Good Learning Co.
SavannahYear 8
← Religion & Worldviews
Religion & WorldviewsNon-religious worldviews and big questions25 min★★ difficulty

Investigating a question about belief

RE is a subject with methods. You can investigate a question about belief with the same care a historian or a social scientist would use.

Lesson overview

What you'll learn in this lesson

Use sources, testimony and data to investigate a question about belief

Key learning points

  • • Types of evidence
  • • Asking a researchable question
  • • Handling data honestly

This lesson at a glance

  • 25 minutes
  • 16 parts to scroll through
  • 4 quick checks
  • Marked quiz at the end
  • Gentle pace: short sittings with pauses

Words to know

sourcestestimonyinvestigatequestionbelief

Scroll down — the lesson carries on below

Part 1 of 16 · Discover6%
1

Watch & discover

Part 1 of 16

Watch first

Investigating a question about belief

An English teaching video on this topic from A World Without. Watch it, then scroll down for the lesson.

In a nutshell

Use sources, testimony and data to investigate a question about belief

2

Learning cycle

Part 2 of 16

Learning cycle 1 of 2

Part 1 · Types of evidence

A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.

3

Explore the idea

Part 3 of 16

Learn

Types of evidence

Sacred texts show teaching. Buildings and objects show what a community invests in. Interviews show individual experience. Census and survey data show patterns across a population. Each answers a different sort of question, and none answers all of them.

4

Explore the idea

Part 4 of 16

Learn

Asking a researchable question

'Is religion true?' cannot be settled by evidence. 'Has religious affiliation changed in England and Wales since 2001?' can. A good enquiry question names what will be measured or examined and over what period.

5

Quick check

Part 5 of 16

Quick check

Which question can evidence answer?

6

Quick check

Part 6 of 16

Quick check

What does a census question measure?

7

Reset break

Part 7 of 16

Pause

That's sitting 1 of 2 done

Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.

Stop here for now
8

Learning cycle

Part 8 of 16

Learning cycle 2 of 2

Part 2 · Handling data honestly

A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.

9

Explore the idea

Part 9 of 16

Learn

Handling data honestly

Say who collected the data and when, whether the sample was representative, and what the question asked. A census records what people tick, which is affiliation, not belief or practice — three different things that are often confused.

10

Quick check

Part 10 of 16

Quick check

Why note who collected data and when?

11

Quick check

Part 11 of 16

Quick check

What does a place of worship's design tell you?

12

Explore the idea

Part 12 of 16

Worked example

Worked example: judging a claim

Claim: 'Britain is no longer religious.' Census data show the proportion ticking 'no religion' rising sharply, so affiliation has fallen. But affiliation is not the same as belief or practice, and other faith groups have grown. Honest conclusion: identification with Christianity has declined markedly while religious diversity has increased — the original claim is too blunt.

13

Challenge round

Part 13 of 16

Game · Sort it

Which of these are true?

Drag each card into the right column. Tap a card first if dragging is fiddly.

True

Not true

14

Challenge round

Part 14 of 16

Game · Fill the gaps

Finish the sentences

Choose the word that belongs in each gap.

Each answers a different sort of ____, and none answers all of them.

A census records what people tick, which is affiliation, not ____ or practice — three different things that are often confused.

15

Mastery quiz

Part 15 of 16

Marked quiz

End of lesson quiz: Investigating a question about belief

4 questions, marked with the reasoning shown. No timer.

  1. 1. Which question can evidence answer?

  2. 2. What does a census question measure?

  3. 3. Why note who collected data and when?

  4. 4. What does a place of worship's design tell you?

16

Lesson round-up

Part 16 of 16

Lesson round-up

Ready when you are

Quiz score

Not sat

Games

Not played

Points this lesson

0

Best run

0 in a row

Luna: 0 out of 4 on the practice checks. Only if you feel up to it — one more?

Ask Luna

Do the work

Your written work for this lesson

This is the part you'd do in your book at school. Pick the pieces below, write here or on paper, and photograph anything you draw or work out.

Source

Two teachings on forgiveness

In Christian teaching, Jesus is asked how many times a person should forgive. He answers not seven times but seventy-seven — meaning forgiveness should not be counted at all. The Lord's Prayer links the two directions together: forgive us as we forgive others.

In Islamic teaching, one of the names of God is al-Ghaffar, the Ever-Forgiving. Muslims are taught that God's mercy is greater than any wrong a person can do, and that those who pardon others are closer to God than those who take revenge.

Both traditions distinguish forgiving from forgetting. A person may forgive and still expect justice, and may seek safety from someone who has harmed them.

Original paraphrases written for Good Learning Co.

Reading questions

  1. What does each teaching say about how far forgiveness should go?
  2. Explain how a believer might use one of these teachings after being hurt by a friend.
  3. "Forgiving someone means letting them off." Give two views on this and say which is stronger, with reasons.

  • Reading and response

    Reading

    Read the lesson text again — especially any scripture, story or quotation — then write what it teaches and how a believer would use it.

    2 paragraphs (PEE)

  • Extended writing

    Writing

    Answer the lesson's big question as an exam answer would: a clear view, a reason, a teaching or example as evidence, and a different view weighed against yours.

    250–350 words

  • Belief in your own words

    Writing

    Explain what this belief means and give one example of how it changes what people do.

    8–10 sentences

  • Different views

    Writing

    Write two different views on this question and say which you find stronger, and why.

    2 paragraphs

  • Symbol or belief diagram

    Diagram

    Draw the symbol, place of worship or idea from this lesson with labels explaining what each part means, then photograph it.

    1 labelled drawing

Saved as you type.

Part 1 of 16 · Watch & discover

Good Learning Co. — personalised UK curriculum learning, built around what each learner loves.