LC Religious Education cheat sheet

Philosophical anthropology asks what a human person is; answers range from materialist (person = physical organism) to dualist (body plus immaterial soul) to relational (person constituted by relationships).

Plato: the soul is immortal and pre-existent; knowledge is recollection (anamnesis); the body is a prison or tomb from which the soul seeks release toward the Forms.

Aristotle: the soul is the form of a living body (hylomorphism); humans are rational animals whose flourishing (eudaimonia) is achieved through virtuous activity over a lifetime.

Descartes' cogito ('I think, therefore I am') establishes the thinking self as the one indubitable foundation; mind and body are distinct substances interacting in the pineal gland.

Existentialist claim (Sartre): existence precedes essence; humans have no fixed nature, are 'condemned to be free', and are responsible for creating their own meaning.

Maslow's hierarchy orders needs from physiological and safety through belonging and esteem to self-actualisation; later revisions add cognitive, aesthetic and transcendence needs.

Frankl's logotherapy holds that the primary human drive is the will to meaning, found through creative work, encounter with others, and the attitude taken toward unavoidable suffering.

Atheist critiques (Feuerbach, Marx, Freud, Nietzsche) treat religion as projection, opium, illusion or slave morality; each reduces transcendence to a human or social product.

Decision rule for exam answers: distinguish descriptive claims (what people believe) from normative claims (what ought to be believed); a 'search for meaning' question usually requires both.

Historical Jesus sources: the four canonical Gospels (Mark c. 70 CE, Matthew and Luke c. 80-90, John c. 90-100), Paul's letters (earliest, c. 50s), and non-Christian mentions in Josephus and Tacitus.

Synoptic problem: Matthew, Mark and Luke share material and structure; the dominant Two-Source Hypothesis posits Markan priority plus a lost sayings source ('Q') behind Matthew and Luke.

Council of Nicaea (325 CE) defined the Son as homoousios (same substance) with the Father against Arius; the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed (381) added the Spirit's divinity.

Council of Chalcedon (451 CE) defined one person in two natures, divine and human, 'without confusion, change, division or separation' - the basis of mainstream Christology.

Protestant Reformation: Luther's Ninety-Five Theses (1517) on indulgences; core principles include sola scriptura, sola fide, sola gratia and the priesthood of all believers.

Second Vatican Council (1962-65) produced Dei Verbum (revelation), Lumen Gentium (Church), Sacrosanctum Concilium (liturgy) and Nostra Aetate (non-Christian religions).

Ecumenism seeks unity among Christian churches (World Council of Churches, 1948); interreligious dialogue is distinct - it seeks mutual understanding, not merger, with other faiths.

Contemporary expressions to name: Pentecostal/charismatic renewal, liberation theology, feminist theology, evangelicalism, and the shift of Christian population growth to Africa and Latin America.

Hinduism: no single founder or creed; key concepts are dharma (duty), karma, samsara (rebirth), moksha (liberation); Vedas, Upanishads and Bhagavad Gita are core texts.

Buddhism: Four Noble Truths (suffering, its cause in craving, its cessation, the path); the Eightfold Path spans wisdom, ethics and mental discipline; Theravada and Mahayana are major branches.

Judaism: covenant (berit) between God and Israel; Torah, Talmud and Tanakh; 613 mitzvot in traditional counting; major movements include Orthodox, Conservative and Reform.

Islam: Five Pillars - shahada (declaration), salat (prayer), zakat (almsgiving), sawm (fasting in Ramadan), hajj (pilgrimage); Quran and Hadith are authoritative sources; Sunni and Shia divide over succession.

Sikhism: founded by Guru Nanak; ten human Gurus; Guru Granth Sahib is the eternal Guru; belief in one God (Ik Onkar), equality, and the langar community meal.

Classification caution: 'Abrahamic' (Judaism, Christianity, Islam) and 'Dharmic' (Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism) are useful but imperfect categories, not insider self-descriptions.

Ninian Smart's seven dimensions: doctrinal, mythological, ethical, ritual, experiential, institutional and material - a standard framework for comparing traditions fairly.

Comparative rule: describe a tradition using its own terms first, then compare; avoid treating one tradition's categories (e.g. 'faith alone') as universal measures of another.

