Religious Upbringing Unit 1 Believing in God

Lesson aims To investigate a religious upbringing in Christianity. To explore why a religious upbringing may lead to belief in God. To look at exam technique.

Learning outcomes By the end of this lesson you should be able to: explain the effects of a religious upbringing explain your own opinion about a religious upbringing and explain why some people may disagree with you.

Lesson Outcomes You will work with your partner to decide the difference between a non-Christian upbringing and a Christian upbringing and complete page 5 of your workbook. You will then completed 6 of your workbooks on how a Christian upbringing leads to a belief in God. You will complete an 8 mark question on religious upbringing. At the end of this lesson I would like to look at the tests and some example answers to help you understand where some of you went wrong.

1.1 Starter In pairs make a list of things that a child brought up in a Christian family would do that a child brought up in a non-Christian family would not do. There is a table for you to complete on pg 5 of your booklet.

How does a Christian upbringing support belief in God? Teaching – Children will believe their parents and therefore believe in God. Praying – Children will believe that God is listening to them. Why would their parents pray if God did not exist. Going to church – Children will see many other people worshipping God and will become part of this community. Sunday School – Children will learn more about the Bible and the teachings of Jesus. Church School – God and Christianity would be a normal part of school life. Confirmation – Baptism is a welcome into the church, during confirmation the child learns more about God and about being a Christian. They may have a religious experience when the Bishop blesses them.

Summary Having a religious upbringing is likely to lead to belief in God because children are taught that God exists and they spend most of their time with people who believe that God exists. Please copy this summary into your booklets.

1.1 Explain how a religious upbringing can lead to, or support, belief in God. (8) To answer this question you should name four features of a religious upbringing and explain, in two or three sentences for each, how each feature might lead to belief in God. You should write four paragraphs, each taking this form: ‘One feature of a Christian religious upbringing is likely to be … This could lead to belief in God because ….’ Remember your Quality of Written Communication will be assessed in your answer.

Exam Focus Explain questions (part C) are where your Quality of Written Communication is Tested (they have an *), so you should: answer these questions in a formal style of English be careful with your spelling not use bullet points or slang try to use some specialist vocabulary.

Question C: Explain how a religious upbringing can lead to, or support, belief in God. Answer 1: Christians usually teach their children to pray to God. This will make the children believe that God exists because otherwise their parents would not want them to pray to him. Level 1: 2 marks for a reason expressed in basic English. Question C: 8 marks

Question C: Explain how a religious upbringing can lead to, or support, belief in God. Answer 2: Christians usually teach their children to pray to God. This will make the children believe that God exists because otherwise their parents would not want them to pray to him. If God did not exist, they and their parents would not waste their time praying to nothing. Also they may feel God’s presence when they pray. So because they’ve been brought up to pray, they believe that God must exist. Level 2: by developing the reason, the answer goes up to level 2 and because the answer is written in clear English it would gain 4 marks. Question C: 8 marks

Answer 3: Christians usually teach their children to pray to God. This will make the children believe that God exists because otherwise their parents would not want them to pray to him. If God did not exist, they and their parents would not waste their time praying to nothing. Also they may feel God’s presence when they pray. So because they’ve been brought up to pray, they believe that God must exist. Another feature of a Christian upbringing is going to church. When children go to church they see lots of people praying to God and worshipping God and this is bound to make them think that God must exist because all these people believe he does. Level 3: by adding another reason the answer moves up to level 3 and because the answer is written in a clear style of English with some use of specialist vocabulary (pray, God’s presence, church, worship) it would gain 6 marks. Question C: 8 marks

Answer 4: Christians usually teach their children to pray to God. This will make the children believe that God exists because otherwise their parents would not want them to pray to him. If God did not exist, they and their parents would not waste their time praying to nothing. Also they may feel God’s presence when they pray. So because they’ve been brought up to pray, they believe that God must exist. Another feature of a Christian upbringing is going to church. When children go to church they see lots of people praying to God and worshipping God and this is bound to make them think that God must exist because all these people believe he does. Many Christian parents also send their children to a Church school. Here they will have RE lessons which teach them that God exists and the children are likely to believe it because their teachers tell them it is true. Level 4: by adding a further reason, the answer moves up to level 4 and because it is written in a clear and correct style of English with extra specialist vocabulary (church school, RE lessons) it would gain 8 marks – full marks. Question C: 8 marks

Test Results When you get your test back have a look through the marking, also look at your neighbour’s test. (give out question papers as well). We will look at some example answers. Please make some notes on how you could improve your answers. This applies even if you got full marks!

Question B: Do you think contraception should be used? Give two reasons for your point of view. Answer 1: Yes I do because there is nothing in the Bible which forbids it. This would get 1 mark for giving one reason. Answer 2: Yes I do because there is nothing in the Bible which forbids it. If it is not banned in the Bible, Christians can use it. By developing the reason the answer moves up to 2 marks. Question B: 4 marks

Question B: Do you think contraception should be used? Give two reasons for your point of view. Answer 3: Yes I do because there is nothing in the Bible which forbids it. If it is not banned in the Bible, Christians can use it. Also contraception makes families happier. The answer now gives another reason and so it moves up to 3 marks. Answer 4: Yes I do because there is nothing in the Bible which forbids it. If it is not banned in the Bible, Christians can use it. Also contraception makes families happier. The mother has time for the children because she is not pregnant all the time, and the family will have more money. By developing the second reason, the answer moves up to 4 marks for two developed reasons – full marks. Question B: 4 marks

Question C: Choose one religion other than Christianity and explain why family life is important in that religion. Answer 1: Family life is important in Islam because Islam teaches that the family was created by God to keep society together. If the family was created by God, it must be important. LEVEL 1: 2 marks for a reason expressed in basic English. Question C: 8 marks

Question C: Choose one religion other than Christianity and explain why family life is important in that religion. Answer 2: Family life is important in Islam because Islam teaches that the family was created by God to keep society together. If the family was created by God, it must be important. Muslims believe that the family is the only way approved by God to bring up children. Therefore the family must be important because society needs children. LEVEL 2: by developing the reason, the answer goes up to level 2 and because the answer is written in clear English it would gain 4 marks. Question C: 8 marks

Answer 3: Family life is important in Islam because Islam teaches that the family was created by God to keep society together. If the family was created by God, it must be important. Muslims believe that the family is the only way approved by God to bring up children. Therefore the family must be important because society needs children. Muslims also believe the family is important because it is in the family that children learn about Islam and are taught how to follow the Five Pillars, by praying at home; giving zakah, fasting in Ramadan and learning about hajj. LEVEL 3: by adding another reason the answer moves up to level 3 and because the answer is written in a clear style of English with some use of specialist vocabulary (Five Pillars, zakah, Ramadan, hajj) it would gain 6 marks. Question C: 8 marks

Answer 4: Family life is important in Islam because Islam teaches that the family was created by God to keep society together. If the family was created by God, it must be important. Muslims believe that the family is the only way approved by God to bring up children. Therefore the family must be important because society needs children. Muslims also believe the family is important because it is in the family that children learn about Islam and are taught how to follow the Five Pillars, by praying at home; giving zakah, fasting in Ramadan and learning about hajj. Perhaps the main reason why the family is important in Islam is because all Muslims try to follow the example of the prophet Muhammad. Muhammad was married and had a family and so it is very important for Muslims also to marry and have a family. LEVEL 4: by adding a further reason, the answer moves up to level 4 and because it is written in a clear and correct style of English with more specialist vocabulary (prophet, Muhammad, example) it would gain 8 marks – full marks. Question C: 8 marks