Religious, Moral and Philosophical Studies (RMPS) is a national qualification subject offered by the

Scottish Qualifications Authority The Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA; Scottish Gaelic, Gaelic: ''Ùghdarras Theisteanas na h-Alba'') is the Scottish public bodies, executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government responsible for accrediting educationa ...

. RMPS is offered at different levels and the course varies at each level. Religious and moral education in non-denominational schools and religious education in Roman Catholic schools is a statutory core subject in all primary and secondary schools, including at S5 and S6. All pupils in Scotland must student RMPS for around one hour per week.

Higher (school exams)

Pupils wishing to study this subject at Higher level should have successfully completed this subject at National 5. Higher RMPS, like all Higher courses, has three units. The first unit is World Religions where candidates have the choice of studying one of the six major world religions; (

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...

and

Sikhism Sikhism is an Indian religion and Indian philosophy, philosophy that originated in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent around the end of the 15th century CE. It is one of the most recently founded major religious groups, major religio ...

). This is worth 60 marks. The second unit is Morality and Belief where candidates will study one of the following options; Morality & Justice, Morality & Relationships, Morality & Medicine, Morality & Conflict or Morality, Environment and Global Issues. The third unit is Religious and Philosophical Questions; where candidates have the choice of one of the following; Origins of Life, Existence of God, Suffering & Evil, and Miracles. This is worth 20 marks. There is also an assignment that students must complete throughout the academic year. This is worth 30 marks. In 2011 the results of a three-year study were released, in which it was reported that despite many shortcomings in the way RMPS had been taught in Scotland, the subject was seeing "unprecedented interest and optimism"; the number of students sitting for the Higher RMPS increased from 1,323 in 2006 to about 4,100 in 2011. In 2023, 3,889 pupils sat the Higher exam, with almost 3,300 gaining a pass grade.

Higher education

This subject can also be studied at Bachelor Degree level, and the qualification can be used to become a teacher in RMPS.University of the Highlands and Islands website, MPSRE page
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References

External links

''Religious, Moral and Philosophical Studies''
2nd ed. (October 2010),

Educational qualifications in Scotland School examinations {{reli-philo-stub