Choosing My Religion: Student Activity for AQA A Level Sociology Beliefs in Society

A woman with her eyes closed, praying with her hands clasped together, sitting on a bed beside an open book and prayer beads.

This interactive simulation is designed for AQA A Level Sociology: Beliefs in Society and is called Choosing My Religion. Students create their own religion by choosing from features found in world religions, new religious movements (NRMs) and New Age movements (NAMs). They can also name their religion and shape its beliefs, rituals, authority, organisation and relationship to wider society. The activity then generates a sociological profile, including whether the religion looks more like a church, denomination, sect, NRM, New Age movement, audience cult, client cult or cultic movement.

The simulation also includes a sociological joiner matrix showing which groups may be more likely to join the religion based on class, gender, age and ethnicity. This helps students apply ideas about social class, gender, ethnicity, age, spiritual shopping, marginalisation, cultural defence and religious organisation in a more active and creative way.

AQA A Level Sociology • Beliefs in Society

Choosing My Religion

Name your religion, choose its core features, and then see how sociologists might classify it and which groups may be most likely to join it.

How it works: first give your religion a name. Then make sociological choices about beliefs, authority, rituals and organisation. The simulation will generate a religion profile and a joiner matrix based on class, gender, age and ethnicity.
Step 1 of 7
Choices made: 0 / 7
Religion builder

Step 1

Your religion profile

Religion name

No religion created yet.

Definition of religion

Complete the simulation to generate a profile.

Organisation type

No result yet.

NRM / NAM relationship to society

No result yet.

Core doctrine

No result yet.

Sociological tags
Who might be most likely to join?
No matrix yet.
Evaluation paragraph

No evaluation yet.

Useful sociological links

Durkheim
Useful if the religion emphasises the sacred, ritual and moral community.
Wallis
Useful for world-rejecting, world-accommodating and world-affirming classifications.
Stark and Bainbridge
Useful for audience cults, client cults, cultic movements and compensators.
Heelas / Woodhead / Hervieu-Léger / Lyon
Useful if the religion looks spiritual, consumer-driven, therapeutic, holistic or media-based.

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The Sociology Guy is a pseudonym originally used by Craig Gelling when he was working in an FE College to provide an outlet for his frustrations with how he was expected to teach and strict rules around intellectual property in his former employer. The Sociology Guy name came from his early years as a supply teacher, where students would often not know his name and ask for ‘the sociology guy’ when coming to the staff room. Initially set up in 2018 as an anonymous You Tube channel, Craig has since written, recorded and presented for many different organisations and education providers. His purpose is to try and make sociology both accessible and understandable for all students and support teachers to inspire the next generation of sociologists.

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