Is A Level Religious Studies Hard?

Choosing your A Level subjects is a big decision, and it’s natural to wonder what you’re signing up for. Religious Studies, sometimes referred to as Theology or Philosophy and Religious Studies at A Level, is a brilliant way to challenge your mind by grappling with big ideas. You’ll be unpacking theories from philosophers and theologians, weighing up ethical dilemmas, and crafting well-argued essays under exam conditions.

Some students find this stimulating and even energising; others are taken aback by the leap in depth from GCSE. If you enjoy analysing ideas, debating different viewpoints, and aren’t afraid of abstract thinking, you might discover RS is one of your most rewarding subjects. If you prefer concrete answers and minimal writing, you could find it more demanding.

I’ve been an A Level RS teacher for many years. In this guide, I’ll break down what makes A Level RS challenging, what makes it manageable, how it compares to other subjects, and the skills you’ll need to succeed.

So, Is A Level Religious Studies Hard?

A Level Religious Studies certainly has a reputation for being demanding, but the reality is more nuanced. It’s not a subject where you can simply memorise content and walk into the exam. You’ll be expected to wrestle with complex ideas, understand the reasoning of influential philosophers, and then communicate your analysis in clear, well-structured essays.

Overall, A Level Religious Studies is considered to be in the middle-to-upper range of difficulty when compared to other humanities subjects. According to a summary of 2024 results (opens in a new tab) published by the National Association for Teachers of Religious Education (NATRE), using JCQ data, 78.1% of students in England achieved A*–C in A Level Religious Studies. That is just behind Geography (78.7%) and History (81.2%), but above the all-subject average of 76.0%.

This means that, while the intellectual demands are high, students with strong essay skills and the willingness to engage deeply with the material can achieve top grades. It’s challenging, but in a way that rewards curiosity, persistence, and critical thinking.

What Makes A Level RS Challenging?

A Level Religious Studies demands a significant step up from GCSE or IGCSE in terms of both the depth of content and the sophistication of written work required. Here are the main areas students often find challenging:

Complex Philosophical Content

A Level RS dives deep into abstract topics like the nature of God, religious language, meta-ethics, and the problem of evil. These require you to understand, interpret, and evaluate theories from philosophers and theologians, often in their original or translated form.

Tom, an RS student, commented, “I thought I’d find this A Level easy because I always loved debates during my GCSE RS lessons. I couldn’t believe the difference in what we were learning. It all seemed so difficult at first. But once I got used to breaking down the theories, I started to really enjoy it.”

Tip:
Break dense theories into simpler “building blocks” before attempting to analyse them. Summarising a scholar’s view in one sentence can be a great first step. Then build up to the more detailed version with key terms and scholar quotes.

Essay-Based Assessment

Most of your marks will come from long-form essays that expect you to balance different perspectives, integrate evidence, and build a persuasive conclusion, all within tight time limits.

Tip:
Practise timed essays from the start of Year 12 so that planning and structuring become second nature. You can build on techniques such as PEEL (Point, Evidence, Explain, Link) from your GCSE or IGCSE studies, but you’ll learn to incorporate more depth and nuance into your analysis.

Use of Scholars and Synoptic Links

Examiners expect you to reference key thinkers such as Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, Kant, and Augustine and actively engage with their ideas. You’ll also need to make “synoptic links”,  connecting ideas from the different parts of your course to show a bigger-picture understanding.

Tip:
Create a “scholar bank”, a single-page summary for each key thinker, including their main ideas, criticisms, and possible links to other topics.

Independent Thinking

At A Level, memorisation isn’t enough. You’ll be asked to analyse, weigh up different perspectives, and present your own reasoned conclusion. This demands confidence in forming and defending an argument.

Tip:
When you learn a new argument, ask yourself: Do I agree? Why or why not? Lessons will help you with this - participating in debates will allow you to articulate your position and practise responding to counterarguments on the spot.

What Makes A Level RS Manageable (or Even Enjoyable)?

While the jump from GCSE is challenging, A Level Religious Studies has plenty of features that make it a good fit for some learners.

