Christianity Depth Study
The Christianity depth study — significant people and schools (Paul, Luther, John XXIII, Catherine Booth, liberation theology), Christian ethics in bioethics, environmental and sexual ethics, and baptism, marriage and Saturday/Sunday worship.
Contents
1.What you need to know
In SoR II you study three religious traditions in depth. Two are examined in Section II (15 marks each, a short-answer question in three parts, usually about 2–3, 4–5 and 8 marks) and one in Section III (a 20-mark extended response of about 800 words). You must use a different tradition for Section III. Each depth study has three parts, and any of them can be examined in either section:
- Significant people and ideas: the contribution of ONE significant person or school of thought, other than Jesus, to the development and expression of Christianity, and its impact.
- Ethics: the principal ethical teachings, applied to ONE of bioethics, environmental ethics or sexual ethics.
- Significant practices: ONE of baptism, the marriage ceremony or Saturday/Sunday worship, and how it expresses Christian beliefs.
Christianity is diverse: Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican (which holds both Catholic and Reformed heritage) and Protestant churches (Uniting, Lutheran, Baptist, Pentecostal and others) often differ in practice and on ethical questions. Name the denomination when it matters.
2.Beliefs you will keep using
- One God as Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
- Jesus Christ: fully divine and fully human; his death and resurrection bring salvation.
- Revelation: God made known through Jesus and the Bible; churches also give weight to tradition and reason.
- Salvation through God's grace, received in faith.
- The Church as the body of Christ and the people of God.
- Eschatology: the hope of eternal life and the coming of God's kingdom.
3.Significant people and ideas
Questions ask about development (how Christianity grew or changed as a tradition) and expression (how Christians worship and live), and often about impact. Know one person or school in depth.
| Person or school | Key contribution |
|---|---|
| Paul of Tarsus (died c. mid-60s CE) | Missionary to the Gentiles; Council of Jerusalem (c. 49 CE) freed Gentile converts from circumcision; letters teaching justification by faith, grace, the Church as the body of Christ and love (1 Corinthians 13) |
| Martin Luther (1483–1546) | Ninety-five Theses (31 October 1517) began the Reformation; grace through faith, Scripture as highest authority, priesthood of all believers; German Bible, hymns and catechism; Lutheran churches |
| Catherine Booth (1829–1890) | Co-founder with her husband William of the Christian Mission (1865), renamed The Salvation Army in 1878; defended women's preaching (_Female Ministry_, 1859); joined evangelism with social action |
| Pope John XXIII (pope 1958–1963) | Called the Second Vatican Council (opened 1962, closed 1965): Mass in local languages, lay participation, ecumenism, _Nostra Aetate_ on other religions; _Pacem in Terris_ (1963); canonised 2014 |
| Liberation theology (from the late 1960s) | The Latin American bishops' conference at Medellín (1968); Gustavo Gutiérrez's _A Theology of Liberation_ (1971); God's 'preferential option for the poor'; base communities in Latin America; influence on Catholic social teaching, though some aspects were criticised by the Vatican in the 1980s |
Writing about impact
Organise the answer by areas of impact rather than by the person's life story. For John XXIII, for example: worship (the vernacular Mass), the role of lay people, relations with other Christians (the Catholic Church later joined the National Council of Churches in Australia, 1994), relations with other religions, and social teaching. Then judge: how far did these changes reach, how lasting were they, and what debates followed?
4.Ethics
Principal ethical teachings
- The Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1–17): duties to God and to others.
- The Great Commandment: love God and love your neighbour (Mark 12:29–31; Matthew 22:37–40). Jesus says all the law depends on these.
- The New Commandment: 'love one another as I have loved you' (John 13:34).
- The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7), including the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3–12) and love of enemies.
- Paul's ethics: love as the greatest virtue (1 Corinthians 13); the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22–23).
- Church teaching, natural law and conscience, which help Christians apply Scripture to new questions. In the Catholic Church, the Magisterium (teaching authority) gives formal guidance.
The connecting idea is that every teaching applies love of God and love of neighbour, and that every person has dignity because they are made in God's image (Genesis 1:27).
