Theme e

• Contents

  • Lesson 1: Good and Evil
  • Lesson 2: Reasons for Crime
  • Lesson 3: Attitudes towards Crime
  • Lesson 4: Aims of Punishment
  • Lesson 5: Attitudes towards suffering
  • Lesson 6: 12 Mark Exam Qu Practice
  • Lesson 7: 12 Mark Exam Qu Practice Continued
  • Lesson 8: Punishments of Criminals
  • Lesson 9: Attitudes towards Forgiveness
  • Lesson 10: Pro-Death Penalty Arguments
  • Lesson 11: Anti-Death Penalty
  • Lesson 12: 12 Mark Exam Qu Practice
  • Lesson 13: 12 Mark Exam Qu Practice Continued
• Good

  What is morally right
• What people consider morally right

  • Can be affected by religion, upbringing, peer influences, education, finances etc.
• Good (in religion)

  Something that follows God's laws i.e. Ten Commandments/Shariah Law
• Personal conscience

  People may use this on some issues to decide what is right
• Evil

  Anything that deliberately causes others to suffer, religions may link evil to the devil
• Christians believe the Fall of Adam and Eve leaves humans with a tendency to sin
• Crime

  An action that breaks the law
• Reasons for crime

  • Poverty
  • Mental illness
  • Addiction
  • Greed
  • Hate
  • Upbringing into a life of crime
  • Taking action against unjust laws
• Criminals with serious mental illnesses may be sent to secure hospitals instead of prisons, to help them get the right treatment
• Hate crime

  Crimes that target a specific group of people
• Religions are against hate crimes, as everyone should be treated fairly like Muhammed* and Jesus did
• Murder

  A sin that takes away the Sanctity of Life
• Religions may sympathise with people who steal out of need, but not for greed
• Aims of punishment

  • Retribution
  • Deterrence
  • Reformation
• Retribution

  To get your own back
• Old Testament teachings and Shariah Law apply strict punishments for crimes committed so that the criminal is served what may be seen as justice
• New Testament teachings are against retribution as Jesus taught that forgiveness is the better option
• Deterrence

  To put someone off committing a crime
• Deterrence can also help to stop offenders from reoffending again
• Punishments in Shariah Law are often carried out in public to deter others from such crimes
• Reformation

  An aim of punishment that attempts to change a criminal's behaviour and thinking for the better
• Christianity sees reformation as an act of agape as you are helping the offender to improve their life, which in turn helps society
• Islam focuses on how a criminal will need to seek forgiveness from God as an important part of the reformation process
• Suffering

  Feeling pain, which can be physical and/or emotional
• In the UK, a charity called Victim Support helps those who've suffered from crime
• In Christianity, suffering is a part of human life; St Paul said it can help to build a person's character
• Suffering is a consequence of Free Will and it is a duty to show compassion to those that suffer
• Allah is aware how humans suffer and only allows humans to suffer as much as they can tolerate
• Some suffering is the result of people giving in to Iblis' temptations
• Punishments in the UK

  Must maintain a criminal's dignity and aim to follow Human Rights wherever possible
• Punishments cannot involve physical harm; instead aiming to reform the offender
• In Britain there are different categories of prisons, with Category A prisons being the most secure, for very serious offenders
• Elizabeth Fry worked to reform prisons so that they have better conditions for the prisoners
• Quakers still work to reform prisons they believe social injustices often lead people into crime
• The Prison Fellowship is a Christian charity that organises people to go to talk to prisoners
• Corporal punishments


  Punishments that cause harm to the body i.e. being whipped
• Old Testament and Shariah Law allow corporal punishments as it is believed that a short period of pain is better than long periods in prison
• Community service


  Completing unpaid work in the community
• Community service is seen by some as not being a deterrent