Year 10 - Religious education
Values as the new religion
Identity: how does religion or belief look now and what might the future bring?
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Study Guides
This pupil-friendly study guide includes a unit summary, clear notes, common mistakes, and quick questions with answers.
Unit Summary
In this unit pupils will look in more depth at trends emerging from the census and other data. They will examine the work of Linda Woodhead and her assertion that society is increasingly constructed around values. They will consider cultural religion and the concept of secularism.
Lesson Summary
You will learn to explain what Linda Woodhead means by values as the new religion and state to what extent you agree or disagree.
Key Notes
- Linda Woodhead is a British sociologist of religion.
- Her work includes tracking changes and trends and considering their implications for religion and society.
- She has determined that people are now aligning by values more than organised religion.
- Organised religion contains a way of living that may also mean followers are aligned by value as well as religion.
Vocabulary To Learn
- function: what something does; in sociology what does the institution do for members of that society
- Linda Woodhead: British sociologist of religion
- nones: people who say they have "no religion" on surveys such as the England and Wales census
- values: principles or beliefs that guide how a person thinks, behaves, and understand what matters in life
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- That Linda Woodhead argues values are a new religion, and the same as a religion.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain the lesson in two key points.
Linda Woodhead is a British sociologist of religion. Her work includes tracking changes and trends and considering their implications for religion and society.
2. What does this key word mean in this lesson? 'function'
what something does; in sociology what does the institution do for members of that society.
3. Correct this common mistake.
Mistake: That Linda Woodhead argues values are a new religion, and the same as a religion. Correction: Linda Woodhead argues that values are replacing the function of religion by giving purpose, meaning, guidance and community to people, but not that they are becoming 'religions'.
More Lessons In This Unit
Browse all guides in the Year 10 Religious education guide library.