REL315124 Studies of Religion Level 3 course document, Version 1c (current for 2026; accreditation renewed without amendment from 1 January 2026), read with the REL315124 External Assessment Specifications Version 3 (February 2026)
The external written examination runs for 3 hours of working time after 15 minutes of preparation time (notes on the supplied paper and highlighting the exam booklet only). No materials, notes, texts or information sheet are permitted. You answer one question from each of three sections, each in its own booklet, spending about 60 minutes per section. Section A (Questions 1–2, answer one) is on religious tradition 1 and a major variant; each question may carry one written or pictorial stimulus, and it assesses Criteria 1, 3 and 6. Section B (Questions 3–4, answer one) is on religious tradition 2: Question 3 on responses to suffering, Question 4 on responses to an ethical issue; it assesses Criteria 1, 3 and 7. Section C (Questions 5–9, answer one) offers one question for each depth-study topic — women and religion, contemporary war or conflict, religious ethics, science and religion, and Aboriginal Spirituality — and assesses Criteria 1, 3 and 8. If you answer Question 3 you cannot answer Question 6, and if you answer Question 4 you cannot answer Question 7. No question names a particular religion. TASC rates each criterion A+ to z and the exam supplies 5 of the 13 ratings used for your award; there is no raw mark or percentage. ATARMAxxing's practice papers use a 180-mark study allocation (60 per section, split 20 per criterion) only to help you judge balance — it is not TASC's grading method.
Past papers on this subject span more than one course document. Papers written under an older one still work as practice, but the modules they test have changed — the index labels every paper with the course document it was set under.
REL315124 — current for 2026 (course document Version 1c; External Assessment Specifications Version 3, February 2026) · 2024–current
The modules, one by one
Each area below lists the concepts named in the course document, what the TASC exam asks of them, and the mistake that most often costs marks.
- Module 1 — Religious tradition 1 and a major variant
- Module 2 — Religious tradition 2: suffering or ethics
- Module 3 — Depth study topics
Area 1 of 3
Module 1 — Religious tradition 1 and a major variant
You study one tradition chosen by your school from Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and Judaism: what it teaches about the divine and the metaphysical, the purpose of human life and the human condition, how humans relate to the world, how belief is expressed in ritual, worship, story and text, and how death and the afterlife are understood. You also study a major variant — how it developed, how its doctrine and practice differ and why, and where its adherents have cooperated or come into conflict with the wider tradition. The course frames this with Ninian Smart's dimensions and theological, philosophical, historical and sociological lenses.
What the course document lists under this area · 7 points
- Introduction to religious traditions: theological, philosophical, historical and sociological issues; Ninian Smart's dimensions
- Beliefs about the divine and the metaphysical
- Purpose and meaning of human existence and the human condition
- Relationship between humans and the world and moral behaviour
- Ritual, worship and other practices; stories and texts
- Death and the afterlife
- A major variant: history of development, differences in doctrine and practice, conflict and cooperation
What the exam asks
Section A: one essay from two generic questions, each possibly with a quotation or image stimulus. Assesses Criteria 1, 3 and 6 (origins of the variant, similarities and differences in doctrine, conflict and cooperation).
Where marks go missing
Examiners want two variants analysed in depth, not a tour of church history. The 2025 report criticised essays that covered every Christian division from Judaism to Methodism and treated 'Protestantism' as a single group; stronger answers worked from practices such as baptism or the Eucharist back to the beliefs that explain them.
Area 2 of 3
Module 2 — Religious tradition 2: suffering or ethics
You study a second, different tradition's beliefs about the divine, the metaphysical and human purpose, then investigate one contemporary issue through it: either suffering (how teaching explains suffering, how adherents find guidance and solace through ritual, leaders and texts, why suffering is allowed, with a case study) or ethics (how beliefs such as the sanctity of life underpin ethical views, how commandments, precepts and leaders guide decisions, with a case study on an issue such as ecology, social justice, war, medical intervention or relationships).
