TK Study › Part B: Religion and Non-Religion › Master answers

Part B: Religion and Non-Religion: master answers

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1. How to use master answers

What this page is. Plug-and-play building blocks for writing any answer in this area. Pick the blocks that fit the question, then join them with the question's own words.

Module. A self-contained paragraph-sized block of evidence, labelled with a letter and number (for example J1, B2, S1). Each module gives you evidence (the facts and quotes), its impact (why it matters for adherents) and a judgement line that answers the question. Use one module per paragraph.

Pivot table. A grid showing how to turn the same modules toward different question wordings (for example "impact", "significance", "expresses beliefs"). Find the question's verb or key word, then use the matching line.

Word-count guide (about 30 words per mark in exam conditions):

• 2–3 marks: 60–100 words, one point with evidence
• 4–5 marks: 120–180 words, two points with evidence
• 6–7 marks: 200–260 words, two or three modules and a judgement
• 8–9 marks: 280–350 words, three modules, judgement in every paragraph
• 15-mark response: 650–850 words
• 20-mark response: 850–1100 words

2. How it is marked

Q22 marking (NESA MGs). The top band:

• addresses the verb explicitly;
• gives specific examples drawn from religious traditions and named worldviews;
• distinguishes concepts accurately (cohesion vs transformation; atheism vs agnosticism).

The 2025 feedback rewarded concrete examples (MLK, Wilberforce, Gandhi, tikkun olam, zakat). Use the Q11 template from the Part A document: answer → 2–3 modules → judgement.

3. B1 · Expressions of the religious dimension: animism, polytheism, monotheism

Pivots. Describe/outline: all three. Explain how each expresses the religious dimension: how each answers the human search for the transcendent. Trap: Hinduism wording (see B1 MCQ traps).

Base master answer.

Q: Distinguish between animism, polytheism and monotheism, with examples.

• Animism is the belief that spirits inhabit natural objects, places and creatures, as seen in many Indigenous and Shinto traditions, where the sacred is immanent in nature.
• Polytheism is belief in many gods, each with distinct roles, as in ancient Greek religion and many expressions of Hinduism (e.g. devotion to Shiva, Vishnu and Devi). Many Hindus also see the gods as manifestations of one ultimate reality, Brahman.
• Monotheism is belief in one God, the creator and sovereign of the universe, as in Judaism, Christianity and Islam ("tawhid").

These categories show how humans have expressed the religious dimension in different ways, from the sacred within nature to a single transcendent God.

4. B2 · The religious dimension: meaning and purpose, social cohesion, social transformation

Pivots. Distinguish cohesion and transformation (2025 feedback): cohesion maintains society; transformation changes it. Explain the contribution: M1 → M2 → M3. Assess: M4 as the limit.

Base master answer.

Q: (2025 type) Evaluate the place of the religious dimension in providing social transformation. Feedback: transformation ≠ cohesion.

The religious dimension has been a powerful agent of social transformation, meaning changes to the structure and values of society, not just social unity. Examples:

• Christian abolitionists such as William Wilberforce helped end the British slave trade.
• Martin Luther King Jr's faith inspired the US civil rights movement.
• Gandhi's ahimsa reshaped Indian independence.
• Religious welfare agencies helped build modern social services.
• Jewish tikkun olam and Islamic zakat motivate continuing justice work.

These are the examples given in NESA's 2025 MG. However, religion has also resisted change (e.g. some opposition to gender equality), and secular movements also transform society. On balance, the religious dimension has played a significant though not exclusive role, because its teachings supply both the motive and the moral authority for reform.

5. B3 · The global distribution of the five major religious traditions

M1. Size

• Christians 28.8% (2.3 bn)
• Muslims 25.6%; unaffiliated 24.2% (1.9 bn)
• Hindus 14.9% (1.2 bn)
• Buddhists 4.1% (324 m)
• Jews about 0.2% (14.8 m).

M2. Change 2010–2020

• Muslims were the fastest-growing group (+347 m, more than all other religions combined)
• Buddhists were the only group to decline (−19 m); the "nones" grew through switching out of Christianity.

M3. Geography

• 99% of Hindus and 98% of Buddhists live in Asia-Pacific
• India is home to 95% of Hindus. Christianity is the most dispersed, with sub-Saharan Africa its largest region (31%) ahead of Latin America (24%) and Europe (22%). Israel is the only Jewish-majority country (46% of all Jews). Seven Buddhist-majority countries (Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Laos, Mongolia).

M4. Australia

• Christians fell 20 points, to 47%; the unaffiliated rose 17 points.

