Fiducia TogetherArguments for and against God
The classic philosophical arguments, and the standard objections to each.
Please note: This page explains a word or a process in education. It is general information about the system, the law and the guidance in England — not advice about your child, your school or your exam. If a decision is going against you, get advice from one of the free services we link to before you agree to anything or miss a deadline. If you are revising, check your own exam board's specification: boards word things differently and yours is the one that marks you.
What it is
The main arguments: design (the universe shows order, so it had a designer), cosmological or first cause (everything has a cause, so there must be an uncaused first cause), and religious experience. Against: the problem of evil and suffering, and scientific explanations of origins.
Where it applies
GCSE and A Level religious studies.
How it works
Each argument has a well-known objection. Design meets evolution as an alternative explanation of apparent order; first cause meets the question of what caused God; religious experience meets the difficulty of verifying it.
The problem of evil is usually set out as a trilemma: an all-powerful, all-loving God and the existence of suffering cannot all hold, and responses include free will and soul-making.
How to use it in your work
Learn each argument in a numbered structure — premise, premise, conclusion — and one named objection.
Name the thinkers where you know them; it is credited.
For the problem of evil, distinguish moral evil from natural evil. The free will defence answers one and not the other, and saying so is a strong point.
Where to get help
Your teacher and your board's specification — options differ enormously between centres, and yours is the one that counts. Bitesize covers the skills; the subject song runs the topics.
Revise this with a song
These are ours. We write revision songs because a lot of people remember a tune when they cannot remember a page, and because revising out loud in the kitchen beats staring at a highlighter.
- The Religious Studies Song The GCSE religious studies topics, set to music.
Where to read more
Last reviewed 2026-08-28 by Fiducia Together · Next review due 2027-08-28
Please note: This page explains a word or a process in education. It is general information about the system, the law and the guidance in England — not advice about your child, your school or your exam. If a decision is going against you, get advice from one of the free services we link to before you agree to anything or miss a deadline. If you are revising, check your own exam board's specification: boards word things differently and yours is the one that marks you.