OCR A Level Religious Studies (H573)
Philosophy of Religion — Volume 1 of 3
Component H573/01
Every Topic · Every Scholar · Every Essay
, OCR H573 — Volume 1: Philosophy of Religion
Contents
Click any entry to jump to it (Word/most PDF viewers), or use your app’s navigation pane / bookmarks panel.
About this guide
How to use this guide
How this guide is marked
Command words: what the question is actually asking
Timing and structure: making the most of 40 minutes
What actually separates a top-band answer from a mid-band one
Mark scheme self-check
Technical terms glossary
What this volume covers
Synoptic Links to the Other Volumes
PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION
SECTION 1: PHILOSOPHICAL LANGUAGE AND THOUGHT
1.1 Ancient Philosophical Influences: Plato and Aristotle on Reality
1.2 Soul, Mind and Body
SECTION 2: THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
2.1 Arguments Based on Observation: The Cosmological and Teleological Arguments
2.2 Arguments Based on Reason: The Ontological Argument
SECTION 3: GOD AND THE WORLD
3.1 Religious Experience
3.2 The Problem of Evil
SECTION 4: THEOLOGICAL AND PHILOSOPHICAL DEVELOPMENTS
4.1 The Nature or Attributes of God
SECTION 5: RELIGIOUS LANGUAGE
5.1 Religious Language: Negative, Analogical or Symbolic
5.2 Religious Language: Twentieth Century Perspectives
Quotable Quotes, by Scholar
Quick Reference: Scholar Index
Page 2 of 47
, OCR H573 — Volume 1: Philosophy of Religion
About this guide
This guide was written entirely by a student who achieved an A* in OCR H573 Religious Studies and went
on to study at the University of Cambridge — compiled from their own revision notes, essay plans and
exam technique, then organised, deduplicated and checked against the published OCR specification
(Version 2.0, July 2026).
It is not an official OCR or Cambridge Assessment publication, and it is not endorsed, authorised, reviewed
or sponsored by OCR, Cambridge Assessment, or any awarding body. "OCR" and "H573" refer to the
examination and specification set by OCR (Oxford Cambridge and RSA, now trading as Cambridge OCR); all
such references are used only to identify the syllabus this guide supports. Short extracts from the OCR
specification are quoted or paraphrased for identification and study purposes only, and remain the
property of OCR/Cambridge OCR.
This guide is intended to support revision alongside your own class notes, set texts and teacher guidance
— not to replace them. Specifications are periodically updated, so always check the current live version of
the OCR H573 specification on the OCR website for the definitive statement of what may be examined in
your series.
This is Volume 1 of a 3-volume set covering the complete OCR H573 A Level: this volume covers
Philosophy of Religion (H573/01). Volume 2 covers Religion and Ethics (H573/02), and Volume 3 covers
Developments in Christian Thought (H573/03) — both mandatory/chosen components of the same A
Level, sold separately. Wherever a scholar or idea in this volume connects to material in the other two,
this guide flags it (see "Synoptic Links to the Other Volumes" after the topics below) — the whole point
being that the three volumes are designed to work as one complete system even though they're sold as
individual guides.
How to use this guide
Every topic in this volume follows the same structure:
● Spec focus — exactly what the OCR specification requires for this topic, so you always know the
boundary of what can be examined.
● Key scholars and ideas at a glance — a single, deduplicated reference bank of every scholar, thinker
and key idea relevant to the topic, so you are not re-reading the same point restated across several
essays.
● Likely essay questions — a question-spotting list gathering the range of ways this content has been,
and could be, examined.
● Essay plans — fully worked plans (introduction, three points, conclusion) for the most important or
most distinctive questions, written so each point expands into an A-level length paragraph in the
exam. Several topics also include a full worked model essay.
● 30-Second Recall — on the topics with the largest scholar banks, a condensed one-line-per-scholar
box for last-minute review.
A scholar index at the end cross-references every thinker in this volume — and notes where the same
thinker also appears in Volumes 2 or 3.
Page 3 of 47
, OCR H573 — Volume 1: Philosophy of Religion
HOW TO ACTUALLY REVISE WITH THIS
Don't just read it. Read a topic's scholar bank once, then close the guide and try to write the essay
plan from memory before checking it against the one here. The gap between what you remembered
and what's on the page is exactly what to revise next.
How this guide is marked
Every essay plan in this guide is built around how OCR actually marks H573 — not just what it asks.
Understanding this is worth more marks than almost anything else in this section.
The structure of the exam. Each of your three papers — Philosophy of Religion, Religion and Ethics, and
Developments in Christian Thought — is a separate two-hour written exam worth 120 marks, and each is
exactly one-third (33.3%) of your overall A Level (360 marks in total, across 360 guided learning hours of
the course). On each paper you're given four essay questions and answer three of them; each essay is
worth 40 marks. Questions can be drawn from any part of the specification — sometimes two questions
come from the same section, sometimes all four are from different sections — so genuine coverage of the
whole spec matters more than banking on your favourite three topics coming up. That's the whole reason
this guide insists on covering every topic rather than the ones that happen to be more interesting.
The two Assessment Objectives. Every mark on every essay is split between:
● AO1 — Knowledge and understanding (40% of the A Level): religious, philosophical and/or ethical
thought and teaching; the influence of beliefs, teachings and practices; the causes and significance of
similarities and differences; approaches to the study of religion and belief.
● AO2 — Analysis and evaluation (60% of the A Level): analysing and evaluating aspects of, and
approaches to, religion and belief, including their significance, influence and study.
