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100+ Free Advanced Higher Religious, Moral and Philosophical Studies Practice Questions

Prepare for the Advanced Higher Religious, Moral and Philosophical Studies (Qualifications Scotland SCQF Level 7) exam with instant access — no signup required.

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Key Facts: Advanced Higher Religious, Moral and Philosophical Studies Exam

Scottish Advanced Higher RMPS is 140 marks: a 90-mark, 3-hour question paper covering philosophy of religion, medical ethics and religious experience, plus a 50-mark project-dissertation of up to 4,000 words. This free 100-question multiple-choice bank works through the arguments, theodicies, bioethical positions and accounts of religious experience behind the paper.

Sample Advanced Higher Religious, Moral and Philosophical Studies Practice Questions

Try these sample questions to test your Advanced Higher Religious, Moral and Philosophical Studies exam readiness. Each question includes a detailed explanation. Start the interactive quiz above for the full 100+ question experience with AI tutoring.

1In Thomas Aquinas' Five Ways (Summa Theologiae), what is the core premise of the Third Way (Argument from Contingency)?
A.Everything in the physical universe is contingent and requires a necessary being for its existence.
B.The complexity of biological structures proves the existence of a divine designer.
C.The concept of a supreme being implies God must exist in reality as well as in the mind.
D.Every event in time must have a temporal cause stretching back into an infinite past.
Explanation: Aquinas' Third Way argues that contingent things (which can exist or not exist) cannot account for their own existence. If everything were contingent, at one time nothing would have existed, so there must exist a necessary being (God) whose existence is not dependent on anything else.
2What is the primary analogy used by William Paley in Natural Theology (1802) to illustrate the Teleological Argument?
A.A shipbuilder constructing a complex ocean vessel
B.A pocket watch found on a heath exhibiting purposeful design and intricate mechanism
C.An architect designing a cathedral with proportion and structural balance
D.A gardener tending a flower garden free of weeds
Explanation: Paley argued that if one stumbled across a pocket watch on a heath, its intricate parts working together for a specific purpose would lead one to infer a watchmaker. By analogy, the natural world exhibits far greater complexity and design, implying a divine Designer.
3How did Saint Anselm define God in Proslogion Chapter 2 to construct his Ontological Argument?
A.The first cause of motion in the cosmos
B.The moral lawgiver residing within human conscience
C.That than which nothing greater can be conceived
D.The ultimate goal toward which all natural things aim
Explanation: Anselm defined God as 'aliquid quo nihil maius cogitari possit' (that than which nothing greater can be conceived). He argued that existing in reality is greater than existing in the mind alone, so God must exist in reality.
4In the logical problem of evil, what three propositions form the 'Inconsistent Triad' identified by J.L. Mackie?
A.God is transcendent, God is immanent, and The world is finite.
B.God is omniscient, God is eternal, and Human free will exists.
C.Evil is natural, Evil is moral, and Suffering is divine punishment.
D.God is omnipotent, God is wholly good, and Evil exists.
Explanation: J.L. Mackie formulated the logical problem of evil by showing that three claims cannot all be true simultaneously: 1) God is omnipotent, 2) God is wholly good (omnibenevolent), and 3) Evil exists. If any two are true, the third must be false.
5How does Saint Augustine of Hippo define the nature of evil in his classical theodicy?
A.A privation or absence of good (privatio boni) where good ought to be
B.A positive substance created by God to test human faith
C.An illusion generated by flawed human perception
D.An eternal equal force opposing the good divine power
Explanation: Augustine argued that God created everything entirely good. Evil is not an independent entity or substance created by God, but rather a 'privatio boni'—a privation or lack of goodness resulting from the misuse of free will by angels and humans.
6In John Hick's Irenaean 'soul-making' theodicy, what is the purpose of earthly suffering and epistemic distance?
A.To punish humans for original sin committed in the Garden of Eden
B.To allow humans to freely develop moral and spiritual perfection over time
C.To demonstrate God's absolute sovereignty over human destiny
D.To eliminate all non-believers before the final eschatological judgment
Explanation: Hick argued that humans were created in the 'image' of God but must grow into the 'likeness' of God. Earth is a 'vale of soul-making' where hardship and 'epistemic distance' (God's unproven presence) allow genuine free moral development.
7Which set of four characteristics did William James identify as defining mystical religious experiences in The Varieties of Religious Experience?
A.Verification, Falsification, Symbolism, Analogy
B.Omnipotence, Omniscience, Immanence, Transcendence
C.Ineffability, Noetic quality, Transience, Passivity
D.Dogma, Ritual, Community, Scripture
Explanation: William James identified four key criteria for mystical experiences: Ineffability (cannot be adequately expressed in language), Noetic quality (provides deep intuitive knowledge), Transience (short duration), and Passivity (the subject feels grasped by a superior power).
8How did Rudolf Otto describe the encounter with the 'Numinous' in The Idea of the Holy?
A.A logical deduction based on mathematical symmetry in nature
B.An ethical duty derived from categorical imperatives
C.A purely psychological projection of human desires for safety
D.Mysterium tremendum et fascinans (an awesome, fearful, and fascinating mystery)
Explanation: Rudolf Otto characterized the numinous experience as 'mysterium tremendum et fascinans'—an experience of a wholly divine presence that evokes awe, dread, humility (tremendum) alongside intense fascination and attraction (fascinans).
9According to A.J. Ayer's Verification Principle in Language, Truth and Logic, when is a statement meaningful?
A.When it is either a tautology (analytically true) or empirically verifiable (synthetically true)
B.When it inspires positive ethical action in a community
C.When it has been handed down through sacred tradition
D.When it expresses an existential personal commitment
Explanation: Logical positivist A.J. Ayer argued that statements are meaningful if and only if they are analytic (true by definition) or empirically verifiable by observation. Since religious claims (e.g., 'God loves us') are neither, Ayer deemed them cognitive nonsense.
10In Antony Flew's Parable of the Gardener, what famous phrase summarizes his critique of religious assertions?
A.A leap of faith over an infinite abyss
B.Death by a thousand qualifications
C.The ghost in the machine
D.An opium of the masses
Explanation: Antony Flew argued that religious believers constantly qualify their assertions when faced with counter-evidence (e.g. God's love becomes 'invisible, intangible, secret love'). Flew concluded that such statements suffer 'death by a thousand qualifications' and become unfalsifiable nonsense.