Applying the teachings
| Area | Main teachings applied | Positions to know |
|---|---|---|
| Bioethics (e.g. euthanasia, IVF) | Sanctity of life; image of God; 'You shall not murder'; compassion for the suffering | Most churches oppose euthanasia but allow refusing burdensome treatment and support palliative care; the _Voluntary Assisted Dying Act 2022_ (NSW) commenced in November 2023 against the opposition of Catholic and Anglican leaders; the Catholic Church does not accept IVF (_Donum Vitae_, 1987; _Dignitas Personae_, 2008), while the Uniting Church, many Anglicans and other Protestants accept it with concerns about surplus embryos, and Orthodox churches allow it only cautiously within marriage |
| Environmental ethics | Creation as good and God's (Genesis 1:31; Psalm 24:1); stewardship ('to till it and keep it', Genesis 2:15); justice for the poor and future generations | _Laudato Si'_ (2015) and 'integral ecology'; _Laudate Deum_ (2023); the Anglican Five Marks of Mission; the ecumenical Season of Creation (1 September to 4 October) |
| Sexual ethics | Marriage as a covenant (Genesis 2:24; Mark 10:9); the body as a 'temple of the Holy Spirit' (1 Corinthians 6:19); faithfulness | Churches traditionally teach that sex belongs within marriage; positions differ on contraception (the Catholic Church's _Humanae Vitae_, 1968, versus most Protestant churches) and on same-sex marriage, which became legal in Australia in 2017 (the Uniting Church allows its ministers to conduct same-sex marriages; the Catholic Church and many other churches teach that marriage is between a man and a woman) |
Present positions accurately and neutrally, and show the reasoning behind each.
5.Significant practices
Baptism
Based on Jesus' baptism (Mark 1:9–11) and his command to baptise 'in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit' (Matthew 28:19). Water expresses cleansing and new life; Paul describes being buried and raised with Christ (Romans 6:3–4). Other symbols: candle (Christ the light), white garment, anointing with chrism. Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican, Lutheran and Uniting churches baptise infants (God's grace given first); Baptist and many Pentecostal churches practise believer's baptism by immersion (a personal profession of faith). The Salvation Army and Quakers do not practise water baptism.
The marriage ceremony
Consent and vows before God and witnesses, exchange of rings, Scripture readings, prayers and a blessing. Catholic and Orthodox Christians regard marriage as a sacrament; Orthodox couples are crowned. It expresses beliefs about marriage as a lifelong covenant ('the two shall become one flesh', Genesis 2:24), faithful love that reflects Christ's love for the Church (Ephesians 5:25), and openness to children.
Saturday/Sunday worship
Most Christians gather on Sunday, the day of the resurrection ('the Lord's Day'), often celebrating the Eucharist (Mass, Holy Communion or the Lord's Supper) in obedience to 'Do this in remembrance of me' (Luke 22:19). Worship includes Scripture, preaching, prayer, music and the sign of peace, and sends people out to serve. Seventh-day Adventists worship on Saturday, keeping the seventh-day Sabbath of the fourth commandment. Beliefs expressed: the resurrection; the presence of Christ in Word and sacrament; the Church as one body; love of God and neighbour.
Worked example
_Outline how the marriage ceremony expresses Christian beliefs about love. (3 marks)_
Link two or three features of the rite to the belief. The vows, made freely before God, express the belief that Christian love is a lifelong commitment, not only a feeling: couples promise faithfulness 'for better, for worse'. Readings such as 1 Corinthians 13 describe love as patient, kind and enduring, the kind of love Christians believe God shows. The rings, a circle without end, symbolise unending love, and many churches teach that a husband and wife's love should reflect Christ's self-giving love for the Church (Ephesians 5:25).
6.Common mistakes
- Treating 'Christianity' as if every church had the same practice or ethical position.
- Saying Jesus abolished the Ten Commandments; he said he came to fulfil the law (Matthew 5:17).
- Giving a significant person's biography without explaining development, expression and impact.
- Quoting 'dominion' (Genesis 1:28) as permission to exploit nature, which is not how most churches read it today.
- Mixing up dates: the Reformation began in 1517; Vatican II ran from 1962 to 1965.
7.Exam tips
- Use short scripture references (book, chapter, verse) as evidence; you do not need long quotations.
- In 8-mark answers, every paragraph should link back to the question's key word ('expresses', 'contribution', 'guides').
- In Section III, state your judgement in the introduction, organise paragraphs by argument, and finish each one with a sentence that answers the question.
8.Links to other topics
- Australia post-1945: ecumenism (the Uniting Church, the NCCA), denominational switching, and churches' role in Reconciliation.
- Religion and Peace: New Testament teachings on peace and Christian peace initiatives.
- Religion and Non-Religion: Christianity is a common choice for the comparison with humanism.
Test yourself
Practise 13 exam-style questions on Christianity Depth Study, each with instant marking and a worked solution.
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