NZ Scholarship Religious Studies case studies
NZ Scholarship Religious Studies · Put your knowledge to work in context.
New Zealand Scholarship Religious Studies - listed by NZQA as "Religious Studies" among the Scholarship subjects, alongside Classical Studies, History and Psychology - is a top-tier award for secondary students in New Zealand who want to push well beyond Level 3 work in the study of religion. It is aimed at candidates who can analyse religious traditions, texts, practices and ethical debates with independence, handle contested interpretations, and build sustained, well-evidenced argument rather than reproduce learned content. The NZ Scholarship Religious Studies case studies are 5 cases and about 4,520 words.
1The Romans 13 Problem in a Parish Study Guide
A seven-member adult-education committee at a 180-member suburban congregation must produce a four-week study guide titled 'Christians and the State.' The committee is split. Two members want Romans 13:1–7 taught as a straightforward obligation to obey governing authorities.
939 words, about 5 min2The Creationism Request at a State-Integrated School
At a state-integrated co-educational school (roll 1,150; 42% of students identify with a religion; 18% attend worship weekly), nine families have written to the principal asking that their children be excused from the Year 11 evolution unit, which runs for six weeks. Four families describe themselves as young-earth creationists and want their children taught a literal six-day creation.
937 words, about 5 min3The Closing of the Central City Church
A regional council of twelve in a Protestant denomination must decide whether to sell its 1911 central-city church and consolidate at a suburban satellite campus. The central congregation's weekly attendance was 240 in 1990, 198 in 2000, 141 in 2010 and 58 in 2024; the median age is 69.
925 words, about 5 min4The Torah Scroll and the Museum Grant
A city museum's exhibition 'Text and Community' is due to open in eight weeks with 140 objects. Its centrepiece is a 17th-century Torah scroll owned by the museum since 1952 and no longer fit for ritual use because of water damage and a tear.
851 words, about 4 min5The Ritual Slaughter Select Committee
A select committee has received 1,200 submissions on a bill requiring all animals to be stunned before slaughter, with an exemption only where stunning is 'reversible.' The Jewish community (about 7,000 people, three synagogues, one licensed abattoir) says shechita requires a single uninterrupted cut with the animal alive and un-stunned. The Muslim community (about 60,000 people, twelve abattoirs) is split: eight imams say reversible stunning is acceptable, four say it is not.
868 words, about 4 min