Year 8: Comparing & Connecting

What Year 8 Is About

In Year 7, you encountered the world's major religions and worldviews for the first time. Now it's time to go deeper. Year 8 is about comparing and connecting — looking at how different traditions respond to the same big questions, and discovering what happens when beliefs meet real life. You'll explore the Abrahamic faiths, wrestle with the problem of evil, examine rites of passage, and consider whether religion is a force for peace or conflict. By the end of this year, you'll be able to make thoughtful comparisons across traditions and build well-supported arguments.

Unit 1: Abraham's Children

Autumn 1 — What connects and divides the Abrahamic faiths?

Lesson 1

Who Was Abraham?

Lesson 2

Judaism — The Chosen People

Lesson 3

Christianity — The New Covenant

Lesson 4

Islam — Submission to the One God

Lesson 5

What Unites and Divides?

Lesson 6

Assessment: Abraham's Legacy

Unit 2: The Problem of Evil

Autumn 2 — If God is good, why does suffering exist?

Lesson 1

Why Does Suffering Exist?

Lesson 2

The Problem of Evil — Philosophy

Lesson 3

Christian Responses to Suffering

Lesson 4

Islamic Responses to Suffering

Lesson 5

Buddhist Dukkha and Humanist Views

Lesson 6

Assessment: Does Evil Disprove God?

Unit 3: Rites of Passage

Spring 1 — How do religions mark life's milestones?

Lesson 1

What Are Rites of Passage?

Lesson 2

Hindu Sacred Thread and Marriage

Lesson 3

Islamic Birth Rites and Marriage

Lesson 4

Christian Baptism and Confirmation

Lesson 5

Jewish Bar/Bat Mitzvah

Lesson 6

Assessment: Why Do Rites Matter?

Unit 4: Peace & Conflict

Spring 2 — Is religion a force for peace or conflict?

Lesson 1

Religion and Violence — The Big Question

Lesson 2

Christian Teachings on Peace and War

Lesson 3

Jihad — Greater and Lesser

Lesson 4

Buddhist Ahimsa and Sikh Warriors

Lesson 5

Peacemakers — Faith in Action

Lesson 6

Assessment: Peace or Conflict?

Unit 5: Ethics — How Should We Live?

Summer 1 — What makes an action right or wrong?

Lesson 1

Ethical Theories — An Introduction

Lesson 2

Buddhist Ethics — The Middle Way

Lesson 3

Humanist Ethics — Reason and Empathy

Lesson 4

Christian and Islamic Ethics Compared

Lesson 5

Ethical Dilemmas — Real-World Scenarios

Lesson 6

Assessment: Building an Ethical Framework

Unit 6: Pilgrimage & Sacred Places

Summer 2 — Why do people go on journeys of faith?

Lesson 1

What Makes a Place Sacred?

Lesson 2

Hajj — The Islamic Pilgrimage

Lesson 3

Christian Pilgrimage — Lourdes and Iona

Lesson 4

Hindu Pilgrimage — The Ganges and Varanasi

Lesson 5

Jerusalem — Three Faiths, One City

Lesson 6

Assessment: The Journey Within

How This Course Works

One lesson per week — Each unit takes 6 weeks, with lesson materials, activities, and discussion prompts.
Compare and connect — Year 8 builds on Year 7 by comparing how different traditions respond to the same questions. You'll develop the skill of balanced, evidence-based analysis.
Learn from sources — We study religious texts, art, rituals, and stories. You'll work with primary sources and learn to interpret them across traditions.
Respectful inquiry — We ask big questions: What does this belief mean? Why is it important? How do different traditions compare? No belief is mocked; all are explored with intellectual seriousness.
Assessment is ongoing — Each unit ends with a task that checks your understanding: knowledge checks, extended writing, and evaluation essays.