From reading this list, it may be shocking to some people what I wouldn't know if it weren't for learning about them in RE. However, that's the point. People don't realise just how important RE is.
Before you read these reasons, I suppose you should know the GCSEs I do. With the things I wouldn't know without RE, I suppose Gove would guess I only take 'soft' subjects; he'd be wrong. I take the following subjects at GCSE: English Language (A*), Mathematics (C), Core Science (B), Additional Science, ICT (A*), Further ICT (A*), English Literature, Religious Studies, History, Geography and Media. (Grades included for those subjects I have already gained qualifications in - just to give an indication as to where I am academically).
From my subjects, the 'soft' subjects are Media, and, outrageously, Religious Studies. It's not as though I haven't finished the courses, either, as 2 days ago (15/06/11), I sat my last GCSE exams, and now I'm done - that's it. My GCSE education - other than RE - had not contained the following things. It's safe to say that, without RE (in particular, GCSE RE), I wouldn't know about any of the following:
1) the names of the six main world religions, and their key beliefs
2) the voting system in the UK (Gove, that one's for you)
3) why some people don't believe in God
4) what is euthanasia, and its arguments for and against
5) that some people believe suffering has a purpose
6) how can we conserve the environment? (Not even Geography or Biology taught me that one...)
7) examples of human rights and why they're important
8) that there are different views on when life begins
9) UK laws on abortion
10) animal rights
11) that many religious people accept scientific explanations for the existence of the universe (again, probably for Gove, but also for Dawkins)
12) the aims of punishment
13) the controversy of capital punishment (and the laws regarding its use world-wide)
14) the just war theory
15) the idea of situation ethics (how lots of people choose to live their lives)
16) the existence or work of Amnesty International
17) theodicy
18) UK laws on drugs, alcohol and tobacco
19) who Martin Luther King Junior was, and what he did (we didn't even study that in History - yet it's vital to learn about the work of this man)
20) utilitarianism as a practical theory for life
21) what have the Government done to work towards community cohesion in the UK?
22) UK law on divorce
23) the causes of world poverty
24) how can the appearance of the world lead some people to theism?
25) why do wars occur?
RE is a huge part of who I am as a person. Without it, seeing as I wouldn't know these things, would I not be a completely different person? I can't help but think that would be the case. Don't let Gove exclude RE from the EBacc - write to your MP to sign EDM 1375 today. We need RE.
Before you read these reasons, I suppose you should know the GCSEs I do. With the things I wouldn't know without RE, I suppose Gove would guess I only take 'soft' subjects; he'd be wrong. I take the following subjects at GCSE: English Language (A*), Mathematics (C), Core Science (B), Additional Science, ICT (A*), Further ICT (A*), English Literature, Religious Studies, History, Geography and Media. (Grades included for those subjects I have already gained qualifications in - just to give an indication as to where I am academically).
From my subjects, the 'soft' subjects are Media, and, outrageously, Religious Studies. It's not as though I haven't finished the courses, either, as 2 days ago (15/06/11), I sat my last GCSE exams, and now I'm done - that's it. My GCSE education - other than RE - had not contained the following things. It's safe to say that, without RE (in particular, GCSE RE), I wouldn't know about any of the following:
1) the names of the six main world religions, and their key beliefs
2) the voting system in the UK (Gove, that one's for you)
3) why some people don't believe in God
4) what is euthanasia, and its arguments for and against
5) that some people believe suffering has a purpose
6) how can we conserve the environment? (Not even Geography or Biology taught me that one...)
7) examples of human rights and why they're important
8) that there are different views on when life begins
9) UK laws on abortion
10) animal rights
11) that many religious people accept scientific explanations for the existence of the universe (again, probably for Gove, but also for Dawkins)
12) the aims of punishment
13) the controversy of capital punishment (and the laws regarding its use world-wide)
14) the just war theory
15) the idea of situation ethics (how lots of people choose to live their lives)
16) the existence or work of Amnesty International
17) theodicy
18) UK laws on drugs, alcohol and tobacco
19) who Martin Luther King Junior was, and what he did (we didn't even study that in History - yet it's vital to learn about the work of this man)
20) utilitarianism as a practical theory for life
21) what have the Government done to work towards community cohesion in the UK?
22) UK law on divorce
23) the causes of world poverty
24) how can the appearance of the world lead some people to theism?
25) why do wars occur?
RE is a huge part of who I am as a person. Without it, seeing as I wouldn't know these things, would I not be a completely different person? I can't help but think that would be the case. Don't let Gove exclude RE from the EBacc - write to your MP to sign EDM 1375 today. We need RE.
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