AQA GCSE Religious Studies A Active Recall Guide (8062)
AQA · GCSE
AQA GCSE Religious Studies A Active Recall Guide
Every topic of specification 8062 written as exam-style questions with the answers printed after them. 1,734 questions across 15 topics and 126 subtopics, including all seven religions and all eight themes so the guide fits whichever combination you study.
- AQA
- GCSE
- Specification 8062
- 1,734 questions
Guide overview All 15 topics Sample questions Papers and weighting Look inside Questions and answers
What the exam asks of you
AQA GCSE Religious Studies A is built almost entirely out of choices. Component 1 is the systematic study of two religions from seven: Buddhism, Christianity, Catholic Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism and Sikhism, each covered for its beliefs and teachings and again for its practices. Component 2 is four themes from eight.
That means a student sits two religions and four themes, six of the fifteen topics here. No two schools make the same six choices, which is why all fifteen are carried.
| Paper | Covers |
|---|---|
|
Paper 1 The study of religions: beliefs, teachings and practices |
BUDDHISM CHRISTIANITY CATHOLIC CHRISTIANITY HINDUISM ISLAM JUDAISM SIKHISM |
|
Paper 2 Thematic studies |
THEME A: RELATIONSHIPS AND FAMILIES THEME B: RELIGION AND LIFE THEME C: THE EXISTENCE OF GOD AND REVELATION THEME D: RELIGION, PEACE AND CONFLICT THEME E: RELIGION, CRIME AND PUNISHMENT THEME F: RELIGION, HUMAN RIGHTS AND SOCIAL JUSTICE THEME G: ST MARK’S GOSPEL: THE LIFE OF JESUS THEME H: ST MARK’S GOSPEL AS A SOURCE OF RELIGIOUS, MORAL AND SPIRITUAL TRUTHS |
What is in the guide
All 15 topics
Every topic has its own page with its subtopics, what it covers and sample questions.
Sample questions
Taken from the guide. Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.
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The life of the Buddha
Name the Four Sights that Siddhattha saw outside the palace.
Show the answer
Siddhattha saw an old man, a sick man and a corpse. The fourth sight was a holy man who had given up all possessions. -
The nature of God and the problem of evil
What do Christians mean when they say God is immanent?
Show the answer
Immanent means present and active within the world. Christians believe God stays close to people and involved in their lives. -
The Trinity and the Nicene Creed
Whose teaching did the Council of Nicaea reject?
Show the answer
Arius taught that the Son was created by the Father and was not eternal. The council rejected that teaching and declared the Son fully divine. -
Brahman and the three features of the divine
What are the spiritual worlds in Hindu belief?
Show the answer
The spiritual worlds are eternal realms where God is directly present. Vaishnavas name Vaikuntha and Shaivas name Kailasa as such realms. -
Tawhid and the six articles of faith
Why do Muslims treat shirk so seriously?
Show the answer
Shirk denies the one truth on which Islam rests. Qur'an 4:48 teaches that God forgives every sin except unrepented shirk. -
The nature of God and the Shekhinah
What does it mean to call God the Law-Giver?
Show the answer
God gave the Torah and its mitzvot to the Jewish people at Sinai. Jewish law is understood as God's instruction rather than human invention. -
The Mool Mantar and the nature of God
What is meant by describing God as Karta Purakh?
Show the answer
Karta Purakh means 'the Creator Being'. Sikhs believe God made the whole universe and was made by nothing. -
Human sexuality and homosexual relationships
What does the Roman Catholic Church teach about homosexual people and homosexual acts?
Show the answer
Catholic teaching holds that homosexual acts are wrong but that a homosexual orientation is not itself a sin. The Catechism says gay people must be treated with respect, compassion and sensitivity.
How the guide is worked
Answering a question from memory stores it far better than reading the answer again. The guide runs that as a fixed procedure on one subtopic at a time, about twenty minutes a session.
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Step 1 · Closed book
Cover the answers. Work through one subtopic and write down what you can. Leave blanks where you have nothing.
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Step 2 · Open book
Go back to the top. Read each printed answer and write it out in full, including the ones you had right.
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Step 3 · Closed book again
Same questions, same order, from memory. The gap between pass one and pass three is the session result.
Read the full method, the return schedule and the research behind it.
Look inside
Questions for a subtopic print together and the answers for that section print after them.
- Buddhism137
- Christianity136
- Catholic Christianity136
- Hinduism136
- Islam139
- Judaism140
- Sikhism138
- Theme a: Relationships and Families97
- Theme B: Religion and Life93
- Theme C: the Existence of God and Revelation95
- Theme D: Religion, Peace and Conflict96
- Theme E: Religion, Crime and Punishment92
- and 3 more
- What does it mean to describe God as omnipotent?
- What do Christians mean by calling God omnibenevolent?
- What does it mean to say that God is just?
- What is meant by saying that God is transcendent?
- What do Christians mean when they say God is immanent?
- State the problem of evil.
- What is the difference between moral evil and natural evil?
- Explain the free will defence to the problem of evil.
- How does the Book of Job respond to suffering?
- Omnipotent means all-powerful. Christians believe God's power has no limits and that God made the universe out of nothing.
- Omnibenevolent means all-loving. Christians believe God's love is shown in creation, in the gift of Jesus and in forgiveness.
- A just God judges fairly and treats everyone according to what they deserve. Christians believe God will finally put right every wrong.
- Transcendent means beyond and outside the created universe. Christians believe God is not limited by space or by time.
- Immanent means present and active within the world. Christians believe God stays close to people and involved in their lives.
- The problem of evil asks how an all-powerful and all-loving God can allow suffering. God would appear to have both the will and the power to stop it.
- Moral evil is suffering caused by human choices, such as murder or war. Natural evil is suffering caused by nature, such as earthquakes or disease.
- The free will defence argues that God gave human beings genuine freedom to choose. Real love and goodness are impossible unless people can also choose evil.
- Job suffers terribly yet refuses to curse God. God's reply is that human beings cannot understand his purposes, so Job must trust him.
questions
Scroll sideways to turn through the pages.
Questions students ask first
I only study two religions and four themes. Is the rest wasted?
No. Component 1 is two religions of seven. Component 2 is four themes of eight. That is six of the fifteen topics in the guide.
All fifteen are here because no two schools pick the same six. Work yours and skip the rest. Each is a separate page.
Is Christianity different from Catholic Christianity?
Yes, and they are separate options. AQA treats Catholic Christianity as its own study with its own content, and a school teaching it is not teaching the general Christianity option. Both are in the guide as separate topics.
Which specification am I on, A or B?
This guide is Religious Studies A, 8062, the larger of AQA’s two GCSE Religious Studies specifications. Specification B is 8063 and is structured differently.
The code is on your exam timetable.
Do I need to quote scripture?
You need the sources of authority and what they teach. A named text or teaching supporting a point is credited where the same point without one is not. The guide asks for the source and its content separately.
AQA GCSE Religious Studies A Active Recall Guide
Every question paired with its answer, grouped by topic and subtopic, ready to work in three passes.