Sacred texts don't interpret themselves. This 17-page guide shows how religions read, reread, and argue about scripture to create meaning—and how those interpretations shape ethics, law, and social action. Suitable for both the current IB World Religions and the new IB Religions and Society.
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Theme 3.1 (Interpretation of Texts) covers Talmudic debate in Judaism, Quranic tafsir and Islamic jurisprudence, and Christian scripture wars (slavery, LGBTQ+ rights). Theme 3.2 (Interpretation of the World) explores evolution vs. creationism, liberation theology's political reading of the Bible, and competing environmental interpretations.
Each example shows how hermeneutics—interpretation method—determines outcomes. The same text justifies opposite conclusions. Students learn that religious meaning-making is neither arbitrary nor fixed; it's disciplined and contested.
Includes: "How to Apply" with IB command terms and thesis models. Practice questions move from identifying interpretive differences to evaluating their consequences.
Full essay prompt asks students to argue whether sacred texts determine meaning or interpretation does. Full example essay Full Teacher Guide For: HL and SL students, textual analysis skills, biblical criticism intro, hermeneutics study, theological debate, independent learning, HL essay prep.
Designed for grades 9th – 12th.
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