What the course document lists under this area · 3 points
- Beliefs about the divine, the metaphysical and the human condition in the second tradition
- Suffering: understanding of and responses to suffering; guidance and solace; why suffering is allowed; case study
- Ethics: how beliefs underpin ethical views; rules, commandments, precepts, leaders, story and text; case study (ecology, social justice, war, medical intervention, relationships, interpretation of texts)
What the exam asks
Section B: one essay from two — Question 3 on suffering, Question 4 on an ethical issue — both on your second tradition. Assesses Criteria 1, 3 and 7 (the rationale for the tradition's view, how beliefs and practices reinforce it, and how the tradition has responded).
Where marks go missing
A case study is evidence, not the essay. Both reports said many suffering essays became histories of the Holocaust instead of analysing how Jewish belief and practice helped adherents understand and endure suffering; the 2025 report also found most students ignored the required link to human nature and purpose.
Area 3 of 3
Module 3 — Depth study topics
You complete a teacher-guided depth study on one of five topics — women and religion, contemporary war or conflict, religious ethics, science and religion, or Aboriginal Spirituality — and then an independent depth study that extends it. You analyse the historical, social and doctrinal contexts of a tradition's attitude, the range of perspectives within it, the impact of change or lack of change, and the context, purpose, bias and reliability of your sources.
What the course document lists under this area · 6 points
- Topic A: Women and religion
- Topic B: Contemporary war or conflict
- Topic C: Religious ethics
- Topic D: Science and religion
- Topic E: Aboriginal Spirituality
- Contexts, perspectives, change or lack of change, and the evaluation of sources
What the exam asks
Section C: one essay from five, one per topic. Assesses Criteria 1, 3 and 8 (points of view of adherents, and their coherence and consistency). Questions ask you to draw on both depth studies and on primary and secondary sources.
Where marks go missing
Answer the question for the topic you actually studied. In ethics, the 2025 report told teachers to move away from secular frameworks such as utilitarianism and Kantian ethics; link any approach (natural law, double effect, situation ethics) to a named tradition and variant. Aboriginal Spirituality answers must be about spirituality, not rights or the Apology.
Common questions
Does the real TASC Studies of Religion exam have 180 marks?
No. TASC rates each criterion using extended ratings from A+ to z, and the paper's guide to exam structure says so. The 180-mark scheme on this hub (60 per section, split 20 per criterion) is ATARMAxxing's own practice allocation, mapped onto the criteria each section assesses; it is not an official TASC mark scheme.
Which religions can I write about?
Whichever traditions your school chose for Modules 1 and 2 from Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and Judaism. Exam questions never name a religion: Section A asks about the tradition you studied and its variant, Section B about your second tradition, and Section C about your depth-study topic.
Can I answer the suffering question and the war question?
No. The paper states that if you answer Question 3 (suffering) you cannot answer Question 6 (contemporary war or conflict), and if you answer Question 4 (an ethical issue) you cannot answer Question 7 (religious ethics). The 2025 report notes that students who answered both 4 and 7 were rated only on their stronger response.
Why are there only two past papers?
REL315124 is a new course that was first examined in 2024, so TASC has published only the 2024 and 2025 papers and assessment reports, plus an exemplar exam. Papers from the earlier Studies of Religion course are not a reliable guide to this structure.
Is there multiple choice or short answer?
No. Every response is an extended essay. The multiple-choice questions in this hub are a study tool for checking knowledge, not a TASC exam format.
What evidence should I use?
The assessment reports reward sacred texts, official teachings and rulings, and the views of recognised scholars and religious leaders, used to support analysis rather than as decoration. Section C questions explicitly ask for primary and secondary sources from your depth studies.
How long should each essay be?
Long enough to show depth in about 60 minutes. The 2025 report observed that around two pages per section was insufficient; plan quickly in preparation time and keep writing analysis rather than recount.