About the Advanced Higher Religious, Moral and Philosophical Studies Exam

This study set provides 100 free practice questions for Scottish Advanced Higher Religious, Moral and Philosophical Studies (RMPS) at SCQF Level 7. The course has three areas - philosophy of religion, medical ethics and religious experience - assessed by a single 90-mark, 3-hour question paper of essays and source-based questions plus a 50-mark project-dissertation. Note: this bank is an English-language multiple-choice study adaptation of that content; the real assessment rewards sustained argument and source evaluation, which multiple choice cannot reproduce.

Assessment

One externally assessed question paper (90 marks, 3 hours) covering Philosophy of religion plus the optional areas Medical ethics and Religious experience, with essay questions and source-based questions in each section, plus a project-dissertation (50 marks, up to 4,000 words) marked 20 for knowledge and understanding, 15 for analysis and 15 for evaluation.

Time Limit

Question paper 3 hours; the project-dissertation is carried out over a period of time

Passing Score

Graded A-D, with No Award below D. Notional grade boundaries are 50% of the total course assessment marks for a C, 70% for an A and 85% for an upper A, with grade D from a notional 40%; final boundaries are set each year at awarding meetings after marking.

Exam Fee

No candidate fee is published by Qualifications Scotland: entry fees are invoiced to the presenting centre, so school and college candidates in Scotland are not charged. Private candidates must arrange an approved presenting centre, which sets its own charge. (Qualifications Scotland (formerly SQA))

Advanced Higher Religious, Moral and Philosophical Studies Exam Content Outline

40%

Philosophy of Religion

Arguments for God's existence (Aquinas, Paley, Anselm, Descartes, Plantinga), the Problem of Evil (Augustine, Hick, Mackie), Religious Experience (James, Otto, Swinburne), and Religious Language (Ayer, Flew, Wittgenstein, Tillich).

