QCAA Study of Religion case studies
QCAA Study of Religion · Put your knowledge to work in context.
Study of Religion is a General senior subject in the Queensland Certificate of Education, assessed through school-based work during Year 12 and a single external assessment set by the Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority (QCAA). It suits students who want to examine how religious traditions shape meaning, identity, community and ethical debate, and who are willing to read primary sources closely and argue a case in writing. The course is organised around sacred texts and stories, rituals and practices, beliefs and values, traditions in historical and social context, and religion in relation to ethics and contemporary issues. You are expected to work with unseen stimulus material, define terms precisely, compare traditions rather than describe one in isolation, and evaluate interpretations instead of listing facts. The QCAA Study of Religion case studies are 5 cases and about 3,096 words.
1The Relic That Cannot Be Photographed
A Year 12 student is writing an extended response on how a small Buddhist community in regional Queensland treats its sacred texts. During fieldwork she is shown a hand-copied sutra kept in a wooden cabinet.
620 words, about 3 min2Fasting Numbers That Do Not Add Up
A student investigating a local Muslim community's Ramadan practices collects the following. The community's calendar lists 30 fasting days.
595 words, about 3 min3Two Funerals, One Question
A student compares how two families in the same town mark a death. The first family belongs to a Christian congregation and holds a service in a church, followed by a burial; the service includes hymns, a eulogy, and a reading from scripture.
601 words, about 3 min4The Council, the Calendar, and the Sources
A student is writing on how a religious tradition's practice changed after a governing council. She has three sources.
652 words, about 3 min5The Clinic, the Conscience, and the Policy
A hospital introduces a policy requiring all clinical staff to participate in a procedure that some staff consider morally impermissible on religious grounds. The policy allows exemption only if a colleague can be found to cover the shift.
628 words, about 3 min