Cambridge IGCSE Global Perspectives (0457): Topic: Values and beliefs — Revision Notes

For full explanations and worked paragraphs, read the Values and beliefs study guide first.

These notes are for Cambridge IGCSE Global Perspectives (0457), using the Cambridge IGCSE Global Perspectives (0457) syllabus for examination in 2025, 2026 and 2027, Version 2 (published April 2025). “Values and beliefs” is one of the topics listed in section 3, and the topic list is used for Component 1 Written Exam, Component 2 Individual Report and Component 3 Team Project (section 4). Knowledge of content is not assessed. These notes show how to use the topic to practise the assessed skills.

Links: Global Perspectives hub, 0457 checklist, practice set for this unit, general Global Perspectives revision notes.

What is assessed

• AO1 Research, analysis and evaluation: identify and analyse issues, arguments and perspectives; analyse and evaluate evidence, reasoning and sources; develop a line of reasoning. This is all of Component 1.
• AO2 Reflection: consider different perspectives objectively and with empathy; justify your personal perspective with evidence and reasoning.
• AO3 Communication and collaboration: present arguments, evidence and perspectives clearly and with structure; include citations and references; contribute to the Team Project.

With this topic, AO2 is the hardest test. You must write fairly about beliefs you do not share.

Key terms

Term	Meaning
Issue (syllabus)	“An important subject or problem for discussion”
Perspective (syllabus)	“A viewpoint on an issue based on evidence and reasoning”
Value	A belief about what matters or what is right, such as freedom, tradition or fairness
Belief	Something a person accepts as true; religious, moral, political or practical
Secular	Not connected with religion
Freedom of religion or belief	The right to hold, change and practise a religion or belief, or none
Freedom of expression	The right to hold opinions and share information and ideas
Tolerance	Accepting that others live by beliefs you do not share
Universalism	Some values, such as basic human rights, apply to everyone everywhere
Cultural relativism	Values should be understood within each culture, not judged only from outside

Source-analysis terms at a glance

Section 4 lists these for Component 1. Learn one values-and-beliefs example of each.

Term	Quick test	Example
Fact	Can it be checked?	“The law was passed in 1994.”
Opinion	A personal view	“Rest days are old-fashioned.”
Claim	Asserted as true; needs support	“Shared values make a country united.”
Generalisation	A whole group from a few cases	“Young people have no values.”
Prediction	About the future	“Society will fall apart without the rest day.”
Value	What the writer thinks matters	Tradition, freedom, respect
Vested interest	Writer gains if you agree	A retailer arguing for longer opening hours
Bias	One-sided; leaves out evidence	An article quoting only one faith group

Real reference points at a glance

You do not need these for Component 1. They are useful in coursework, but only if you evaluate them.

Reference	What it is	Key point	One evaluation point
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)	UN declaration	Article 18: freedom of thought, conscience and religion; Article 19: freedom of opinion and expression	A declaration, not a treaty; the two freedoms can clash
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (adopted 1966, in force 1976)	UN treaty	Allows some limits on expression and on manifesting belief where set by law and necessary, for example for public order	States interpret “necessary” differently
Vienna Declaration (1993)	Statement from a UN world conference on human rights	Rights are universal, but national and regional particularities and different historical, cultural and religious backgrounds must be borne in mind	Holds both sides of the universalism debate, so each side can quote it
Pew Research Center report (June 2025)	Estimates of world religious composition	2020: about 28.8% Christian, 25.6% Muslim, 24.2% unaffiliated	Measures identity, not strength of belief or practice
World Values Survey (first wave 1981)	Repeated surveys of values in many countries	Used by Ronald Inglehart to argue that economic security shifts values towards self-expression	Self-reported; shows links, not proof of cause
Sunday Trading Act 1994 (England and Wales)	Law on shop opening	Large shops limited to six hours on Sundays	A compromise; tests whether both sides’ values are met
Danish law (December 2023)	Ban on improper treatment of religious texts	Passed 94 to 77; fine or up to two years in prison	Contested: security and respect versus freedom of expression

Must-know distinctions

• Fact versus value judgement. “Shops close on the rest day” is a fact. “Shops should close on the rest day” is a value judgement. The word “should” is often the signal.
• Belief versus perspective. A belief becomes a perspective, in the syllabus sense, when it is backed by reasons and evidence.
• Value (the Component 1 term) versus vested interest. A value is what someone thinks matters. A vested interest is what they would gain. A shop owner may hold both.
• Tolerance versus agreement. You can tolerate a belief without agreeing with it.
• Universalism versus cultural relativism. Both are perspectives; neither is a fact.
• Judging an argument versus judging a belief. In the exam you judge how well an argument is supported, never which religion or belief is true.