35%

Medical Ethics

Bioethical frameworks, human embryo research, stem cells, euthanasia and assisted dying, Just War principles, pacifism, nuclear deterrence, global distributive justice, and normative ethical theories.

25%

Religious Experience

Literary and historical criticism of sacred texts, source/form/redaction methodologies, scriptural exegesis, hermeneutical models, Bultmannian demythologisation, and divine authority in major world traditions.

How to Pass the Advanced Higher Religious, Moral and Philosophical Studies Exam

What You Need to Know

  • Passing score: Graded A-D, with No Award below D. Notional grade boundaries are 50% of the total course assessment marks for a C, 70% for an A and 85% for an upper A, with grade D from a notional 40%; final boundaries are set each year at awarding meetings after marking.
  • Assessment: One externally assessed question paper (90 marks, 3 hours) covering Philosophy of religion plus the optional areas Medical ethics and Religious experience, with essay questions and source-based questions in each section, plus a project-dissertation (50 marks, up to 4,000 words) marked 20 for knowledge and understanding, 15 for analysis and 15 for evaluation.
  • Time limit: Question paper 3 hours; the project-dissertation is carried out over a period of time
  • Exam fee: No candidate fee is published by Qualifications Scotland: entry fees are invoiced to the presenting centre, so school and college candidates in Scotland are not charged. Private candidates must arrange an approved presenting centre, which sets its own charge.

Keys to Passing

  • Complete 500+ practice questions
  • Score 80%+ consistently before scheduling
  • Focus on highest-weighted sections
  • Use our AI tutor for tough concepts

Advanced Higher Religious, Moral and Philosophical Studies Study Tips from Top Performers

1When evaluating arguments for God's existence or theodicies, systematically present the premise, analyze logical steps, contrast with counter-criticisms (e.g. Hume, Kant, Mackie), and form a nuanced philosophical judgment.
2For medical and global ethics, contrast Deontological (Kantian duty, Sanctity of Life) and Teleological (Utilitarian Quality of Life) arguments alongside specific legislative and medical context.
3Master textual criticism terminology such as hermeneutics, Sitz im Leben, redaction criticism, Q source, and demythologisation to excel in Paper 2 textual analysis.
4Regularly reference primary philosophers and theologians (e.g. Aquinas, Paley, Hume, Kant, Hick, Singer, Bultmann, Wittgenstein) to demonstrate university-level SCQF Level 7 depth.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the assessment structure for Scottish Advanced Higher RMPS?

Two components totalling 140 marks: a single question paper worth 90 marks lasting 3 hours, with a mandatory Philosophy of religion section plus optional sections on Medical ethics and Religious experience, each containing essay and source-based questions; and an independently written project-dissertation worth 50 marks, up to 4,000 words, marked 20 for knowledge and understanding, 15 for analysis and 15 for evaluation.

How are grades awarded in Advanced Higher RMPS under SQA / Qualifications Scotland?

Candidates earn marks across Question Paper 1 (60), Question Paper 2 (30), and the Dissertation (50), totaling 140 marks scaled to final grade boundaries: Grade A (70%+), Grade B (60%+), Grade C (50%+), and Grade D (40%+).

How does this practice bank support Advanced Higher dissertation and textual analysis preparation?

This 100-question practice bank breaks down advanced philosophical concepts, ethical arguments, counter-arguments, and textual criticism terminology into clear multiple-choice questions, enabling students to consolidate foundational knowledge essential for essay writing and text analysis.

Which specific ethical and philosophical topics are included in this course set?

The bank includes Cosmological, Teleological, Ontological, and Moral arguments for God; Augustinian, Irenaean, and Free Will theodicies; Ayer's Verification and Flew's Falsification principles; Bioethics (embryo research, stem cells, euthanasia); Just War Theory; Global Poverty; and Biblical / Scriptural Textual Criticism.