posted 12th May 2025
Most debate motions are policy motions. That is, they call for tangible change in the world.
Sometimes they make general proposals, which need more precise definition. This house would reduce immigration. By how much? Who will be kept out and who will be let in? This house would introduce a universal basic income. How much will it be? How will it be funded?
Sometimes the change is very clear cut and binary. This house would abolish GCSEs. We either take GCSEs when we’re 16 or we don’t. This house would abolish school uniform. Either we take those scratchy skirts down the charity shop or we don’t.
There is another genre of motion, though, which is much less clear cut: ideas motions. They normally begin with ‘This house believes …’ Examples might be:
- This house believes religion is a force for good in the world.
- This house believes the internet does more harm than good.
- This house believes money does not make us happy.
- This house believes young people are wiser than older people.
These debates will be much more general in scope, and can range across vast swathes of human experience and thought. This makes them fascinating to listen to and take part in, but also makes them very challenging. If you’re not careful, debating an ideas motion can feel like nailing jelly to the wall. So here are some tips to help you keep the sweet stuff firmly screwed down.
1. Define, define, define
Because ideas motions tend to deal in big, general concepts, it is all the more important to narrow them down and to be as specific as possible about what they mean, and don’t mean. Then break the concepts down further into sub-concepts, until you have a clear and definite proposal to defend / attack.
How can you do this in practice? Let’s imagine you are the proposition for the motion This house believes religion is a force for good in the world. Here’s how you can define the motion.
Religion means the institutions and practices associated with belief in a supernatural being or beings. So if we are talking about Christianity, it is what the church does, and what Christians, in groups or individually, do when they are specifically inspired by their faith. It does not mean religious faith itself - so this is not a debate about whether or not God exists.
The good in force for good can be broken down into three components:
- Social / cultural - the benefits of religion for wider society and culture.
- Political - the benefits of religion in inspiring political change for the better.
- Psychological - the benefits of religion for individuals' mental health.
Now you’ve got a tight focus, time to move on to the next stage …
2. Give concrete examples
With policy motions, the first priority is to find the overarching principles behind the motion and identify the point of clash; to steer clear of rabbit holes and red herrings.. With ideas motions, the priority is the other way round. The big ideas are right there already in the motion. Your job is to ground them in specific, concrete examples.
So, to return to the motion on religion as a force for good in the world:
Social / cultural. Churches, mosques, temples, synagogues are all a focus for a local community, promoting cohesion and sharing. They also provide support for those in need. Many places of worship host food banks. Sikh gurdwaras are famous for offering food to anyone who calls by, no questions asked. In the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower fire in London in 2017, it was local churches and mosques who stepped up to support people who had lost their homes. Moreover, many of the greatest works of art have been inspired by religion: even atheists acknowledge the beauty of masses, madonnas and mosques. Millions of people who are not believers have been inspired by the reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.
Political. Many of the great movements for social change have been inspired by religious faith. Martin Luther King, who led the campaign for equal rights for Black Americans in the 1960s, was a Christian minister, who organised through church groups; the late Pope Francis was a passionate advocate of action on climate change, based on the duty of Christians to care for creation.
Psychological. Religion provides a sense of community and belonging for millions of people, making them less isolated. It provides a sense of identity, telling them who they are. It gives a sense of purpose and meaning to life.
All the above examples give ballast and definition to your claim that religion (understood as institutions and believers) is a force for good in the world.
3. Don’t aim for total victory
Obviously you want victory in the sense of the judges awarding the debate to you. But you won’t achieve this by denying that the other side has any evidence for their case. You can envisage a world in which there are no GCSEs or no school uniforms; you cannot realistically envisage a world in which religion does nothing but good. So accept that clerical child abuse and Islamist terrorism exist, but argue that overall the benefits of religion outweigh the harms. To put it numerically, if you aim for 100%, you’ll end up undermining your own case; but if you can prove religion is 60% good and 40% bad, you’ve won.
Ideas motions can be the most challenging of all, and are best only attempted by more experienced debaters, but they are also a great way to get us all thinking about our most fundamental beliefs.