How every H573 essay is weighted between AO1 and AO2
Page 4 of 47
Philosophy of Religion — Volume 1 of 3
Component H573/01
Every Topic · Every Scholar · Every Essay
, OCR H573 — Volume 1: Philosophy of Religion
Contents
Click any entry to jump to it (Word/most PDF viewers), or use your app’s navigation pane / bookmarks panel.
About this guide
How to use this guide
How this guide is marked
Command words: what the question is actually asking
Timing and structure: making the most of 40 minutes
What actually separates a top-band answer from a mid-band one
Mark scheme self-check
Technical terms glossary
What this volume covers
Synoptic Links to the Other Volumes
PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION
SECTION 1: PHILOSOPHICAL LANGUAGE AND THOUGHT
1.1 Ancient Philosophical Influences: Plato and Aristotle on Reality
1.2 Soul, Mind and Body
SECTION 2: THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
2.1 Arguments Based on Observation: The Cosmological and Teleological Arguments
2.2 Arguments Based on Reason: The Ontological Argument
SECTION 3: GOD AND THE WORLD
3.1 Religious Experience
3.2 The Problem of Evil
SECTION 4: THEOLOGICAL AND PHILOSOPHICAL DEVELOPMENTS
4.1 The Nature or Attributes of God
SECTION 5: RELIGIOUS LANGUAGE
5.1 Religious Language: Negative, Analogical or Symbolic
5.2 Religious Language: Twentieth Century Perspectives
Quotable Quotes, by Scholar
Quick Reference: Scholar Index
Page 2 of 47
, OCR H573 — Volume 1: Philosophy of Religion
About this guide
This guide was written entirely by a student who achieved an A* in OCR H573 Religious Studies and went
on to study at the University of Cambridge — compiled from their own revision notes, essay plans and
exam technique, then organised, deduplicated and checked against the published OCR specification
(Version 2.0, July 2026).
It is not an official OCR or Cambridge Assessment publication, and it is not endorsed, authorised, reviewed
or sponsored by OCR, Cambridge Assessment, or any awarding body. "OCR" and "H573" refer to the
examination and specification set by OCR (Oxford Cambridge and RSA, now trading as Cambridge OCR); all
such references are used only to identify the syllabus this guide supports. Short extracts from the OCR
specification are quoted or paraphrased for identification and study purposes only, and remain the
property of OCR/Cambridge OCR.
This guide is intended to support revision alongside your own class notes, set texts and teacher guidance
— not to replace them. Specifications are periodically updated, so always check the current live version of
the OCR H573 specification on the OCR website for the definitive statement of what may be examined in
your series.
This is Volume 1 of a 3-volume set covering the complete OCR H573 A Level: this volume covers
Philosophy of Religion (H573/01). Volume 2 covers Religion and Ethics (H573/02), and Volume 3 covers
Developments in Christian Thought (H573/03) — both mandatory/chosen components of the same A
Level, sold separately. Wherever a scholar or idea in this volume connects to material in the other two,
this guide flags it (see "Synoptic Links to the Other Volumes" after the topics below) — the whole point
being that the three volumes are designed to work as one complete system even though they're sold as
individual guides.
How to use this guide
Every topic in this volume follows the same structure:
● Spec focus — exactly what the OCR specification requires for this topic, so you always know the
boundary of what can be examined.
● Key scholars and ideas at a glance — a single, deduplicated reference bank of every scholar, thinker
and key idea relevant to the topic, so you are not re-reading the same point restated across several
essays.
● Likely essay questions — a question-spotting list gathering the range of ways this content has been,
and could be, examined.
● Essay plans — fully worked plans (introduction, three points, conclusion) for the most important or
most distinctive questions, written so each point expands into an A-level length paragraph in the
exam. Several topics also include a full worked model essay.
● 30-Second Recall — on the topics with the largest scholar banks, a condensed one-line-per-scholar
box for last-minute review.
A scholar index at the end cross-references every thinker in this volume — and notes where the same
thinker also appears in Volumes 2 or 3.
Page 3 of 47
, OCR H573 — Volume 1: Philosophy of Religion
HOW TO ACTUALLY REVISE WITH THIS
Don't just read it. Read a topic's scholar bank once, then close the guide and try to write the essay
plan from memory before checking it against the one here. The gap between what you remembered
and what's on the page is exactly what to revise next.
How this guide is marked
Every essay plan in this guide is built around how OCR actually marks H573 — not just what it asks.
Understanding this is worth more marks than almost anything else in this section.
The structure of the exam. Each of your three papers — Philosophy of Religion, Religion and Ethics, and
Developments in Christian Thought — is a separate two-hour written exam worth 120 marks, and each is
exactly one-third (33.3%) of your overall A Level (360 marks in total, across 360 guided learning hours of
the course). On each paper you're given four essay questions and answer three of them; each essay is
worth 40 marks. Questions can be drawn from any part of the specification — sometimes two questions
come from the same section, sometimes all four are from different sections — so genuine coverage of the
whole spec matters more than banking on your favourite three topics coming up. That's the whole reason
this guide insists on covering every topic rather than the ones that happen to be more interesting.
The two Assessment Objectives. Every mark on every essay is split between:
● AO1 — Knowledge and understanding (40% of the A Level): religious, philosophical and/or ethical
thought and teaching; the influence of beliefs, teachings and practices; the causes and significance of
similarities and differences; approaches to the study of religion and belief.
● AO2 — Analysis and evaluation (60% of the A Level): analysing and evaluating aspects of, and
approaches to, religion and belief, including their significance, influence and study.
How every H573 essay is weighted between AO1 and AO2
Page 4 of 47
