Religious organisations: churches, sects, cults and New Age movements P2

Mark scheme, including the levels grid and indicative content

Examiner's comment

The nature of these questions means that students cannot rely on reciting knowledge. Questions will ask them to bring together aspects of their sociological knowledge in ways they have not done before. It is therefore important for students to allow time to think about how to answer the question. Students should be aware that there are two types of ten-mark questions. These have different requirements and different mark schemes. There are different marks available for the assessment objectives. The items for 10 mark “analyse” questions are written to give prompts or “hooks” for student answers. These must be used to access application marks. Answers can indicate use of hooks by quoting, by a reference in parentheses or by wording (e.g. “As the item says…”). Items end with a sentence restating the question; the hooks are in the preceding part of the item. Introductions and conclusions are not required for 10-mark questions, are unlikely to help students and take up time. It is helpful if answers are set out to clearly indicate the two answers, with wording such as “One way/reason is…” or by starting a new paragraph for the second point. Answers that give more than two answers are unlikely to develop two of them sufficiently. The most successful answers to 10-mark questions were focused, clearly stating a point that addressed the question and then developing it, using sociological concepts, evidence such as an example and, where appropriate, theory. Most students were able to identify the hooks. Good responses used the hooks to show the difference between denominations and New Age Movements focusing on individuality, spirituality and equality, with examples. Less successful answers essentially took the hooks and stated that NAMs were different, with little if any further development. A number were also unclear about NAMs, confusing them with New Religious Movements or sects.

Notes from the mark scheme and report

• item hooks: traditional beliefs vs self-spirituality, and formal hierarchy vs individual authority
• weaker answers just said NAMs were different without development
• some confused NAMs with NRMs or sects
• drift into other organisations = 1–3

Mark scheme, including the levels grid and indicative content

Examiner's comment

The nature of these questions means that students cannot rely on reciting knowledge. The questions will ask them to bring together aspects of their sociological knowledge in a way that they are unlikely to have done before. There was a tendency, however, to attempt to answer the question by giving knowledge based on words or phrases in the question, rather than meeting the demands of the question. Students are advised to spend time reading the question, and, where there is one the item, to ensure that they are answering the question. Some students seemed unaware of the different demands of the two types of questions. The marks awarded for the assessment objectives are different in the two types of ten mark questions, and students should be aware of this. In “analyse” (with item) questions, the answers need to be clearly based on the prompts or “hooks” in the item, not just on the final sentence of the item which restates the question. There is no need for an introduction or conclusion for 10 mark questions. It is helpful if answers are set out to clearly indicate the two answers, with wording such as “One way is…” or by starting a new paragraph for the second point. The best answers to 10 mark questions were focused, clearly stating a point that addressed the question and then developing it, using sociological concepts, evidence and, where appropriate, theory. Answers need to address all aspects of the question. For example, answers to question 14 (B1 Beliefs in Society) needed to be clear about how the “way” given applied to sects in particular, rather than being in a form that could apply to other types of religious organisation. In this case, one way to do this would be to discuss features of sects relevant to the question, with a named example. Q14 As suggested above, there was a lack of knowledge of sects and their characteristics. This led to answers that were in general terms about how religion could help people in poverty or those experiencing uncertainty in times of rapid social change.

Notes from the mark scheme and report

• hooks: poverty (marginality, theodicy of disprivilege) and uncertainty from rapid change (anomie)
• each way must apply to sects specifically, ideally with a named sect, not religion in general
• many lacked knowledge of sects' features
• describing sects' characteristics alone = 1–3 band

Mark scheme, including the levels grid and indicative content

Examiner's comment

As information was given in the item about churches, answers needed to focus on how New Age Movements differ, on the characteristics referred to in the item. Some students wrote mostly about churches as religious organisations, sometimes showing good knowledge but not addressing the question directly. There was a disappointing lack of knowledge of NAMs, with few answers being able to give examples, and some weak answers simply stated that the characteristics of NAMs were the opposite of those of churches, without explanation or elaboration. The particular requirements of both types of 10 mark questions mean that the role of the teacher in explaining the format of questions and, for ‘analyse’ questions, the structure and content of the items, is essential, as is practice followed by constructive feedback. Students need to be aware that these questions will always require connections to be made between different parts of the specification for the topic, and that this will require thinking in the examination about how the two aspects are connected.

