5 - Sanctity of Life

• Speciesism - A prejudice in favour of the human species over other animal species
• Christianity -

  • Life is given by God and he has a plan for everyone, even before they are born - God gives life and only he can take it away
  • We are made 'in the image of God' and he is pleased with what he has made
  • Humans are more important than animals because we were the last part of creation and have been given souls
  • Jesus in his miracles and teaching showed that human life should be valued
• Islam -

  • Life is given by Allah and life is taken away by Allah - no human is to take a life
  • Allah breathes a soul into humans after 120 days
  • Allah has a plan for every human from the moment they are conceived
  • Killing one person is like killing all of humanity
• Humanism -

  • Human life is important but because it's the only one we have - no afterlife
  • Life is about being happy - every human should have the chance to be happy
  • Speciesism - Peter Singer believes it is wrong to give humans more rights than animals. He believes animals and humans should have equal rights and is a vegan and is against animal experiments