Cambridge IGCSE Global Perspectives (0457): Topic: Values and beliefs — Study Guide

This guide is 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 in the topic list in section 3 of the syllabus. The topic list is for all components, so this topic can be the context for Component 1 Written Exam, Component 2 Individual Report or Component 3 Team Project. The skills come from section 2 (assessment objectives) and section 4 (details of the assessment).

Topic knowledge is not assessed. The syllabus states that knowledge of content is not assessed, so knowing what a religion or philosophy teaches earns no marks. This page shows you how to use the topic to practise the assessed skills: AO1 Research, analysis and evaluation, AO2 Reflection, and AO3 Communication and collaboration.

Use this guide with the Global Perspectives hub and the 0457 checklist. This unit also has revision notes and a practice set. For how each component works, see the guides to the Written Exam, the Individual Report and the Team Project.

Coverage table

Syllabus reference	What you must be able to do (from the document)	Where assessed
Section 2, AO1 Research, analysis and evaluation	Identify and analyse issues, arguments and perspectives; analyse and evaluate evidence, reasoning and sources; develop a line of reasoning	Components 1, 2 and 3
Section 2, AO2 Reflection	Consider different perspectives objectively and with empathy; justify personal perspective(s)	Components 2 and 3
Section 2, AO3 Communication and collaboration	Present arguments, evidence and perspectives clearly; include citations and references; contribute to the Team Project	Components 2 and 3
Section 3, Topics; Issues and perspectives	Use research, reasoning and questioning to understand perspectives and form your own judgements	All components
Section 4, Component 1	Analyse sources; evaluate research or evidence; evaluate arguments; assess actions. Understand bias, claim, fact, generalisation, opinion, prediction, value and vested interest	Component 1 Written Exam
Section 4, Component 2	A global issue that divides opinion; local and/or national and global perspectives; causes and consequences; one proposed course of action; your own view	Component 2 Individual Report
Section 4, Component 3	A local issue; plan and carry out an action and measure its success; reflect	Component 3 Team Project

Key terms for this topic

The syllabus defines an issue as “an important subject or problem for discussion” and a perspective as “a viewpoint on an issue based on evidence and reasoning”. That second definition matters here. A belief held only by faith or habit is not yet a perspective in the syllabus sense. It becomes one when you can set out the reasons and evidence behind it.

The terms below are working vocabulary, not syllabus content.

• Value: a belief about what is important or right, such as honesty, family, freedom or equality. “Value” is also one of the terms listed for Component 1, so expect to spot values behind arguments.
• Belief: something a person accepts as true. It may be religious, political, moral or practical.
• Secular: not connected with religion. A secular state does not give one religion official authority.
• Freedom of religion or belief: the right to hold, change and practise a religion or belief, or none.
• Tolerance: accepting that others may live by beliefs you do not share.
• Universalism: the view that some values, such as basic human rights, apply to everyone everywhere.
• Cultural relativism: the view that values should be understood within each culture, not judged only by outside standards. Present both as perspectives with reasons, not as right and wrong.

Finding issues at global, national and local level

A topic is too broad to research. An issue is narrow enough to investigate. Practise moving between levels.

Level	Example issue within this topic
Global	Are human rights universal, or should each society decide its own values?
Global	Should freedom of expression include the freedom to offend religious beliefs?
National	Should large shops be allowed to open on a national day of rest?
National	Should schools teach about many belief systems, or mainly the country’s majority tradition?
Local	Does our school canteen meet the dietary needs that come from students’ beliefs?
Local	Should our school provide a quiet room for prayer or reflection?

A good issue divides opinion. “People should respect each other” is not an issue, because almost everyone agrees. “Should a law protect religious texts from public destruction?” is an issue: governments, faith groups and free-speech campaigners answer it differently.

Perspectives: why people hold different values

The syllabus asks you to show that you “understand why different people have different perspectives”. With values, the reasons usually come from upbringing and family, religion or belief (teachings about rest, food, charity or duty), culture and history, economic position (what a person stands to gain or lose) and personal experience.