Pivots. Describe distribution: M1 + M3. Explain changes: M2 with causes (fertility, age structure, switching). Data stimulus: trend → magnitude → cause.

Base master answer.

Q: Using statistical data, describe the global distribution of the major religious traditions.

According to the Pew Research Center (2025, using 2020 data):

• Christians are the largest group (28.8%, ~2.3 billion), concentrated in the Americas, Europe and sub-Saharan Africa.
• Muslims are 25.6% and the fastest growing (+347 million since 2010), concentrated across the Middle East–North Africa, South and Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Pakistan, India).
• Hindus are 14.9% (~1.2 billion), overwhelmingly in India and Nepal.
• Buddhists are 4.1% (324 million), mainly in East and Southeast Asia, and were the only major group to decline.
• Jews are about 0.2%, concentrated in Israel and the USA.
• The religiously unaffiliated (24.2%) are now a major global category, particularly in China, Europe and Australia, where Christians fell below 50% (47% in Pew's data).

Distribution reflects history, birth rates and migration.

6. B4 · New religious expressions: reasons (fulfilment, ethical guidelines, relationship with society) and influences (materialism, scientific progress, ecological awareness, disenchantment)

Pivots. Explain ONE influence: go deep (e.g. ecological awareness → Earth-centred ritual → environmental activism). Trap: "globalisation" is not a syllabus influence.

Base master answer.

Q: (2017/2018) Explain why new religious expressions and spiritualities have grown.

New religious expressions have grown as people search for personal fulfilment, seek ethical guidelines and clarify their relationship with society outside traditional institutions. Four influences are important:

• Materialism has left some feeling spiritually empty, prompting a search for meaning beyond consumption.
• Scientific progress has challenged literal readings of traditional texts, so some turn to spiritualities compatible with science, such as mindfulness.
• Ecological awareness has inspired nature-based spiritualities such as Neo-Paganism and eco-spirituality, which treat the earth as sacred.
• Disenchantment with traditional religion, including perceived rigid teaching on gender and sexuality, institutional abuse scandals and hierarchical authority, has driven people to individualised "spiritual but not religious" paths.

NESA's 2018 sample answer links ecological awareness and disenchantment to the search for "purpose and meaning".

7. B5 · Non-religious worldviews: Atheism, Agnosticism, Rational and Scientific Humanism

M1. Atheism

• Denial of, or lack of belief in, God. ABS 2021: 37,800 identified as Atheism.

M2. Agnosticism

• God's existence is unknown or unknowable (a term coined by T. H. Huxley). ABS 2021: 31,680.

M3. Humanism

• Amsterdam Declaration 2022 ✓ verified: morality is "inherent to the human condition… needing no source outside of humanity"
• "personal liberty must be combined with a responsibility to society"; knowledge is won "through a continuing process of observation, learning, and rethinking". The Declaration was first agreed in 1952 and updated in 2002 and 2022.

M4. Rational vs Scientific Humanism

• Rational: reason as the basis of ethics (the Enlightenment). Scientific: science as the path to knowledge and progress ("while science provides the means, human values must define the ends", 2022).

M5. Example

• Fred Hollows, the humanist example in NESA 2023 feedback.

Pivots. Distinguish: atheism (a belief claim) vs agnosticism (a knowledge claim). Explain the humanist view of the human person or social responsibility: M3 quotes. Trap: "no religion" ≠ atheist (9.77 million ticked "no religion, so described").

Base master answer.

Q: Discuss how Atheism, Agnosticism and Humanism determine the aspirations and behaviour of individuals.

• Atheism holds that there is no God. Meaning is created by humans in this life alone, so atheists often aspire to live fully now and base ethics on reason and human wellbeing.
• Agnosticism (a term coined by T. H. Huxley) holds that God's existence is unknown or unknowable. Agnostics suspend judgement and may live open, questioning lives.
• Rational Humanism uses reason, not revelation, to guide ethical living and human flourishing.
• Scientific Humanism emphasises science and evidence as the path to human progress.

These worldviews shape behaviour. Humanists, for example, pursue social responsibility through secular service. Fred Hollows, whom NESA's 2023 feedback cites as a humanist example, restored sight to many people through his foundation. As 38.9% of Australians report no religion (2021), these worldviews increasingly shape ethics and civic life.

8. B6 · Compare ONE religious and ONE non-religious belief system on the transcendent, the human person and social responsibility

Pivots.

