announced, however they will be benchmarked against a defined set of English and Mathematics skills that students will be expected to have by the end of the course (rather than at the point of entry).

The Professional Skills Tests remain part of the entry requirements for September 2019 entry in line with Government policy.

REL1000 Introduction to the Study of Religion (20 credits), REL1001 Introduction to the Sacred (20 credits), REL1003 Eastern Dharma (20 credits) and REL1004 Abrahamic Traditions (20 credits) replace SUG1035 Beginning the Study of Religion (20 credits), SUG1036 The History of Christian Thought and Culture (20 credits), SUG1037 Hindu Dharma (20 credits) and SUG1038 Islam (20 credits) as compulsory modules in Year 1.

REL2000 Ethnography: Living with Religions (20 credits), REL2001 The Bible in the Modern World (20 credits), REL2002 Religion, Belief and Reason (20 credits) and REL2003 Judaism (20 credits) replace SUG2032 Judaism (20 credits), SUG2033 Old Testament Theology (20 credits) and SUG2034 Buddhist Dharma (20 credits) in Year 2. The four modules added are all optional.

REL3000 British Buddhism (20 credits), REL3002 Religion in the 21st Century (20 credits) and REL3005 Issues in Contemporary Islam (20 credits) replace SUG3037 New Testament Criticism (20 credits), SUG3038 Religion in the Twenty First Century (20 credits) and SUG3039 Silkhism and Jainism (20 credits) as compulsory modules in Year 3.

The wording of the entry criteria for the 2-year route around experience in secondary schools has been amended. The revised wording states that applicants are expected to have a commitment to, and understanding of, secondary education, demonstrating the personal attributes, values and motivation required to train as a teacher.