Cause and consequence chains

• Migration brings new traditions → a school has students with different dietary rules → the canteen menu no longer fits everyone → some students skip lunch or bring their own.
• Online shopping grows → shops lose trade on the rest day → retailers push to open → religious groups and some workers object → a national debate about the law.
• Generational change → younger people hold different views from their grandparents → disagreement within families and communities, but also new ideas and new forms of volunteering.

Mini essay plan

Question (Individual Report style): “Should freedom of expression include the freedom to offend religious beliefs?”

1. Introduction: explain the issue and why it is global: debates about satire, protest and religious texts happen in many countries. State the perspectives you will explore.
2. Global perspective: human rights frameworks protect both expression and belief, and allow limits only where necessary. Evaluate one source.
3. National perspective: one country’s law, such as the Danish law of 2023. Present the government’s reasons and the critics’ reasons fairly.
4. Local perspective: views from your school or community, gathered with a short survey or interviews. Evaluate your own method.
5. Causes and consequences: why the issue arises (diverse societies, social media spreading acts of offence quickly) and its impacts (protest, security fears, fears of censorship).
6. Courses of action: compare two or three options, such as laws, dialogue projects or education. Choose one and explain how it would work.
7. Conclusion and reflection: answer your question, explain how your view developed, and acknowledge the strongest point against it.

Individual Report and Team Project in one line each

• Individual Report: a “should” or “to what extent” question on a global values issue, with local and/or national and global perspectives, one proposed course of action and your own justified view.
• Team Project: a local issue such as canteen menus or a quiet room, with an action you can carry out and measure.

Quick self-test

1. How does the syllabus define a perspective?
2. Is “Shops should stay closed on the rest day” a fact or a value judgement?
3. Which Component 1 term describes what a writer would gain if readers agreed with them?
4. Give one weakness of using a global religious affiliation figure in an argument about one town.
5. What is the difference between a value and a vested interest?
6. What does cultural relativism mean?
7. Why is “What do different religions believe?” a weak Individual Report title?
8. Which component requires a local issue?
9. Give one strength and one limitation of the World Values Survey as evidence.
10. Name the two freedoms in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that can clash in debates about offence.

Answers

1. “A viewpoint on an issue based on evidence and reasoning.”
2. A value judgement; “should” signals what the writer thinks ought to happen.
3. Vested interest.
4. It does not show the situation in that town, and affiliation does not show strength of belief.
5. A value is what someone thinks matters; a vested interest is what they would gain if you agreed.
6. Values should be understood within each culture rather than judged only by outside standards.
7. It is descriptive, does not divide opinion, and leaves no room for different perspectives or a course of action.
8. Component 3 Team Project.
9. Strength: repeated over decades in many countries. Limitation: self-reported answers, and words such as “tolerance” may be understood differently in different languages.
10. Freedom of thought, conscience and religion (Article 18) and freedom of opinion and expression (Article 19).

Where marks are usually lost

• Explaining what a religion teaches instead of analysing the source. Knowledge of content is not assessed.
• Stating a perspective (“religious groups oppose it”) without the reasoning behind it.
• Treating every member of a faith, or of an age group, as holding the same view.
• Calling a source biased only because of who wrote it, without showing what is missing.
• Missing the value behind an argument: ask what the writer thinks matters most.
• Giving a personal verdict on which belief is right, instead of judging the quality of the arguments.
• Using a global statistic to prove a local or national point without explaining the gap.
• In coursework, citing human rights documents without evaluating them as sources.
• In the Team Project, choosing an action that cannot be measured.

Official syllabus

Cambridge IGCSE Global Perspectives (0457) syllabus for examination in 2025, 2026 and 2027, Version 2 (published April 2025). Section 2 sets out the assessment objectives, section 3 lists the topics and section 4 describes each component. Your teacher will confirm which topics your class studies.