Preliminary Course
1 Nature of religion and beliefs
1.1 The nature of religion
1.2 Australian Aboriginal beliefs and spiritualities – Dreaming
2 Buddhism
2.1 Origins
2.2 Principal teachings
2.3 Sacred texts and writings
2.4 Core ethical teachings
2.5 Personal devotion in the home
3 Christianity
3.1 Origins
3.2 Principal beliefs
3.3 Sacred texts and writings
3.4 Core ethical teachings
3.5 Personal devotion
4 Hinduism
4.1 Origins
4.2 Principal teachings
4.3 Sacred texts and writings
4.4 Ethical systems
4.5 Personal devotion in the home
5 Islam
5.1 Origins
5.2 Principal beliefs
5.3 Sacred texts and writings
5.4 Core ethical teachings
5.5 Expressions of faith
6 Judaism
6.1 Origins
6.2 Principal beliefs
6.3 Sacred texts and writings
6.4 Core ethical teachings
6.5 Observance
Preliminary Course SOR II
7 Religions of ancient origin
7.1 Daoism
7.2 Shinto
8 Religion in Australia pre-1945
8.1 Religious traditions in Australia pre-1945
HSC Course
9 Religion and belief systems in Australia post-1945
9.1 Contemporary Aboriginal spiritualities
9.2 Religious expression in Australia – 1945 to the present
10 Buddhism depth study
10.1 Significant people and ideas
10.1.1 Mahayana Buddhism
10.1.2 Ashoka (c. 304 – c. 232 BCE)
10.1.3 Sister Dhammadinna (1881 – 1967)
10.2 Ethics
10.2.1 Bioethics
10.2.2 Environmental ethics
10.3 Significant pratices
10.3.1 Vesak
10.3.2 Pilgrimage
11 Christianity depth study
11.1 Significant people and ideas
11.1.1 Paul of Tarsus (c. 10 BCE – c. 65 CE)
11.1.2 Martin Luther (1483 – 1546)
11.1.3 Feminist theology
11.2 Ethics
11.2.1 Sexual ethics
11.2.2 Bioethics
11.2.3 Environmental ethics
11.3 Significant practices
11.3.1 Saturday or Sunday worship
11.3.2 Baptism
12 Hinduism depth study
12.1 Significant people and ideas
12.1.1 Bhakti movement
12.1.2 Shankara (c. 700 – c. 750 CE)
12.1.3 Mira Bai (c. 1500 – c. 1550)
12.2 Ethics
12.2.1 Bioethics
12.2.2 Environmental ethics
12.3 Significant practices
12.3.1 Temple worship – puja
12.3.2 Pilgrimage – tirthayatra
13 Islam depth study
13.1 Significant people and ideas
13.1.1 ‘A’isha bint Abi Bakr (c. 614 – c. 678 CE)
13.1.2 Sayyid Qutb (1906 – 1966)
13.1.3 Sufism – tasawwuf
13.2 Ethics – ‘Ilm al-Akhlaq
13.2.1 Sexual ethics
13.2.2 Bioethics
13.2.3 Environmental ethics
13.3 Significant practices
13.3.1 Funeral ceremony – Salat al-janaza
13.3.2 Pilgrimage – Hajj
14 Judaism depth study
14.1 Significant people and ideas
14.1.1 Rashi – Rabbi Solomon ben Isaac (1040 – 1105)
14.1.2 Moses Maimonides (1135 – 1204)
14.1.3 The Chasidim
14.2 Ethics
14.2.1 Sexual ethics
14.2.2 Bioethics
14.2.3 Environmental ethics
14.3 Significant practices
14.3.1 Synagogue services
14.3.2 Marriage
HSC Course SOR II
15 Religion and peace
15.1 Christianity
15.2 Islam
15.3 Judaism
15.4 No simple answers
16 Religion and non-religion
16.1 The religious dimension in history
16.2 New religious expressions
16.3 Non-religious world views
16.4 The difference in world views
Janet Morrissey began her teaching career with the NSW Department of Education as an English/History teacher at Blacktown Girls’ High School and completed it as a teacher of Society & Culture, Studies of Religion and General Studies at Edmund Rice College Wollongong. In the years between, she raised four children and did post-graduate studies in Religious Education at Australian Catholic University and Aboriginal Studies at University of South Australia. As well as each edition of Living Religion, she worked on the four books in the Out of the Desert series. Janet has been involved with Studies of Religion since the syllabus was in draft form.
Adam Taylor majored in Religious Studies at the University of Sydney, with a focus on new religious movements, early Judaism and the origins of Christianity. He later undertook postgraduate studies in theology at the same university, before completing Masters and Doctoral studies at the Australian Catholic University. He has undertaken study at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem and has published work in the area of Jewish-Christian relations. He has been involved in the co-authorship of each of the previous editions of Living Religion, as well as teaching the course for nearly two decades. He is also a former senior HSC marker in Studies of Religion. Adam holds an honorary fellowship at the University of Melbourne.
Greg Bailey, recently retired from La Trobe University remains an honorary research associate of the College of Arts, Social Sciences and Commerce. His areas of research interest include Sanskrit, Hinduism and the socio-economic history of the rise of Buddhism. Greg is a fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities. He has recently published a novel about Buddhism.
Peter Mudge lectures in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Newcastle and on Religious Education and Spirituality at the Broken Bay Institute. He has written numerous scholarly works and textbooks on religious education.
Paul Rule taught religious studies at La Trobe University, at which he remains an honorary associate, and has published widely in Chinese religious history, Aboriginal religions, Catholicism and the theory of religion.
Whole book glossary
Extensive suite of support materials for teachers, including sample exams, teaching programs and PDF chapters for adopting schools
Extension tasks, chapter quizzes, exam advice and NelsonNetBook access for all students
Religious traditions summary
HSC exam-style questions
Review, Respond, Extension and Summarise activities incorporating directive terms to support students in developing key skills
Weblinks