Notes from the mark scheme and report

• must develop hooks from Item I (traditional and conservative beliefs, strict hierarchy)
• the last line restates the question and is not a hook
• item already describes churches, so answers must explain how New Age movements differ on those characteristics
• many wrote mostly about churches
• knowledge of NAMs and examples was weak
• simply saying NAMs are the opposite without explanation scored little
• drift into NRMs = 1–3

Mark scheme, including the levels grid and indicative content

Examiner's comment

There was a tendency for answers to focus on general points about gender and religion (such as women being excluded from the priesthood) without explaining why these might or might not apply in the case of New Age movements. Some answers confused New Age movements with sects and cults or with New Religious movements. The 10-mark “outline and explain” questions produced variable answers. A common fault was to focus on one element of the question only, rather than recognising that the question required connections to be made between different elements. Students need guidance from their teachers to appreciate that these questions may require them to bring together learning from different sections of the specification within the topic. Students also need to be aware that there are no marks available for evaluation on this question.

Notes from the mark scheme and report

• reasons specific to New Age movements: expressive role, escape from patriarchal traditional religion, emphasis on personal experience, nature and healing
• general gender-and-religion points (e.g. exclusion from priesthood) not tied to New Age gain little
• confusing New Age with sects, cults or NRMs is common
• no marks for evaluation in this question type (examiners' report general remark)

Mark scheme, including the levels grid and indicative content

Examiner's comment

Most students answered their chosen questions in the order in which they appeared on the question paper. They therefore answered the 20 mark essay question in section B last. Some student responses to this question were relatively brief and seemingly unfinished. This suggests that timing was a problem for some students. Many scripts had one substantial well developed answer to a 20 mark question and one significantly briefer one, suggesting problems with timing. It is often the case that a wide range of material can be relevant to these questions, and students need to carefully choose the content they wish to use by planning their answers. For example, it may be more effective to cover a limited number of views or theories in some depth rather than to include every possible theory. There was a tendency for answers to progressively lose sight of the question and to become a list of different views. The best answers will address all aspects of the question and will draw on theories, concepts and empirical examples or evidence. Evaluation which meets the demands of the questions is better than points of criticism which have been learned and included, regardless of the question. Students should also be aware that evaluation includes awareness of the strengths as well as the weaknesses of an argument, theory or piece of evidence. Answers here showed a good range of knowledge. Most students took cues from the item and discussed a range of developments, such as variations of secularisation, growth of science and rationality and the growth of New Age activities. There was pleasing evidence of knowledge of contemporary postmodern approaches but only the best answers explicitly addressed spirituality or considered that there might be a difference between the spiritual and the religious.

Notes from the mark scheme and report

• top band develops the debate between postmodernism and secularisation theory
• only the best addressed spirituality explicitly and distinguished the spiritual from the religious
• many just surveyed secularisation, rationality and New Age growth
• AO split from AQA's standard grid for this paper (this year's mark scheme does not print it).

Mark scheme, including the levels grid and indicative content

Examiner's comment

A number of students wrote introductory paragraphs and/or conclusions. These are not necessary, and are unlikely to gain additional marks. A number of students made only one point in their answer, or three or more, rather than the two asked for. In these cases, the two best answers were rewarded and will be in future series. It is helpful for students to clearly indicate their two answers, with wording such as “One way is…” or by starting a new paragraph for their second point. Schools and colleges should note that there is no reference in the mark scheme for 10 mark ‘outline and explain’ questions to evaluation, and that evaluation is not a requirement for answers to these questions. The assessment objective allocations are different in the two types of 10 mark questions, and students should be made aware of this. There was a wide range of responses to these questions. A minority of students wrote very brief answers. For these 10 mark items, a simple statement of two ways, reasons or factors, without development, is not sufficient to access more than the lower marks in the mark range. The best answers were focused, clearly stating a point and then developing it, with use of sociological concepts, evidence and theory where appropriate, in ways that demonstrated the skills expected from the targeted assessment objectives. There was a tendency, however, for many answers to focus on the first aspect of the question at the expense of the second. Students need guidance on how to approach these questions and how to best demonstrate their sociological understanding. The nature of these questions means that students cannot rely on reciting knowledge. They require students to bring together two aspects of their sociological knowledge in a way that they are unlikely to have done before. Answers will sometimes require claims that students may be unsure of because they do not know of specific evidence (for example, in question 5, whether migrants from Eastern Europe who are single workers tend to live alone or in shared households). However, answers that are sociologically plausible will be accepted. Better answers identified particular social groups and were able to use specific examples. Some found it difficult to explain why sects would recruit them specifically. A few conflated sects and other organisations, such as NAMs.

Notes from the mark scheme and report

• two reasons (marginality and theodicy of disprivilege, relative deprivation, status frustration, anomie)
• drift into religious organisations in general = 1–3
• better answers named specific groups with examples
• some could not explain why sects specifically recruit them, or confused sects with NAMs

Mark scheme, including the levels grid and indicative content

Notes from the mark scheme and report

• must link sects and NAMs to secularisation (sects as response to lost certainty and atomisation
• NAMs serving secular, this-worldly goals)
• analysis of their appeal to particular social groups
• general accounts of religious organisations = 1–3 band