Clarification details
Updated June 2016. This document has been updated to address new issues that have arisen from moderation regarding how contemporary social action derives from the ethical principles of a religious tradition.
The specific branch of a religious tradition needs to be specified
For many religious traditions, there are broad terms, and then branches of the tradition that do not necessarily share the same beliefs. For example, Christianity is a broad term that covers many aspects of that religious tradition, but the different denominations within Christianity do not necessarily share the same beliefs as one another. It is important to clearly identify which branch of the religious tradition is being assessed, either for or by the student, during the assessment activity.
Contemporary social action
The focus of this standard is on explaining how a contemporary social action derives from the ethical principles of a religious tradition.
The contemporary social action needs to be one that demonstrates the ethical principles (codes of behaviour) of the religious tradition sourced from within its sacred text.
For example: an ethical principle of could be to care for others who are less fortunate in some way;
- In Catholicism, the source of ethical principles is the Bible such as Matthew 25:31-45; The Parable of the Sheep and the Goats. A contemporary social action derived from this (preferential option for the poor) could be the work of Caritas either in New Zealand or around the world.
- In Islam, the source of ethical principles, is the Qur’an such as Surah 2:274. A contemporary social action (Zakat: almsgiving) derived from this could be the work of The Red Crescent either in New Zealand or around the world.
Evaluating the effectiveness of the social action
Evaluating the effectiveness of the social action involves the study of the advantages or disadvantages, the pros and cons with regard to the worth of the social action. Therefore, the quality of student evidence needs to move beyond superficial coverage to an in depth explanation of the effectiveness of the social action in relation to the ethical principles for Merit.
If, for example, a social action intends to address issue such as poverty, then an explanation of the social action could include statistics on poverty, descriptions or examples of poverty, or reasons for poverty. A contemporary social action may involve a charitable organisation, group or individual, and the explanation could include the type of work undertaken, and the results or how the charitable action helps people.
Connections need be made between the social action and the ethical principles of the religious tradition. For example, the explanation could include how the philosophy of the group undertaking the social action flows out of the ethical principles of church teachings on poverty and economic injustice.
Wider implications
Students need to focus on at least two implications and their selection could be determined by the type of social action being explained. All implications can be from within one or a combination of the suggested areas.