WJEC GCSE Religious Studies

SIKHISM You will study Sikh beliefs from Sept – Feb A series of key concepts will make up the beliefs (eg Guru Granth Sahib) This part of the course is a separate exam paper – 25% of the course (You will not study Sikh Practices unless you are doing the ‘Top-up’) You must learn key Punjabi words to explain beliefs You will study these beliefs in relation to two themes: Theme 1: Issues of Relationships Theme 2: Issues of Life and Death The themes are important as the exam specification states “… Learners should be able to explain and apply concepts in relation to the theme”.

BACKGROUND SIKH means STUDENT Proper term for the religion is SIKHI Founded in 1469 by Guru Nanak Dev Ji He was followed by 9 more human Gurus Sikhs now follow the teachings in the Guru Granth Sahib Ji (11th ‘Guru’) GURU means TEACHER

FACTS ABOUT SIKHISM World’s youngest monotheistic religion. Fifth largest religion in the world (Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Judaism) Sikhism is distinct from Hinduism or Islam, it is a religion in its own right There are approximately 24 million Sikhs worldwide The religion started in the Punjab region in Northern India. Punjab means ‘Land of the 5 rivers’. Over 5 million Sikhs live outside of India in the UK, Canada, USA, New Zealand, Australia, Malaysia, Africa, Brazil ..……

SIKHS IN THE UK The first Sikhs came to the UK in the late 1800’s. The first Gurdwara in the UK was in London, opened in 1911. Sikhs fought in both World Wars (on the side of the British) Many Sikhs came post WW2 -1950/60/70’s They settled in large cities such as London, Birmingham, Southampton, Leeds, Leicester, There are approx. 500, 000 Sikhs in the UK They make up less than 1% of the population

A FEW BASIC BELIEFS Sikhs believe in One God – ‘IK ONKAAR’ EQUALITY – all equal Sikhs must stand against injustice

GURDWARA Place of worship Centre of community GURDWARA means GURU’S HOUSE or DOOR TO THE GURU Lots of different types…

FROM THIS….. Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha, Southall, UK.

Guru Tegh Bahadur Gurdwara, Leicester AND THIS….. Guru Tegh Bahadur Gurdwara, Leicester

TO THIS….. Sri Harmandir Sahib, Amritsar, India (Golden Temple)

GURDWARA - is a Sikh place of worship - there will always be an orange flag on a flagpole positioned outside it -the flag has the Sikh symbol called the Khanda imprinted on it NISHAAN SAHIB

INSIDE A GURDWARA