Judaism: Dialogue Between Religious and Non-Religious Beliefs | OCR GCSE Religious Studies (J625)

Judaism: Dialogue Between Religious and Non-Religious Beliefs

85 questions
7 subtopics
Group 2 paper
Group 2 paper

Judaism: Dialogue Between Religious and Non-Religious Beliefs is examined in Component Group 2, religion, philosophy and ethics in the modern world from a Jewish perspective (J625/08), if this is the perspective studied.

That perspective must be one of the student's two Group 1 religions. It covers Jewish perspectives on Christianity's place in British public life, Judaism in a secular Britain, Jewish schools, marriage and equality law in Britain, Jewish medical ethics and scientific development, Jewish views of other faiths: exclusivism, inclusivism and pluralism, intra-faith and inter-faith dialogue in British Judaism and Judaism and non-religious worldviews.

Sample questions from Judaism: Dialogue Between Religious and Non-Religious Beliefs

Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.

Jewish perspectives on Christianity's place in British public life

What is the Monarch's role as Supreme Governor of the Church of England?

Show the answer
The monarch is the formal head of the Church of England and promises to uphold it. King Charles III said in 2022 that he also has a duty to protect the diversity of faiths in Britain.
Jewish perspectives on Christianity's place in British public life

How do public holidays based on Christian festivals affect British Jews?

Show the answer
Christmas and Easter are public holidays, but Jewish festivals are not. Jews must often take leave from school or work for festivals such as Yom Kippur.
Judaism in a secular Britain

How do Jews respond to the rise of humanism in Britain?

Show the answer
Humanism is a non-religious worldview based on reason, science and human values, and it has grown in Britain. Jews share many Humanist values but root morality in G-d.
Judaism in a secular Britain

What is Reconstructionist Judaism?

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Reconstructionist Judaism, founded by Mordecai Kaplan, sees Judaism as the evolving civilisation of the Jewish people. Many Reconstructionists understand G-d as the power that makes for goodness.
Jewish schools, marriage and equality law in Britain

What was the JFS case?

Show the answer
In 2009 the UK Supreme Court ruled that JFS's admissions policy, based on Orthodox rules of Jewish descent, was unlawful racial discrimination. Jewish schools now use tests of religious practice, such as synagogue attendance.
Jewish schools, marriage and equality law in Britain

How does Jewish teaching relate to child marriage?

Show the answer
The Talmud forbids a father to betroth his daughter until she is old enough to choose for herself. A 2022 law, in force from 2023, raised the minimum marriage age in England and Wales to eighteen.
Jewish medical ethics and scientific development

What does Judaism teach about abortion?

Show the answer
Judaism does not treat the foetus as a full person until birth. Abortion is required if the mother's life is in danger and allowed for serious threats to her health.
Jewish medical ethics and scientific development

Why do many Jews support genetic research?

Show the answer
Many Jewish authorities support genetic research that can cure disease, as part of the duty to heal. Genetic screening is used in some communities to prevent Tay-Sachs disease.

The 7 subtopics

One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.

Subtopic	What it covers	Questions
Jewish perspectives on Christianity's place in British public life	The established Church in a multi-faith country and Jewish support for it, the Supreme Governor, Jews and bishops in the Lords, national services, Christian public holidays, church schools, and room for Judaism.	11
Judaism in a secular Britain	Secularisation's effects on British Judaism, responses to secularism and humanism, Humanists UK, the National Secular Society, the Sunday Assembly, Reconstructionist Judaism, and Torah im Derech Eretz.	12
Jewish schools, marriage and equality law in Britain	Secular values in school, the 1988 Act and Jewish pupils, Jewish faith schools and their critics, the JFS case, forced, arranged and child marriage, the Equality Act 2010, and shechita.	12
Jewish medical ethics and scientific development	Killing and allowing death, self-determination and assisted dying, abortion and Exodus 21:22–25, Psalm 139:13, SPUC, Orthodox and Reform differences, genetic research, IVF and cloning, and Genesis 1:26–28.	13
Jewish views of other faiths: exclusivism, inclusivism and pluralism	Views close to exclusivism, why Judaism is not exclusivist about salvation, the Noachide laws, Jonathan Sacks's pluralism, why Jews do not seek converts, national identity and Israel, and freedom of choice.	12
Intra-faith and inter-faith dialogue in British Judaism	Tensions between Jewish groups, the Board of Deputies, Chabad Lubavitch, consensus, diversity and uniformity, the Council of Christians and Jews, the Three Faiths Forum, Children of Abraham, and free expression.	12
Judaism and non-religious worldviews	How Jewish groups regard non-religious worldviews, common ground with atheists, agnostics, Humanists and secularists, the points of disagreement with each, whether secular values should come first, and the Tony Blair Faith Foundation.	13

Judaism: Dialogue Between Religious and Non-Religious Beliefs is 85 of the 2,800 questions in the guide.Get the guide, £7

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.

Step 1 · Closed book
Cover the answers. Work through one subtopic and write down what you can. Leave blanks where you have nothing.
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.
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.