Conscience

The concept of conscience is a central theme in AQA A-Level Religious Studies, particularly within the Ethics and Philosophy of Religion components. It explores the nature, origin, and authority of the inner voice that guides moral decision-making. Students examine whether conscience is a divine gift (as in theological perspectives), a product of upbringing and society (psychological and sociological views), or an innate rational faculty (as in natural law theory). Understanding conscience is crucial for evaluating ethical theories like situation ethics, natural law, and Kantian ethics, and it connects to broader debates about free will, moral responsibility, and the relationship between religion and morality.

This topic matters because it addresses a fundamental human experience: the feeling of being morally compelled to act in a certain way, even against self-interest. For religious believers, conscience often represents God's voice or a divinely implanted moral compass; for secular thinkers, it may be a psychological mechanism or social conditioning. By studying conscience, students engage with key thinkers such as Aquinas (synderesis and conscientia), Freud (superego), and Newman (the 'aboriginal vicar of Christ'), and they must evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of each view. This prepares students for exam questions that ask them to compare and contrast perspectives, assess the reliability of conscience, and discuss its role in moral decision-making.

In the wider A-Level course, conscience links to topics like moral absolutism vs. relativism, the nature of God, and the problem of evil. For example, if conscience is God-given, why do people have conflicting consciences? If it is merely social conditioning, can it have any moral authority? These questions challenge students to think critically about the foundations of ethics and the human person. Mastery of this topic requires careful analysis of key texts, such as Aquinas's Summa Theologica and Freud's The Future of an Illusion, and the ability to construct balanced arguments that consider both religious and secular viewpoints.