HSC Studies of Religion Question Thread

[henrychapman]

Hey!

Does anyone have some quick tips on how to prepare for SOR?

I have my trial on Monday, yet my teacher has been away and hasn't properly taught anything the whole year so I am under a bit of time constraints to learn all the content? What do you think the best approach would be now, considering I also have another trial the day after SOR?

Thanks

SOR is reasonably easy to study for because its basically just learning the syllabus... nothing can really be asked outside the 'learn to's"
I'd just make sure you have a really good understanding of all the syllabus points and for the religious traditions, have your sacred text/other quotes ready to go and then just make sure you know what they mean (you can just explain them on the spot in the exam).
If it helps you, maybe select the religious tradition at which you're most comfortable to write an essay in and then plan your study accordingly. Because if you know what you want to do, then you can study more for the essay for one (because you need more info) and a bit less for the short answers.
For the first topic, its just a matter of knowing the syllabus because its all multis and one short answer question. Make sure you go over this as these are the easiest marks to pick up and you don't want them to go begging !!
Best of luck 

[talitha_h]

Hi, regarding Religion and Non-Religion: for the dot point that requires us to investigate statistical data of the five major world religions, should I be looking at Judaism or Sikhism as the fifth religion? I think Sikhism has over taken Judaism?

[LegalEagle24/7]

Hi, regarding Religion and Non-Religion: for the dot point that requires us to investigate statistical data of the five major world religions, should I be looking at Judaism or Sikhism as the fifth religion? I think Sikhism has over taken Judaism?

Hi talitha_h,
I reckon you should do both even though Judaism has been quite steady over the years.

[Ellielh]

If I have a question on JUST inner peace, do I need to mention world peace at all? For my last assessment, my question was just on world peace, but my teacher said to mention inner peace as you have to have inner peace for world peace. If I do need to mention it, can it just be a sentence in my conclusion?
Thanks 

[elysepopplewell]

https://catholicoutlook.org/pillars-of-peace-abraham-conference/

If you're looking for an example of interfaith dialogue close to home - the annual Abraham Conference is held at WSU! Add this to your notes

[elysepopplewell]

If I have a question on JUST inner peace, do I need to mention world peace at all? For my last assessment, my question was just on world peace, but my teacher said to mention inner peace as you have to have inner peace for world peace. If I do need to mention it, can it just be a sentence in my conclusion?
Thanks 

Hi Ellielh!

I don't think you are required to discuss world peace in an inner peace essay, and if you are to talk about world peace too much you could be penalised for not focusing on what the question is asking of you. I also don't recommend throwing it in in the conclusion, because you shouldn't be introducing new things at the end or else it looks like a throwaway comment

[laurasalvaggio]

Hey there,
I was going through some past HSC papers and found the 2015 Christianity question to be about how the 'will of God' is portrayed by Paul of Tarsus.
I'm a bit confused on how to answer this as the practise response i usually base my answers off has to do with his contributions and impact to the expression of Christianity.
Would you be able to explain a couple of ways to incorporate how he portrays the will of God into a response about his contributions to Christianity?

Thankyou so much in advance

[jamonwindeyer]

Hey! I think it’s all about definition - If in the introduction, for example, you define the “will of God” as loving one another and following the Golden Rule, pretty much all of Paul’s teachings become relevant. Define the “will of God” as the growth of the Church, and all his contributions become relevant! It’s all about bending the words to suit you!

[AdmiralVictor]

Hey all! Just a quick question on how you would generally structure essays on the significant person and environmental ethics in Islam; would it make sense to do things this way? (these are separate)

A'isha - basically showing positive contributions and then contrasting with an adverse one
Paragraph 1: Theological contributions outlining spiritual and ethical demands of Islamic adherents - hadith, fiqh and Sharia law, interpretations of sacred texts help to make Islam more accessible and relevant - thus a foundational figure to its early development and spread
Paragraph 2: Role model - challenged stereotypes by showing role that women could have in Islamic society, strict application of Qu'ranic principles through Five Pillars modelling submission to Allah through devout expression (link briefly to Hajj and environmental ethics)
Paragraph 3: Political involvement in early Islamic history - responsible for division of Islam into Sunni and Shiite sects which has led to ongoing sectarian conflict, disrupting cohesion of faith as there are more inconsistencies and differences among adherents rather than unifying them (all her teachings are rejected by Shiite but accepted by Sunni)

Environmental ethics - the world is a physical manifestation of Allah underpinned by three core ideas of unity, stewardship, accountability
Paragraph 1: Tawhid in creation - all life is linked and equal creating a biocentric view and because the earth is a physical extension of Allah it must be conserved = form of worship, same reverence for Allah applied to environment
Paragraph 2: Role of khalifa - freedom to use resources for human needs but must have balance with environmental welfare, resource conservation and lifestyle of moderation, example of a group applying this today like climate change?
Paragraph 3: Accountability - all actions towards environmental will be rewarded and punished (akhira and akrah) creates boundaries for human behaviour and demands virtue from adherents; proactive in nurturing environment rather than abusing for personal gain

Sorry for the long post but the way my classes have gone there has been hardly any time for essay practice with my teachers..

[jamonwindeyer]

Hey all! Just a quick question on how you would generally structure essays on the significant person and environmental ethics in Islam; would it make sense to do things this way? (these are separate)

Welcome to the forums Admiral!

I did A'isha, and that looks like a great structure to me. I especially like the fact you are going with a bit of a negative spin on that last paragraph, I think that adds nuance to your argument really nicely. I didn't do environmental, but that also looks like a good structure!

Here is a guide on SOR essays, in case it is helpful, but it looks like you are all over it

[AdmiralVictor]

Welcome to the forums Admiral!

I did A'isha, and that looks like a great structure to me. I especially like the fact you are going with a bit of a negative spin on that last paragraph, I think that adds nuance to your argument really nicely. I didn't do environmental, but that also looks like a good structure!

Here is a guide on SOR essays, in case it is helpful, but it looks like you are all over it

Thanks for the feedback Jamon! But when you wrote essays for A'isha was there a particular structure you followed and did you also make links to the ethics and significant practice? Or even references to the articles of faith? Curious to see the different approaches that could be taken to it.

[jamonwindeyer]

Thanks for the feedback Jamon! But when you wrote essays for A'isha was there a particular structure you followed and did you also make links to the ethics and significant practice? Or even references to the articles of faith? Curious to see the different approaches that could be taken to it.

If it was just a question on significant person, I kept the focus there to try and answer the question as holistically as possible. I would sometimes structure it based on the principal beliefs, as that guide I linked you explains, but definitely never referenced the ethics/practice unless it was a response that required them to be integrated

[HannahJackson]

Hey!!!!
I went to the head start lecture and I've been trying to find the video's about kinship, moiety and totems. Can anyone let me know where I can find them??

Thanks!!!

[StephTol]

Hey!

I am really confused by the answer which is D for the 2015 Studies of Religion I paper. Could someone please explain the answer to me?

Thanks so much in advance!

[talitha_h]

Hey!

I am really confused by the answer which is D for the 2015 Studies of Religion I paper. Could someone please explain the answer to me?

Thanks so much in advance!

Hi there,

The answer is not A because most people in traditional churches tend not to switch denominations. Same for C.
This leaves B and D.
The answer could be D for a number of reasons. Firstly, people continue to seek a church that is engaging and applicable. Hence why B is an unlikely answer as someone already in a Pentecostal church would probably not switch back to a traditional church. D is the answer because it is most likely for people to enjoy modern Pentecostal churches for a short time and then get 'bored' of it and once again seek more engaging forms of worship.

I hope this helps, someone can correct me if I am wrong.