MATSEC IM Religious Knowledge study guide
MATSEC IM Religious Knowledge · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The MATSEC Intermediate Level Religious Knowledge examination is a secondary-school-leaving qualification awarded within Malta's national examinations framework. It is taken by students who wish to carry Religious Knowledge as an intermediate subject alongside their A-level choices, and it is also useful for candidates who need a certified humanities subject for further study, for entry to teacher-training or theology-related programmes, or simply to formalise knowledge they already hold. The MATSEC IM Religious Knowledge study guide has 7 sections and about 2,484 words.
01Sacred Scripture: Old and New Testament Texts, Literary Forms and Interpretation
This domain tests how you handle the Bible as both literature and revelation: identifying genres, explaining inspiration, and applying interpretive methods without collapsing into literalism or pure subjectivism. MATSEC expects familiarity with Dei Verbum (1965), the canon, and the classic distinction between the senses of Scripture.
360 words, about 2 min02Christian Doctrine and Core Beliefs: Revelation, Trinity, Christology, Salvation, Eschatology
This domain tests whether you can state Christian doctrine precisely and explain how it developed. MATSEC expects the conciliar vocabulary: ousia and hypostasis, physis and prosopon, and the distinctions between revelation, inspiration and tradition.
359 words, about 2 min03Church History, Tradition and the Development of Christian Communities
This domain tests your grasp of how Christian communities developed institutionally and doctrinally, including the Maltese Church. MATSEC expects you to distinguish historical description from theological claim, and to know key dates, councils and documents without anachronism.
378 words, about 2 min04Liturgy, Sacraments and Christian Worship
This domain tests your knowledge of the seven sacraments, their matter, form and minister, and the theology of liturgical participation. MATSEC expects conciliar and catechism vocabulary: sacrament, sacramental, ex opere operato, validity and liceity, and the structure of the Mass.
381 words, about 2 min05Moral and Social Teaching, Ethics and Christian Living
This domain tests your ability to reason morally in the Catholic tradition, not merely to quote rules. MATSEC expects natural law, conscience, virtue and the principles of Catholic social teaching, applied to concrete cases with clear distinctions.
335 words, about 2 min06World Religions and Interreligious Dialogue
This domain tests accurate knowledge of major religions and the Catholic theology of dialogue. MATSEC expects Nostra Aetate (1965), the distinction between ecumenism and interreligious dialogue, and enough detail to avoid flattening traditions into vague spirituality.
327 words, about 2 min07Religion in Contemporary Maltese and Global Society; Religion and Culture
This domain tests how you analyse religion sociologically and culturally, with specific reference to Malta. MATSEC expects the secularisation debate, the Maltese constitutional settlement, and the ability to read religious festivals as identity markers rather than curiosities.
344 words, about 2 min