Subjects · Leaving Cert Religious Education
Leaving Cert Religious Education: The search for meaning today
How often The search for meaning today comes up on the Religious Education papers, every year it was asked, and questions to try.
HL Asked on 2 of the last 9 Higher Level papers, most recently in 2023.
OL Asked on 5 of the last 9 Ordinary Level papers, most recently in 2024.
Quick ones on The search for meaning today.
- Deciding that God does not exist
- Not bothering to ask the big questions at all
- Holding that the questions cannot be answered
- Reflecting after the death of a friend
- Wondering where the universe came from
- Constant busyness and distraction
- Suffering or the death of a loved one
- Following a set recipe in the kitchen
- Doing routine daily chores at home
Show the answers
(a) Not bothering to ask the big questions at all
(b) Constant busyness and distraction
(c) Suffering or the death of a loved one
Higher Level
Asked on 2 of the last 9 Higher Level papers, most recently in 2023.
Every paper, year by year
| Year | Where it came up |
|---|---|
| 2025 | Not asked |
| 2024 | Not asked |
| 2023 | A2 |
| 2022 | Not asked |
| 2021 | Not asked |
| 2019 | Not asked |
| 2018 | A1 |
| 2017 | Not asked |
| 2016 | Not asked |
Links open the State Examinations Commission’s paper for that year.
Ordinary Level
Asked on 5 of the last 9 Ordinary Level papers, most recently in 2024.
Every paper, year by year
| Year | Where it came up |
|---|---|
| 2025 | Not asked |
| 2024 | A1, A3 |
| 2023 | A1 |
| 2022 | Not asked |
| 2021 | A1, A2 |
| 2019 | A1 |
| 2018 | A3 |
| 2017 | Not asked |
| 2016 | Not asked |
Links open the State Examinations Commission’s paper for that year.
More The search for meaning today questions
The search for meaning today, 2 marks
Which of these is a question about the meaning of life?
- What time does the last bus leave?
- How many planets orbit the sun?
- Why do good people suffer?
Show the answer
Why do good people suffer?
Meaning questions ask why or what for: about purpose, suffering or death. Factual questions have one checkable answer and do not touch on what life is for.
The search for meaning today, 3 marks
A person is too busy with work and screens to ever ask what life is for. This is an example of a...
- Moral dilemma about right and wrong
- Block to the search for meaning
- Religious experience of the sacred
Show the answer
Block to the search for meaning
Busyness, noise and constant distraction can crowd out deep questions. Things that stop people searching, such as consumerism or non-stop entertainment, are called blocks.
The search for meaning today, 2 marks
In the search for meaning, what does indifference mean?
- Not caring whether life has a deeper meaning
- Firmly believing there is no God
- Searching for meaning in many religions
Show the answer
Not caring whether life has a deeper meaning
An indifferent person is simply not interested in the big questions. That is different from atheism, which gives a definite answer: there is no God.