• Compare demands explicit similarity and difference in each area; use "both… whereas…".
• Explain differences: go deeper on the transcendent.
• Swap in Islam (tawhid; khalifah; zakat) or Buddhism (non-theistic; anatta; karuna) where useful.

Base master answer.

Q: Compare the response of Christianity and Humanism to the human person. (Never yet a 5-marker, so it is overdue.) 2015 feedback: understand "compare" (similarities and differences); name both systems.

• Christianity: the human person is created "in God's image" (Genesis 1:27), with inherent dignity, an eternal soul and a destiny with God. Fulfilment comes through relationship with God and love of neighbour (Matthew 22:37–39).
• Humanism: the human person is a product of natural evolution, without a soul or afterlife. Dignity derives from our capacity for reason, empathy and moral choice.
• Similarities: both affirm human dignity and the duty to care for others, which leads both to social responsibility (e.g. Christian agencies such as Act for Peace, and humanist service such as the Fred Hollows Foundation).
• Differences: Christianity grounds dignity in a transcendent God and sees purpose given from beyond. Humanism grounds it immanently, in human nature, and sees purpose as self-created.

Thus they converge in ethics but diverge in the source of meaning.

1. NESA sample answers for Question 22

2015 Q22 (NESA sample answer): A Christian and an atheist respond to social responsibility differently. A Christian would argue that, as part of a community built on a set of beliefs, practices, ethics and texts, social responsibility is intrinsic to their identity. A baptised Christian, initiated into the belief system, will attempt to live their life according to God’s instruction, such as assuring the preferential option for the poor, whereas an atheist would look after others in order to give the best opportunity for humans to live a life fulfilled. The atheist would argue for just laws to protect the poor and create equality for all to ensure all life is cared for in order for humanity to live harmoniously. BOSTES 2015 HSC Studies of Religion Marking Guidelines

2016 Q22 (NESA sample answer): Throughout history, religions have relied on their traditions to bring about social transformation. Radical change can come when a religion remains true to the roots of their social justice principles while keeping in touch with a modern changing world. For example, a Jewish scholar who seeks guidance from sacred text to motivate their decisions regarding a modern social issue such as reproductive technologies or asylum seekers. Also, identifying past errors and using them to make lasting changes such as Christian groups working for ecumenism. BOSTES 2016 HSC Studies of Religion Marking Guidelines

2017 Q22 (NESA sample answer): The modern understanding of personal fulfilment has become increasingly influenced by secular values and ideals. Whereas personal fulfilment may have been best expressed in the past through traditional faith values such as family, acts of charity and so on, today’s society motivates people to desire the acquisition of material goods, wealth or climbing the corporate ladder to be fulfilled. These measures of personal fulfilment are in stark contrast to the basic tenets of mainstream religions such as Christianity and Islam, which ask adherents to forgo personal desire for the building up of the faith community to pursue a life of charity and prayer in order to fulfil oneself in this life and to prepare oneself for the next life. This contradiction between traditional sacred and contemporary secular ideas of personal fulfilment has in part contributed to the rise in new religious expressions as people seek something that ‘fits’ with the modern, secular understanding of personal fulfilment. An example of this phenomenon can be seen in the emergence of Happy Science Australia.

2018 Q22 (NESA sample answer): Increased ecological awareness and disenchantment with traditional religious practice and guidance are both influences which have contributed to the growth of new religious expressions and spiritualities. Many individuals recognise the relationship between human action and the state of the environment. Some have been able to achieve a sense of spiritual freedom through a humble existence, choosing to live simply. Developing positive and life- giving relationships with ecology can provide these individuals with purpose and meaning. This has coincided with growing disenchantment with the conservative practice and guidance of some traditional religious worldviews. The fixed nature of some of their ethical teachings has led to disenchantment among adherents, especially in response to contemporary issues such as gender equality and marriage. As a result, these individuals have sought out more progressive spiritualities for liberal guidance towards purpose and meaning.

2019 Q22 (NESA sample answer): Human beings have long sought answers from religious worldviews to the questions that define who we are and the purpose of humanity. Islam is a religious tradition which provides adherents with answers to the four enduring questions of human existence. As Islamic adherents search for meaning and depth in their life, they are provided with a structured belief system that clearly answers what their purpose in life is, absolute surrender and submission to Allah, and can be reassured that there is life after death, Akhira, or Paradise. Through providing such definitive answers, Muslims are reassured about the complex issues that cause great anxiety and worry in life. Islam offers a structured belief system and ethical framework as well as a strong communal foundation. All of these aspects allow an adherent to live fully, understanding their purpose, and realising why humanity was created and continues.

