Interaction between religious, philosophical and political belief
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can explain how Enlightenment thinking challenged Middle Ages views, focusing on empiricism, deism and the separation of Church and state.
Key learning points
- To understand religious and philosophical views from a different time period, context is very important.
- Enlightenment thinking was influenced by changes in approaches to the arts and by religious reform.
- Enlightenment philosophers used empiricism to challenge superstitious religious views.
- This made it possible to move away from the worldview of the Middle Ages. One example of this, was deism.
- The Enlightenment shifted to advocating for a separation of religion and politics.
Keywords
Deism - the belief in a creator God who does not intervene in the universe after creating it
Empiricism - the philosophical theory that knowledge comes from sensory experience and observation
Superstition - a belief based on fear or misunderstanding of the unknown, which goes beyond what is logical
Common misconception
The Enlightenment was a complete rejection of Christianity.
While it challenged traditional religious views, most people remained Christian, and many Enlightenment thinkers still believed in God, such as those who supported deism.
Teacher tip
Make links with reasons for the Reformation in Europe.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Elected officials are chosen by the ...
Q2.The 'social contract' is the idea that people must give up some __________ for a just society.
Q3.The social contract is a __________ concept, not a real document.
Q4.A of Rousseau’s social contract and general will theories is that it will benefit everyone in the long-run.
Q5.A weakness of Rousseau’s social contract and general will theories is that people may not feel their individual are met.
Q6.Rousseau’s views on the role of elected officials are that they should represent the general .
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Match the keywords to the correct definitions.
a belief that God created the universe but no longer intervenes
a theory that knowledge comes from sensory experience and observation
an illogical belief based on fear or misunderstanding of the unknown
Q2.Which of the following statements is true?
Q3.Which thinker developed empiricism during the Middle Ages?
Q4.Which of the following is not a way that the Enlightenment challenged traditional religious views?
Q5.What analogy was used to illustrate deism?
Q6.What did Hobbes and Rousseau argue that political laws should be based on?
To help you plan your 8 religious education lesson on: Interaction between religious, philosophical and political belief, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 8 religious education lesson on: Interaction between religious, philosophical and political belief, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 3 religious education lessons from the Religion and politics in the Enlightenment: How were they aligned? unit, dive into the full secondary religious education curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.