Compulsory Studies Of Religion (1 Viewer)

xavier_eales

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I go to a private Catholic secondary school, and I thought I'd raise the subject of many schools such as this making Studies Of Religion I/II compulsory. My opinion has always been that when parents choose which school to send their children to, they send them to one based on the values which they want reflected in their child. I think that in Catholic schools such as mine, this is adequately achieved in the general demeanour of the school and masses or other extra-curricular activities. I don't think that these schools, even the most strict religious schools, should ever make Studies Of Religion compulsory. If anything, Catholic schools already encourage students to strive to their best in their favourite area, and yet they limit their choice through this compulsory subject choice. I'd like to know your thoughts on whether this is reasonable.

At my school, Studies Of Religion I/II is compulsory in your preliminary year, but in year 12 you can drop down to "school-based religion", where it's 2 classes per week of religious/philosophical discussion, which is un-assessed. I know for a fact that at schools like Kincoppal, though, Studies Of Religion is compulsory all the way through to the HSC.

Comment if you go to any of the schools in question or not.
 
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evasharman

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I go to a Catholic school where SOR 1, 2 or Catholic Studies are compulsary. Personally, I have no problem with doing SOR2 - in fact, I love it. I'm not a religious person, but I find it fascinating and informative and very relevant to the real world. As to whether it should be compulsary - I'm not sure.
 

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I went to a catholic school and i did SORII in year 11. I hated it but i sucked it up because it is the school who sets the guidelines and if doing SOR is one of their rules - then do it, otherwise find another school that does not have SOR as a compulsory subject. (in year 12 i moved to catholic studies)
 

photastic

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I went to a catholic school and i did SORII in year 11. I hated it but i sucked it up because it is the school who sets the guidelines and if doing SOR is one of their rules - then do it, otherwise find another school that does not have SOR as a compulsory subject. (in year 12 i moved to catholic studies)
Agreeeeeed!

SOR is soooooo boring and damn crap aligning. Waste of time and even if you don't study, at least band 5. The only good thing is the content is like less than a quarter compared to science and hsie.
 

SabrinaSchool

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I have compulsory religion unit 1 and 2. I hate religion and I am very bad at it but the only way to make up 12 units was for me to do 2 unit. (the way that the lines work out at my school, you basically either do extension or religion and I can't do any extension so no choice). I don't rank well at all and I have no past knowledge of religion studies. I might try and drop to 1 unit in year 12 but I don't know if I can :( I don't think it should be compulsory at all because if you are not good at religion then why should you be forced to do it for your HSC? I understand it is a religious school but that doesn't automatically mean you are strong it that subject. It's just ridiculous
 

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I have compulsory religion unit 1 and 2. I hate religion and I am very bad at it but the only way to make up 12 units was for me to do 2 unit. (the way that the lines work out at my school, you basically either do extension or religion and I can't do any extension so no choice). I don't rank well at all and I have no past knowledge of religion studies. I might try and drop to 1 unit in year 12 but I don't know if I can :( I don't think it should be compulsory at all because if you are not good at religion then why should you be forced to do it for your HSC? I understand it is a religious school but that doesn't automatically mean you are strong it that subject. It's just ridiculous
Religion can be learnt entirely from scratch but i thought the same as you when i went to a catholic school and most of out school was the religion we studies but that made it harder for other people when the school started to assume we know stuff.

People are forced to do english and they aren't good at it (ie, me). Although english is used for aligning other subjects are also used to an extent.
 

Squar3root

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i got a PM from someone saying my opinion was wrong in a "colourful" way

Just to clarify; I don't think that religion should be compulsory but the school sets the rules so deal with it. It's simple; if you don't want to do any religion then find a school that says it's not compulsory.Life is unfair.
 

laura-jayne14

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I don't know if my opinion counts because I don't go to a private/catholic school... However, I believe Religion shouldn't be compulsory. I know religion may not be everyone's best subject and they may not get good marks and ranks because they're not interested or find it difficult. I also find it a waste of units (If they don't like the course), I mean they have religion at my school but it is an elective. Why should someone be forced to do it if they don't like it? This is preventing them from doing another subject they enjoy. Also, I think catholic studies is a waste of time because, why should you be forced to do a course that doesn't contribute to your ATAR? Wouldn't it be better having study periods or doing something else?

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Squar3root

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I don't know if my opinion counts because I don't go to a private/catholic school... However, I believe Religion shouldn't be compulsory. I know religion may not be everyone's best subject and they may not get good marks and ranks because they're not interested or find it difficult. I also find it a waste of units (If they don't like the course), I mean they have religion at my school but it is an elective. Why should someone be forced to do it if they don't like it? This is preventing them from doing another subject they enjoy. Also, I think catholic studies is a waste of time because, why should you be forced to do a course that doesn't contribute to your ATAR? Wouldn't it be better having study periods or doing something else?

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Catholic studies is sort of a study....

Funny story: The teacher thought my name was a mistake on the roll because I never came to class.
 

Candidate

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I went to a Catholic school. It was REALLY annoying that it was compulsory for the sole reason that courses such as Economics and Geography did not run. My school was too small to have those courses running while everyone was enrolling in SOR.

That said, the fact that you can drop to the unassessed version of SOR (it was Catholic Studies at my school) is great because you have room to pick some Extension courses if you really want to.

Overall I don't mind as one of my best HSC marks was for SORII. But they need to make the 0 unit Catholic Studies/equivalent available for prelim os you can pick other courses you would enjoy more/be better at.
 

enoilgam

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I dont have an issue with the non-ATAR course being compulsory in Year 11, but they should let you drop it for the HSC. I understand that going to a religious school means that you agree to participate to some degree in religious activities, but they should give you a pass for Year 12. That being said, I did SOR I for my HSC and it was a pretty good back-up unit (i.e. very good workload to mark ratio).
 

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