2020 Q22 (NESA sample answer): Theist and atheists have fundamentally opposed worldviews. While theists embrace the challenge of accepting the existence of the transcendent, and of god’s agency in human society, atheists reject this as superstitious belief. Atheists argue that there is no evidence of god or of a transcendent aspect to reality. Therefore, belief in a higher power than humanity actually limits human autonomy. Atheists would argue that “it takes a greater mind” to assess personal behaviour, moral and ethical frameworks based on preferred outcomes and social responsibilities than it does to ‘outsource’ responsibility for this behaviour to religious institutions. Theists, however, would argue that the transcendent nature of god is a mystery that should be embraced. The capacity of the human mind to expand when in contact with divine agency would be, for theists, evidence that only “greater minds” can “find god”.

2021 Q22 (NESA sample answer): Religiously-founded beliefs in the meaning and purpose of life strengthen the capacity for the individual to cope with stress and adversity. The religious dimension also incorporates moral guidance for individuals seeking to discover their meaning and purpose through the role modelling of key religious individuals. For example, this can be seen in Christianity where Pope Francis’s views on the environment through Laudato Si promote opportunities for social cohesion and transformation within society. Individuals are therefore empowered through the meaning and purpose presented by the religious dimension. It contributes to the adherent’s desire to make a positive contribution to society and social cohesion as an agent of reform in the struggle for many social justice issues including poverty, racial and gender equality, and care for the elderly.

2022 Q22 (NESA sample answer): Social cohesion is a foundation for constructing a peaceful and harmonious community with shared values and a common past allowing individuals to integrate and build a ‘cohesive society’. For example, Sharia Law forms values, beliefs and rituals for all Muslims, which ‘works towards the wellbeing of all its members’. Religion, because of its teachings on justice and welfare, has been a catalyst for social cohesion. Adherents are more likely to work for charities and religious organisations that provide social welfare eg Uniting Justice, Salvation Army and St Vincent De Paul.

2023 Q22 (NESA sample answer): Humanism is a philosophical and ethical stance that emphasises the value and agency of human beings, individually and collectively. Both rational or scientific humanism prefer using human reason and evidence to solve problems, rather than drawing on the belief that a higher being ‘is watching’. The influence of humanism on people ‘to do the right thing’ comes from the emphasis on individual responsibility and the development of one’s own ethical principles. Humanists believe that people have the ability to determine what is right and wrong based on rationalism and empathy, and that they should act on these principles in their daily lives in order to do good. This can encourage people to think critically about their actions, and strive to ‘do the right thing’ because of the impact it has on others, regardless of the existence and judgement of a higher power.

2024 Q22 (NESA sample answer): Islam represents approximately 24% of the global population as the second largest religion after Christianity. 87% of Indonesians identify as Muslims followed by dominance in Pakistan and Bangladesh. Conversely, Buddhism accounts for around 7% of the global population with Thailand representing the highest concentration of adherents followed by Cambodia, Japan and China. In Western nations Buddhism typically represents 1–2% of populations.

2025 Q22 (NESA sample answer): The religious dimension has often been a force for social transformation, serving as a catalyst for change. As the quote suggests, religions have been a force in shaping social norms and values. Significant figures such as Martin Luther King Jr, guided by Christianity’s emphasis on ‘love thy neighbour’ inspired communities to mobilise against systemic racism and segregation. This led to significant legislative changes that advanced civil rights for African Americans. The religious dimension has positively transformed society by promoting justice establishing societal norms and placing a greater emphasis on human dignity. Answers could include:Religious teachings and leaders such as those involved in the abolition of slavery and the civil rights movements often cited their faith as catalyst for fighting injustice.The Christian teachings of compassion and care for the marginalised contributed to the development of social welfare systems across the world eg in Europe and Australia.Hindu values of non-violence and selfless action help drive social and political change in India, eg the movement for Independence from British rule.Hinduism has also been a force in promoting environmental awareness and sustainability. Concepts such as Prakriti (nature) and the belief in the interconnectedness of all living things encourage a sustainable relationship with the environment.Movements grounded in the Hindu understanding of the sanctity of nature and the need for humanity to live in harmony with the earth.The Jewish teaching of Tikkun Olam (repairing the world) encourages social action to improve society. Judaism’s ethical teachings have consistently fostered positive societal changes, for example tzedakah (charity) emphasises the moral responsibility to help the marginalised.Islamic teachings on charity (zakat), have led to significant social welfare initiatives.Buddhist values on (ahimsa) have inspired peace building efforts.