Take the national issue of shops opening on a day of rest.

• Some religious groups support closure because a weekly day of rest and worship is part of their faith. Some non-religious families agree, because they value shared family time.
• Shop workers may be divided: some want extra hours and pay, others fear pressure to work on a day they want off.
• Large retailers want to open because they expect more sales. Small shop owners may prefer them closed, because rest-day trade is their advantage.
• Supporters of free choice argue that people should decide for themselves when to shop or rest.

A real reference point: in England and Wales, the Sunday Trading Act 1994 allowed large shops to open on Sundays but only for six hours, while smaller shops could open for longer. A law can balance competing values rather than pick one side.

Worked example paragraph (perspectives):

Religious groups who want large shops to stay closed on the rest day hold a perspective based on the value of rest and worship. [knowledge] In the source, the claim that “a day without shopping keeps families together” reflects a wider value of family time, which non-religious people may share. [application] This shows that the perspective is not only religious, and it explains why support may be wider than the number of regular worshippers. [analysis] However, the claim gives no evidence that families actually spend more time together when shops close, so the perspective is clearly reasoned but only weakly supported. [evaluation]

Causes and consequences

The syllabus asks you to analyse the reasons for disagreement and the consequences or impacts of an issue. Build chains: cause, effect, further effect.

Possible causes of value disagreements:

• different religious or moral teachings
• generational change: younger and older people grow up in different conditions
• migration bringing different traditions into one place
• economic change, such as online shopping, and media spreading new ideas quickly
• laws written when a society shared more beliefs than it does now

One theory to evaluate: the political scientist Ronald Inglehart argued that as societies become more economically secure, priorities tend to shift from survival towards self-expression, such as personal freedom and tolerance. His work drew on the World Values Survey, first carried out in 1981. Strength: surveys repeated over decades in many countries. Limitation: survey data show links, not proof of cause, and critics argue the theory treats one path of change as normal for every society.

Possible consequences: individuals may feel respected, or excluded when their beliefs are ignored; communities may cooperate or divide; countries may see new laws, protest or debate about national identity; states may disagree about which rights are universal.

Practising with invented data: in a fictional town, Ardley, a youth club asked 80 members whether they had volunteered in the past year. 28 (35%) said yes. An older resident says, “Young people today don’t care about their community.” Does 35% support that generalisation? There is no comparison with older people, the sample is only club members, and informal help, such as caring for a relative, may not be counted. The evidence cannot settle the claim.

Judging sources and evidence

Section 4 says you will benefit from understanding bias, claim, fact, generalisation, opinion, prediction, value and vested interest, and that you should analyse and evaluate use of evidence and language. Watch for loaded words such as “attack on our way of life” or “backward”.

• Fact (checkable): “Large shops in the fictional country of Calvera must close on the rest day.” Opinion: “The rest day is old-fashioned.”
• Claim (needs evidence): “Closing shops protects family life.” Generalisation: “Religious people oppose change.”
• Prediction: “If the law changes, nobody will rest any more.” Value: the belief underneath an argument, such as freedom or tradition.
• Vested interest: a retailers’ association arguing for longer opening hours. Bias: a one-sided account that leaves out relevant evidence or views.

Real reference points to evaluate if you use them:

• The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), Article 18, sets out freedom of thought, conscience and religion. Article 19 sets out freedom of opinion and expression. Strength: widely recognised. Limitation: it is a declaration, not a treaty, and the two freedoms can pull against each other.
• The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights was adopted in 1966 and came into force in 1976. It allows some limits on expressing a religion or belief, and on free expression, where these are set by law and necessary for reasons such as public order or the rights of others. Strength: states that ratify it agree to be bound. Limitation: states interpret “necessary” differently.
• The Vienna Declaration (1993) says human rights are universal, while accepting that national and regional particularities and different cultural and religious backgrounds must be borne in mind. It is a useful source for the universalism and relativism debate, because it holds both ideas at once.
• A Pew Research Center report (June 2025) estimated that in 2020 about 28.8% of the world’s population was Christian, 25.6% Muslim and 24.2% religiously unaffiliated. It drew on more than 2,700 data sources across 201 countries and territories. Strength: large and transparent about method. Limitation: it measures identity, not how strongly people believe or practise. “Unaffiliated” does not always mean holding no beliefs.

