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Where should the burden of proof lie – on those proving, or disproving an idea?

Should all ‘true’ scientists call themselves agnostics?

What standards should be used to evaluate religious knowledge claims?

What constitutes an expert on religious knowledge?

Is religion undermined by Carl Sagan’s claim that “extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence”?

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How does the purpose and nature of religion develop over time?

To what extent do scientific developments have the power to influence thinking about religion?

Can religious knowledge be produced via scientific means?

How have changes in language use affected our ability to access religious knowledge?

How significant have individuals been in shaping and founding religions?

How has our understanding and perception of religious knowledge changed over time?

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How can we decide between the competing claims of different religions?

Are there types of knowledge that are specifically linked to particular communities of knowers?

How does our own theism, atheism or agnosticism impact our perspective?

Should all knowledge claims be open to rational criticism?

Can there be religious knowledge that is independent of the culture that produces it?

Is the role of personal experience different in religion compared to other themes and areas of knowledge?

How can our respect for a religion or culture be reconciled with the condemnation of specific practices within that religion or culture?

Are those outside a specific religious tradition really able to understand its key ideas?

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Do religious concepts require a different approach to categorisation?

Do religious systems deal in moral knowledge, spiritual knowledge, or both?

What role does analogy and metaphor play in the communication of religious ideas?

What are the limitations of language in communicating religious knowledge?

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Does religion provide us with a framework to access what is ‘right’ and ‘wrong’?

Do religious knowers have an additional obligation to act ethically?

Do all knowers have an ethical obligation to learn about different religions?

Does religious knowledge create meaning and purpose?

What is the relationship between the institutions and societies associated with religious knowledge and indigenous knowledge?

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Does religion address problems that cannot be resolved by other disciplines and fields?

“The purpose of science is to determine how the heavens go. The purpose of religion is to determine how to go to heaven” Do you agree?

Do theistic beliefs count as ‘knowledge’?

What level of certainty does religion deal with, compared to other disciplines and fields?

Does religious faith rely on empirical evidence?

Are religious knowledge systems ‘beyond reason’?

Is there any value in pondering unanswerable questions?

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Good KQs ask how we know about the world (second-order knowledge), rather than what we know about the world (first-order knowledge). Being able to tell the difference between first and second-order knowledge can be difficult, but it is the most important attribute of successful TOK thinking - and will form the basis of your essay and exhibition.

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Use our other free padlets on this area of knowledge - the quotes, real-world issues, and key thinkers - to explore and answer these KQs, trying to identify and challenge your assumptions as you do so.

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Although the KQs you see here relate primarily to religion, many of them link to other AOKs and themes, so bear this in mind as you consider them.

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Knowledge questions (KQs) form the heart of TOK, providing us with the opportunity to discuss, explore, and sometimes argue about the way we acquire and use our knowledge about the world.