Genuinely Interesting and Relevant Topics

As an A Level teacher, I love the challenges posed by Philosophy, and leading students through the process of engaging with the ideas of Plato, Aristotle and Descartes on the nature of reality. Going right back to the nature of what we are, and what we can know, means tackling questions that have engaged humans for as long as we, as a species, have been able to think.

Alongside philosophy, you’ll explore ethics and religion in contemporary society. Topics like medical ethics, war, and human rights are highly relevant to real-world debates, sparking lively discussion and eliciting strong opinions. Lessons are never dull!

No Maths or Scientific Data

If you thrive on words rather than equations, RS plays to your strengths. It allows you to explore and interpret theories and ideas, and construct your own arguments. 

Students who enjoy English, History, or other essay-based subjects often find RS fits well with their other A Level options.

Predictable Assessment Style

Like GCSE papers, RS at A Level has a familiar format that varies little from year to year. So once you’ve mastered the technique for writing a top-level essay, you can apply that structure to every question. Exam practice does pay off in this subject.

Transferable Skills

The ability to argue a case, anticipate counterarguments, and back up your views with evidence is a skill set that’s useful far beyond RS. RS A Level is highly valued by universities and employers and can open doors in a wide range of fields. Students I have taught have gone on to follow careers in law, social work, teaching, and even ministry within the Church. 

Liam Taft, Content Manager at Save My Exams, agrees: “I studied RS at A Level, and it was hugely beneficial in preparing me for my English Literature degree. It gave me lots of experience in constructing arguments and thinking critically under pressure. It wasn’t easy, but it was one of the most rewarding A Levels I did. I still use the skills I learned from it in my role at Save My Exams today.”

How Does RS Compare to Other A Levels?

A Level Religious Studies sits comfortably in the essay-based camp, but where it lands on the “easy or hard” scale depends entirely on your strengths.

• Compared to English Literature: Both require high-level writing skills and critical thinking, but English Lit focuses on analysing literary techniques and themes, while RS is more concerned with philosophical reasoning and ethical debate. Some students find RS essays more straightforward because they follow a consistent argument-based format, rather than detailed textual analysis.

• Compared to History: History demands a deep knowledge of timelines and events. While RS covers less factual content overall, the numerous abstract concepts, like meta-ethics or religious language, can be harder to grasp than the more concrete details in History. Students who dislike memorising large amounts of factual detail sometimes prefer RS.

• Compared to Psychology: Psychology has a mix of essays, research methods, and data interpretation, meaning you’ll need both analytical and statistical skills. RS stays firmly in the realm of ideas and written argument, which can make it less intimidating for students who prefer qualitative over quantitative work.

Overall, if you’re comfortable writing essays, thinking critically, and engaging with abstract ideas, RS may feel more manageable than content-heavy or data-heavy A Levels. But if you prefer concrete facts, formulae, or experiments, you may find RS’s open-ended questions more challenging.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is RS one of the hardest A Levels?

Not necessarily. 

It’s certainly demanding, but much of the challenge comes from the abstract nature of the content and the level of independent thinking required. Students who enjoy debate and extended writing often find it more stimulating than intimidating.

How many essays are there in the exam?

This depends on your exam board, but typically you’ll answer three long-form essays per paper.

Each essay will require a well-structured argument, relevant scholarly references, and a balanced evaluation.

What’s the hardest topic in A Level RS?

Honestly, the hardest topic is often whichever one you study first, because the style of thinking is so different from what most students are used to.

Many say that religious language and meta-ethics can be the most challenging because they’re highly theoretical. Others find Kantian ethics or philosophy of religion concepts, like the ontological argument, tough until they’ve practised applying them to questions. 

Final Thoughts

A Level Religious Studies is demanding, but also one of the most intellectually rewarding subjects you can take. If you enjoy asking big questions, debating ideas, and writing essays, you may find RS both stimulating and manageable.

The skills you gain, from critical thinking to clear written communication, will serve you well in university and beyond.

With consistent revision, strong essay technique, and curiosity about the topics, you can achieve top grades. To prepare effectively, you can use Save My Exams’ A Level Religious Studies resources, including topic summaries, revision notes, and past papers, to help you master both the content and the exam technique.

References:

A level Religious Studies Grades – a comparison between 2023 and 2024 (opens in a new tab)