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OCR J625 · nine modules · each taught by a simulacrum of a major religious thinker
This is the complete option tree of OCR GCSE Religious Studies, specification J625, built as nine modules. The qualification asks a student to study two of five world religions — each in the two halves the examination requires, Beliefs and Teachings and Practices — together with one of four philosophy-and-ethics themes studied from the perspective of one chosen religion. Rather than build a single fixed route, the Universitas has built every option, so an autodidact can range across the religions and their philosophy, and a student preparing for the examination can go straight to the religions and the theme their school has chosen.
What is distinctive is who teaches each one. The religions are led by thinkers from within each tradition: the Thomas Aquinas Simulacrum on Christianity, the Al-Ghazālī Simulacrum on Islam, the Haham and the Rebbe — the Sephardi sage and the Chassidic master — together on Judaism, the Buddha (Pali Canon) Simulacrum on Buddhism, and the Śaṅkara Simulacrum on Hinduism. The four philosophy-and-ethics themes are led by the thinkers who can best argue them: Aquinas on relationships and the natural-law tradition, Aquinas and David Hume together on the existence of God — one building the arguments, one testing them — the Kingian Nonviolence Simulacrum on peace and conflict, and the Max Stirner Simulacrum pressing the non-religious challenge in the theme on dialogue.
Each module is independently enrolable. Take any single one on its own, or assemble a valid combination — two religions and one theme — for the full qualification.
Building a valid course. A complete entry is two of the five religions, each studied in both halves (Beliefs and Teachings, and Practices), and one of the four philosophy-and-ethics themes, studied from the perspective of one of those two religions. OCR’s Specification Creator confirms a valid combination.
Each religion is studied in both halves the examination requires — what the tradition believes, and how it is lived. Choose two of the five.
Thomas Aquinas Simulacrum
The Christian faith set out as a single ordered structure: the nature of God and the Trinity, creation and the problem of evil, the person and work of Christ, salvation and the life to come — then worship, the sacraments, prayer, the festivals, and the work of the church. Throughout, the common Christian position and the points where the denominations diverge.
Open module →Al-Ghazālī Simulacrum
Islam in both halves, Sunni and Shi’a: the oneness of Allah (Tawhid) and the articles of faith, prophethood, the books and the angels, predestination and the life to come — then the Five Pillars and the Ten Obligatory Acts, worship, Hajj, Zakat, Sawm, the festivals, and the two meanings of Jihad. Belief and practice woven together as in the Iḥyāʾ.
Open module →The Haham Simulacrum · The Rebbe Simulacrum
Two voices of the living tradition. The Haham, the Sephardi sage, leads the Beliefs and Teachings — the nature of G-d, the Shekinah, the covenant, the Messiah, the Mitzvot, and the sanctity of life. The Rebbe, the Chassidic master, leads the Practices — synagogue and home, prayer, Shabbat, the festivals, the dietary laws, and the rites of passage.
Open module →The Buddha (Pali Canon) Simulacrum
The teaching from its earliest stratum, Theravada and Mahayana: the life and Enlightenment of the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Three Marks of Existence, the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path, the analysis of the person, and Buddhist ethics — then worship and meditation, the sacred places, the Sangha, the festivals, and the rituals of death.
Open module →Śaṅkara Simulacrum
A vast and various tradition mapped with the rigour of Advaita Vedānta: the self (atman) and the ultimate reality (Brahman), the cycle of samsara, karma, the nature of reality, the forms of the divine, and the aims of a human life — then the four margas, worship and darshan, pilgrimage, the festivals, and Hindu ethical concern for the world.
Open module →The modern-world component, studied from the perspective of one of your two chosen religions. A philosophy-and-ethics paper: analyse, evaluate, and argue both sides. Pick one of the four.
Thomas Aquinas Simulacrum
Applied ethics through the natural-law tradition: the purpose of family and marriage, and the harder contemporary questions — sexuality, divorce, cohabitation, contraception, same-sex marriage, the roles of men and women, and the meaning of equality. Each issue framed through its purposes, with the reasons on both sides and the divergent views within the chosen religion.
Open module →Thomas Aquinas Simulacrum · David Hume Simulacrum
Two voices, because the examination rewards arguing both sides. Aquinas builds the classical case from reason — the design, cosmological, and moral arguments — and the claim that God is known through revelation and experience. Hume, in the critical examination, subjects each argument to the searching objections of the Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion.
Open module →Kingian Nonviolence Simulacrum
When, if ever, is violence justified, and what does peace demand? Just War theory and the concept of Holy War, terrorism, the case for pacifism (absolute and conditional), nonviolent action, and the questions of forgiveness, justice, and reconciliation — the case for the just war and the case for nonviolence both put honestly, so the learner can weigh them.
Open module →Max Stirner Simulacrum
How does religion make its case in a secular age? Secularism, secularisation, and humanism, and the clashes with secular law and medical ethics; the exclusivist, inclusivist, and pluralist attitudes, and inter-faith dialogue; the shared values and the genuine disagreements between believers and non-believers. A deliberately provocative host who presses the secular critique — then presents the religious responses in their strength.
Open module →A diploma in GCSE Religious Studies is awarded on completion of a valid combination of modules and a final examination. The examination system and the diploma itself are in design.
Coming soon