Natural Law (Aquinas): humans grasp basic goods through reason; the primary precept is that good is to be done and evil avoided; secondary precepts apply this to concrete cases.

Kant's categorical imperative: act only on maxims you could will as universal law; treat humanity always as an end, never merely as a means; morality is grounded in duty, not consequences.

Utilitarianism (Bentham, Mill): the right act maximises overall welfare; act- versus rule-utilitarianism differ on whether general rules or individual acts are assessed; Mill distinguishes higher and lower pleasures.

Virtue ethics (Aristotle): focus on character and the golden mean between vices; a virtue is a stable disposition cultivated by habit and guided by practical wisdom (phronesis).

Catholic moral theology: three fonts of a moral act - object, intention and circumstances; an intrinsically evil object cannot be made good by intention; double effect has four conditions.

Four conditions of double effect: the act itself is morally good or indifferent; the bad effect is not the means to the good effect; intention is the good effect; proportionality holds.

Conscience: Catholic teaching describes it as a judgment of reason (Gaudium et Spes 16); it must be formed and can be mistaken - an erroneous conscience still binds but error must be corrected.

Kohlberg's stages of moral development: pre-conventional (punishment, self-interest), conventional (approval, law and order), post-conventional (social contract, universal principles).

Decision rule for case questions: identify the moral object, apply the relevant method explicitly, state the conclusion, then name one strength and one weakness of that method.

Sex and gender distinction: sex typically refers to biological characteristics; gender to socially constructed roles and expectations - a distinction contested within and outside religions.

Feminist theology critique (Mary Daly, Rosemary Radford Ruether): patriarchal language and structures have distorted tradition; 'the personal is political' applies to liturgy and authority.

Imago Dei (Genesis 1:27): 'male and female he created them' is the classic textual basis for equal dignity; interpretation of Genesis 2-3 has often been used to justify subordination.

Complementarianism holds men and women have equal dignity but distinct, non-interchangeable roles (often male headship); egalitarianism holds roles are interchangeable in principle.

Catholic practice: women may not be ordained (Ordinatio Sacerdotalis, 1994); the Church teaches equal dignity while reserving ordination to men - a key exam contrast of dignity versus role.

Women's ordination: many Protestant churches ordain women; the Church of England began ordaining priests in 1994 and consecrated its first woman bishop in 2015.

Islamic contexts vary: no formal female imamate over mixed congregations in mainstream Sunni tradition, yet women hold scholarly authority (muhaddithat) and juristic interpretation varies by school.

Feminist hermeneutics distinguishes reinterpretation of texts, recovery of forgotten women's history, and critique of institutional power - exam answers should name which strategy is being used.

Key figures to cite: Mary Daly, Rosemary Radford Ruether, Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza, Amina Wadud, and Phyllis Trible (texts of terror).

Catholic social teaching principles: human dignity, common good, subsidiarity, solidarity, option for the poor, and universal destination of goods.

Key documents: Rerum Novarum (1891, labour), Quadragesimo Anno (1931, subsidiarity), Pacem in Terris (1963, rights and peace), Populorum Progressio (1967, development), Laudato Si' (2015, ecology).

Just War theory (Augustine, Aquinas): legitimate authority, just cause, right intention, proportionality, last resort, and reasonable chance of success; jus in bello adds non-combatant immunity.

Pacifism holds all war is morally impermissible; just war theory holds some wars may be justified; realism holds morality does not govern state conduct - three distinct positions.

Distributive justice concerns fair allocation of goods; commutative justice concerns fairness in exchange; retributive justice concerns punishment; restorative justice aims at repair and reconciliation.

Liberation theology (Gutiérrez): 'preferential option for the poor'; structural sin names unjust systems, not only individual acts; base communities put reflection into practice.

Nonviolent resistance: Gandhi's satyagraha and Martin Luther King Jr's civil disobedience combine moral appeal, legal pressure and willingness to accept punishment.

Human rights framework: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) is a reference point; Catholic teaching grounds rights in dignity rather than in state concession.

Decision rule: when analysing a justice issue, separate individual, structural and global levels; a full answer identifies which level a proposed solution addresses.