Worked example paragraph (evidence):

The writer states that about a quarter of the world’s population is religiously unaffiliated and uses this to argue that rest-day laws are out of date. [knowledge] The figure comes from a Pew Research Center estimate, a credible source. [application] But it is a global figure, and the argument is about one country, where the share could be much higher or lower. Also, being unaffiliated does not mean a person rejects a weekly day of rest. [analysis] So the evidence is reliable, but the reasoning does not connect it to the conclusion, which weakens the argument. [evaluation]

Courses of action

Component 1 asks you to assess actions. The Individual Report asks you to consider different courses of action and propose one, explaining how it could be implemented and its impact. Judge each action on who carries it out, cost, who benefits, who loses out, and how success would be measured.

Examples for this topic:

• Compromise laws, such as limited opening hours on a rest day. These keep some of each side’s values, but may fully satisfy nobody.
• Laws protecting religious objects from public destruction. In December 2023 the Danish parliament passed such a law, by 94 votes to 77, with penalties of a fine or up to two years in prison. The government argued it was needed for Denmark’s security. Critics argued it restricted freedom of expression. Treat this as contested and present both sides.
• Dialogue groups, where people of different faiths and none meet to discuss shared concerns.
• Teaching about many belief systems, which supporters say builds understanding; some parents prefer a focus on their own tradition, or on none.
• Flexible policies, such as menu choices or time off for festivals.

Worked example paragraph (course of action):

A school could offer a weekly menu that includes vegetarian and other belief-based options, chosen after a student survey. [knowledge] For students whose beliefs limit what they can eat, this tackles the cause of the problem directly: food that does not meet their needs. [application] It may raise costs and need new suppliers, and students who are not surveyed may still be missed. [analysis] It is likely to work if the school measures uptake and asks students again after a term, so it is a realistic first step rather than a complete solution. [evaluation]

Individual Report ideas

The Individual Report needs a global research question on an issue that divides opinion, local and/or national and global perspectives, causes and consequences, a single proposed course of action, and your own view. Starting questions:

• Should freedom of expression include the right to offend religious beliefs?
• To what extent should human rights standards be the same in every country?
• Should governments protect a national day of rest?
• How far should schools teach about belief systems other than the majority’s?

Weak question: “What do different religions believe?” It is descriptive and does not divide opinion. See the Individual Report revision notes.

Team Project ideas

The Team Project needs a local issue and an action the team can carry out and measure.

• The canteen does not meet students’ belief-based diets: survey needs, present findings to the catering manager and measure uptake of any new option.
• No space exists for quiet prayer or reflection: propose a trial quiet room and record its use.
• Local faith and belief groups rarely meet: run a shared clean-up and count who returns for a second event.

Each member should research a different perspective, such as students, parents, staff or a local belief group. See the Team Project revision notes.

Common errors

• Describing what religions teach. Knowledge of content is not assessed; analyse the sources instead.
• Treating a belief as a perspective without stating its reasons and evidence.
• Calling a source “biased” just because the writer is religious, or not religious. Say what is left out.
• Confusing a value judgement (“this is wrong”) with a fact.
• Giving your own verdict on a religious question. Judge the quality of arguments, not which belief is true.
• Assuming everyone in one faith or age group shares the same view, or using a global statistic to prove a point about one town.
• In the Team Project, choosing a national or global issue instead of a local one.

Where to go next

Test yourself with the revision notes, then try the practice set. For more source-based practice, use our Written Exam practice questions. Related topics: Change in culture and communities, Social identity and inclusion and Political power and action.

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 uses.