Worldview Studies study guide
Worldview Studies · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
Worldview Studies is an examination of the beliefs that sit underneath arguments: what reality ultimately is, what counts as knowledge, what makes a human life good, and how those commitments shape reasoning in science, ethics, and public life. The credential is designed for candidates who need to analyse and compare worldviews rather than advocate for one - teachers of religion or philosophy, chaplains and pastoral workers, writers and apologists, ethics committee members, and students preparing for postgraduate work in philosophy, theology, or religious studies. The Worldview Studies study guide has 6 sections and about 2,497 words.
01Foundations of Worldview Analysis: Definitions, Toolkits, and Method
The Foundations domain tests whether you can define a worldview precisely, distinguish it from neighbouring concepts, and apply a repeatable analytic method rather than trading impressions. A worldview is the pre-theoretical or articulated set of commitments about the basic constitution of reality that shapes how a person lives.
445 words, about 2 min02Major World Religions and Their Worldviews: Comparative Profiles
This domain tests comparative accuracy: can you state each tradition's answers to the standard worldview questions without flattening internal diversity? Compare on six axes: ultimate reality, cosmogony, the human condition, the remedy, ethics, and destiny.
452 words, about 2 min03Philosophical Worldviews: Theism, Naturalism, and Their Rivals
This domain tests whether you can sort philosophical positions precisely and connect them to the standard arguments. Classical theism : one God, creator, omnipotent, omniscient, omnibenevolent, self-existent ( aseity ), simple, and - in the classical tradition - impassible; personal and active in history.
393 words, about 2 min04Comparative Ethics and Value Systems: Levels, Frameworks, and Diagnosis
This domain tests whether you can place a moral claim at the right level of analysis and compare traditions on the same case. Metaethics asks whether moral claims are truth-apt (cognitivism) and whether any are true (realism).
411 words, about 2 min05Science, Reason, and Epistemological Frameworks
This domain tests whether you can separate epistemic claims from methodological ones and evaluate appeals to science without over- or under-claiming. The standard analysis treats knowledge as justified true belief; Gettier cases show justification plus truth is not sufficient.
389 words, about 2 min06Applied Worldview Engagement and Critical Evaluation
This domain tests whether you can evaluate a worldview fairly - stating it at its strongest, testing it by public criteria, and avoiding fallacy. Sire and Ronald Nash propose tests including internal consistency, coherence, empirical adequacy, explanatory power, livability, and moral and existential adequacy.
407 words, about 2 min