Religion, philosophy and ethics · GCSE Religious Studies
Religion and life
Origins of the universe and life, the environment, animals, abortion, euthanasia and death — sanctity of life meeting quality of life.
Sanctity of life is the religious starting point; quality of life is the challenge to it.
The important bits
What you need to know
- 1
Origins: Christian options include literal Genesis, intelligent design, and theistic evolution. Islam teaches creation by Allah (Qur’an 21:30’s “heavens and earth were a joined entity” is often compared, cautiously, with a beginning). Atheist/humanist: Big Bang and evolution without purpose.
- 2
Stewardship (khalifah in Islam; Genesis 2:15 “work it and take care of it”) versus dominion (Genesis 1:28) that some read as licence to exploit. Exam gold is stewardship plus a practical (CAFOD, Islamic Relief, carbon cuts).
- 3
Animals: humans as unique image-bearers or vicegerents, so animal life is respected but not equal in most traditional teaching. Issues: factory farming, experiments, fur. Islam requires dhabihah compassion in slaughter; wanton cruelty is forbidden.
- 4
Abortion: UK law (1967 Act, amended) permits abortion up to 24 weeks with two doctors’ agreement, later in strict conditions. Catholic teaching: life from conception, no direct abortion. Many Protestants allow tragic exceptions (rape, health). Islam: views vary by stage of ensoulment (often 40 or 120 days in classical texts) but generally oppose abortion as birth control.
- 5
Euthanasia: voluntary active euthanasia and assisted suicide are illegal in England and Wales (prosecution policy can be compassionate, the statute is not a right-to-die). Religious opposition: taking life belongs to God (Job 1:21; Qur’an 17:33). Quality-of-life and autonomy arguments come from humanists and some liberal believers; hospices are the religious alternative story.
- 6
Death: not the end in either religion (resurrection / akhirah), which changes how funerals, suicide and dying well are framed. Humanists often emphasise this-life meaning and memorial, not judgement.
- 7
Environment questions want causes (consumption, fossil fuels), religious reasons to care, and evaluation of whether religion has historically failed the planet.
- 8
Always define the act (active vs passive euthanasia; abortion vs contraception) before you moralise. Markers fail students who argue about the wrong thing.
Quotations worth analysing
Short evidence. Real method.
“The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.”
Stewardship, not strip-mining. Pair with dominion in Genesis 1:28 and argue which reading should win when climate and species loss are the context.
“Whoever kills a soul unless for a soul or for corruption [done] in the land — it is as if he had slain mankind entirely.”
A high view of each human life. Use in abortion, euthanasia, murder and terrorism questions, noting the legal exceptions the verse itself names.
Go deeper
Abortion: law, ensoulment and two goods in collision
The UK 24-week framework is a political compromise around viability, not a religious revelation. Catholic teaching (and many evangelicals) sees a human life from conception, so direct abortion is the taking of innocent life; support then goes to the mother via practical help, not via the procedure. Other Christians weigh the mother’s life, rape, and fatal foetal anomaly as tragic conflicts of goods. Islamic legal schools often treat earlier stages as lesser (though still serious) than after ensoulment, which is why “Islam always allows abortion” and “Islam never does” are both false. A 12-mark judgement should name whose rights are in play — woman, foetus, father, doctors — and which authority (scripture, autonomy, law) you are privileging, then look the cost of that choice in the face.
Go deeper
Euthanasia and the hospice reply
Active euthanasia intends death; withdrawing extraordinary treatment that is merely postponing death can be morally different in Catholic analysis (the Catechism distinguishes ordinary and extraordinary means). The law in England and Wales still criminalises assisting suicide. Religious opposition is not always lack of pity: it is fear of pressure on the disabled, a claim that God numbers our days, and a tradition of accompanying the dying. The religious practical answer is palliative care — Dame Cicely Saunders and the hospice movement. Evaluation: autonomy is real, pain can be monstrous, and slippery-slope evidence from other countries is disputed. Do not pretend this is easy. Do define the act.
Go deeper
Khalifah as climate ethics
If humans are vicegerents, waste and corruption (fasad) in the land are theological failures, not only policy failures. Qur’an 7:31 warns against waste; Christian stewardship sits in tension with industrial Christian histories that did waste. A strong answer admits that. Then give a deed: Zakah and sadaqah funding wells, church disinvestment, meat reduction as mercy to animals and atmosphere. Humanists can share the conclusions from harm and science without the doctrine. The 12-mark twist: is religion necessary for environmental ethics, or merely one motivating story among others? You can argue it is powerful for believers and still insufficient without law and technology.
See the idea in action
Question: “Euthanasia is never acceptable.” Evaluate from two viewpoints. Against the statement: quality of life, autonomy, compassion for terminal pain; humanist Dignity in Dying-style case; some liberal Christians. For: sanctity, Qur’an 5:32 / 17:33, slippery slope, hospice alternative, job of doctors to heal. Judgement: the statement is too absolute for a humanist; for many Muslims and Catholics it is almost the right absolute, with the caveat about withdrawing futile treatment. Make that caveat explicit so you are not cartooning either side.
Exam technique
Turn knowledge into marks
Learn the UK legal line in one sentence for abortion and for assisted suicide. Religious evaluation without the law misses application marks.
Common mistakes
Do not give these marks away
- 01
Confusing abortion with contraception, or euthanasia with turning off a machine that was only delaying inevitable death — define terms.
- 02
Saying “the Bible says abortion is murder” without a text, or inventing a verse.
- 03
Writing environmental answers with no religious teaching, just “pollution is bad”.
What does sanctity of life mean in this topic?
AThat only religious people have human rights
BThat human life is holy and belongs to God, so it should not be taken without just cause
CThat animals and humans have identical moral status in all churches
DThat UK law is identical to Catholic teaching
Show the answer
That human life is holy and belongs to God, so it should not be taken without just cause. Sanctity is the religious claim that life has God-given worth. Quality of life asks how liveable a life is. UK law does not simply copy Catholic teaching on abortion or euthanasia.
Quick questions
If this is the bit you searched
What is the current UK law on assisted suicide?
Assisting suicide is a criminal offence in England and Wales. The Director of Public Prosecutions has guidance on when prosecution is in the public interest, but that is not legalisation. Scotland and other jurisdictions have been in political flux — state the law you were taught and date it if your teacher has updated it.
Do Muslims believe in evolution?
Some do, as a method Allah used; some reject it as conflicting with Adam’s special creation. The shared belief is that Allah is creator. Do not flatten 1.8 billion people into one biology textbook.