RE - Religious Education

Question 1

empiricism

Answer 1

The theory that knowledge is gained through our five senses

Question 2

rationalism

Answer 2

The theory that knowledge is gained through reason

Question 3

the Realm of Forms

Answer 3

Plato’s name for a perfect realm where our souls previously lived

Question 4

the Realm of Appearances

Answer 4

Plato’s name fore the world in which we live

Question 5

the First Certainty

Answer 5

‘I think, therefore I am’ Descartes realisation that the fact he thinks shows that his mind must exist

Question 6

empiricism

Answer 6

The theory that knowledge is gained through our five senses

Question 7

the Trademark argument

Answer 7

Descartes’ argument that humans are born with the idea of God imprinted on their minds

Question 8

The First Cause argument

Answer 8

The argument that everything in the universe needs a cause and so the universe also needs a cause which is God

Question 9

Infinite regress

Answer 9

An endless sequence of causes with no beginning

Question 10

Logical fallacy

Answer 10

A statement that is logically flawed

Question 11

the fallacy of composition

Answer 11

An argument that wrongly claims that what is true of something’s parts must also be true of the whole thing

Question 12

the Trademark argument

Answer 12

Descartes’ argument that humans are born with the idea of God imprinted on their minds

Question 13

the Design or teleological argument

Answer 13

The argument that the world looks designed and so has a designer- God

Question 14

miracle

Answer 14

An event which is not explainable naturally and so is seen as an act of a god or gods

Question 15

Gospels

Answer 15

The first four books of the New Testament in the Bible, which describe the life and teachings of Jesus

Question 16

evolution by natural selection

Answer 16

The theory that over millions of years all life evolved (developed) from a common ancestor through gradual changes over millions of years

Question 17

creationist

Answer 17

Someone who believes that God created the world in six days as described in Genesis

Question 18

the Design or teleological argument

Answer 18

The argument that the world looks designed and so has a designer- God

Question 19

myth

Answer 19

A story that is not historically accurate, but contains spiritual truth

Question 20

theistic evolution

Answer 20

The belief that God started the process of evolution and uses it to bring about life

Question 21

atheist

Answer 21

Someone who does not believe the existence of a god or gods

Question 22

psychologist

Answer 22

Someone who studies human behaviour

Question 23

wish-fulfilment hypothesis

Answer 23

Freud’s theory that religion is invented by humans to satisfy our desire for a father, fairness and immortality

Question 24

working class

Answer 24

According to Marx, the mass of poor people who work for (and are oppressed by) the ruling class

Question 25

ruling class

Answer 25

According to Marx, the minority of rich and powerful people, such as factory owners

Question 26

false consciousness

Answer 26

A term used by Marx to describe a way of thinking that stops the working class from seeing how they are being oppressed

Question 27

class consciousness

Answer 27

A term used by Marx to mean the working class becoming aware they are being oppressed

Question 28

oppress

Answer 28

Use power to keep someone in a bad situation

Question 29

opium of the people

Answer 29

A phrase used by Marx comparing religion to opium, an addictive, painkilling and vision-creating drug

Question 30

revolution

Answer 30

Overthrowing those in power in order to cause change

Question 31

apophatic theology

Answer 31

The view that God cannot be accurately described in positive language, only by saying what God is not

Question 32

faith

Answer 32

Belief or trust in something that cannot be proven

Question 33

nones

Answer 33

A term used by sociologists (people who study society) to describe the diverse group of people with no religion, including atheists, agnostics and those who are spiritual but not religious

Question 34

agnostic

Answer 34

Someone who does not know whether there is a god or gods

Question 35

Humanist

Answer 35

An atheist who believes that science and our shared human reason and compassion should guide how we live the one life that we have

Question 36

Plato

Answer 36

Ancient Greek philosopher who claimed that knowledge is gained through using reason (rationalism)

Question 37

Aristotle

Answer 37

Ancient Greek philosopher and student of Plato who thought that knowledge is gained through our senses (empiricism)

Question 38

René Descartes

Answer 38

16th century French philosopher who claimed that his ability to think proved he must exist

Question 39

Thomas Aquinas

Answer 39

13th century philosopher whose Summa Theologica outlines his ‘Five Ways’ of demonstrating that faith in God is reasonable, including the First Cause argument

Question 40

David Hume

Answer 40

18th century Scottish philosopher who criticised the first cause and design arguments and belief in miracles

Question 42

William Paley

Answer 42

18th century English philosopher and priest who compared the world to a watch in his version of the design argument

Question 43

Charles Darwin

Answer 43

19th century scientist and author of On the Origin of Species in 1859, which outlined his theory of evolution by natural selection

Question 44

Freud

Answer 44

psychologist who claimed in his wish-fulfilment hypothesis that humans invent religion to satisfy their desires for a father, fairness and immortality

Question 45

Karl Marx

Answer 45

19th century German philosopher who described religion as the ‘opium of the people’, used by the ruling class to exploit and oppress the working class

Question 46

the New Atheists

Answer 46

Four modern writers from the UK and USA (including Richard Dawkins, author of The God Delusion) who criticise faith and argue that science and reason can answer all questions about the universe

Question 47

Blaise Pascal

Answer 47

17th century French philosopher who argued that, when deciding whether or not God exists, it is more sensible to gamble that he does because of the potential reward in the afterlife (known as Pascal’s Wager)