Section 8.4
Religion: crime and punishment 8.4
This section MUST be based on a study of Christianity and ONE other religion.
addiction
capital punishment
crime
deterrence
judgement
justice
law
reform
rehabilitation
responsibility
retribution
sin
a recurring compulsion to engage in an activity regardless of its bad effects
the death penalty for a crime or offence
an act against the law
the idea that punishments should be of such a nature that they will put
people off (deter) committing crimes
the act of judging people and their actions
due allocation of reward and punishment/the maintenance of what is right
rules made by Parliament and enforceable by the courts
the idea that punishments should try to change criminals so that they will
not commit crimes again
restore to normal life
being responsible for one’s actions
the idea that punishments should make criminals pay for what they have
done wrong
an act against the will of God
The difference between Sin and Crime.
A sin is an act against the will of God or when God’s teaching is disobeyed, but it will not
necessarily be a crime, though it will often be unjust. E.g. it is not a crime for a millionaire to
refuse to give food to a starving person, but it is a sin and it is not just. Abortion is not a
crime but some will see it as a sin. Adultery is a sin but not a crime.
A crime is an activity that breaks the law of the land & which is subject to official punishment,
but it is not necessarily a sin and will not necessarily be unjust. E.g. Martin Luther King
committed crimes in his civil disobedience campaign to gain human rights for black Americans
in the 1960’s. It was a crime to sit on a seat reserved for white people, but it was not a sin and
the law itself was unjust.
(You will need to give examples in the exam.)
1. The need for law and justice.
Laws are rules about how to behave whilst justice is about rewarding the good and punishing
the bad and making sure that what is right is what happens in society. In the U.K laws are
passed by parliament and justice is given by the courts.
Human beings need rules to organise the behaviour of individuals and to protect the weak from
the strong. Society needs laws so that
 People know what sort of behaviour to expect from each other
 People can work and be involved in business without someone taking away all the
rewards of their work.
 People are protected from violence.
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The connection between law and justice.
St. Thomas Aquinas said that an unjust law is not a proper law. This is because
 If a law is unjust people will feel that it is right to break the law.
 If some laws are unjust, people may start to think that all laws are unjust.
 If a law does not give justice to people, people will take the law into their own hands.
How laws are made in the United Kingdom.
1. A bill is introduced into the House if Commons by the government or an MP (Private Member’s Bill) and given it’s first
reading.
2. The bill is then seriously debated in its second reading.
3. The bill is analysed by a committee of the House of Commons and sent back for -
4. The third reading in the House of Commons when the bill is voted on and, if passed, sent to the House of Lords.
5. The bill is debated in the House of Lords and normally passed (the Lords can only reject a bill passed by the commons three
times after which it automatically goes for -
6. Royal Assent –when the bill is passed by the Lords the Monarch signs it and it becomes law (an Act of Parliament.)
2. Theories of punishment and the arguments for and against them.
If a society has laws, it must have punishments for those who break the laws. The main aim of
punishment is to try and make sure that everyone obeys the law. However there are several
other theories about what punishment should do. (You should be able to give an example of
each.)
Retribution - The idea that victims have the right to make criminals pay for the harm they
have done. (This could mean like for like or simply that they should suffer.)
Deterrence- The idea that if people are punished severely they should think twice about
repeating their crime. Hopefully it will also deter others from following the same
path.
ReformThe idea that punishment should be positive and constructive so that criminals
have the opportunity of learning to change for the better, and make a useful
contribution to society.
Protection- The idea that society must be protected from criminals.
Most forms of punishment are a mixture of these theories.
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Arguments against theories of punishment.
All of theories have arguments against them and debates about them.
Deterrence – Doesn’t work because in the UK prisons are crammed to bursting point and
nearly half of all prisoners commit crime again. If deterrence did work, this would
suggest that those countries that have very severe punishments would have low levels
of crime, which is not the case.
Retribution – In many cases this doesn’t work, victims of crime often feel that the
criminal has not been punished enough.
Reform – some would say this goes against the idea of punishing. They would say that
educating prisoners is not punishing them.
Protection – only works for the period that criminals are locked away.
Some would say that all these theories are wrong because they do not tackle the root causes
of many crimes.
3. Why justice is important for Christians.
Christians believe that God is just and will reward the good and punish the evil, if not in this
life then in the world to come. As part of this belief Christians believe that they should work
for a fairer sharing of the earth’s resources, the removal of poor countries debts to richer
countries governments and banks, and the guarantee of basic human rights.
Christianity is involved in many fights for justice throughout the world. E.g. sharing the
world’s resources equally, giving to charity, working in areas of hardship, campaigning for
people’s rights where people are oppressed or treated unjustly.
Christians believe in justice (righteousness) because:
 The Bible says that God is a God of justice
 The Bible says that people should be treated fairly and not cheated.
 Jesus said that the rich should share with the poor.
 There are many statements in the NT. about how we should treat people fairly and
equally.
 The Churches have made many statements about the need for Christians to work for
justice and fairness in the world.
Christian Aid and CAFOD. (The Catholic Fund for Overseas Development) works in areas of
poverty around the world helping those in need and campaigning against injustice and
oppression of the poor. They seek to change the policies of governments in rich countries by
campaigning for an end to the unjust debts that have been imposed on poorer nations.
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4. Why justice is important for the followers of Islam.
Muslims believe that God is a just God who will reward the good and punish the bad on the
Last Day. Muslims believe that it is their role as vice-gerents of Gods creation to behave
justly to other people and to ensure that the world is governed in a fair way.
For Islam, the way to do this is to follow the Shar’iah (straight path) and so Islam has always
had a system of justice based on courts with strict rules about how everyone should be
treated fairly by the courts.
As part of their belief in justice, Muslims refuse to be involved in the charging of interest.
They believe that interest is unjust because it takes money away from the poor and gives it to
the rich, whereas the just thing would be to take money from the rich and give it to the poor.
Muslims believe that all people should have equal rights before the law, and that Muslims
should work for a fairer sharing of the earth’s resources. The pillar of Zakah and the work of
groups such as Muslim Aid and Islamic Relief are all trying to bring justice into the world.
Muslims believe in justice because:
 The Qur’an describes God as just.
 The Qur’an says that God wants people to treat each other fairly and to establish
justice.
 There are many Hadith in which Muhammad is shown as acting justly &/or telling
Muslims to treat everyone justly.
 The Shari’ah is based on justice for everyone,
 Everyone is equal before Islamic law.
 The pillar of Zakah is based on the concept of justice. Muslims are expected to give
money to charity and act in a charitable way.
 Islamic teaching on the Last Day is concerned with the need for the good to be
rewarded and the evil punished, which is the basis for justice.
Muslim Aid and Islamic Relief work to relieve poverty and secure justice for the poor and
oppressed. Islamic Relief provides emergency food and medical relief as well as providing long
term solutions to basic needs.
5. The nature of capital punishment and non-religious arguments about
capital punishment.
Capital punishment is punishment which takes away the criminal’s life. This process of judicial
killing is called execution or the death penalty. A crime which can be punished by the death
penalty is called a capital offence. The death penalty was abolished for murder in the UK in
1969, and was abolished completely in 1998. Under the European Convention on human rights
execution was abolished throughout the European Union. Other areas of the world, including
some states of the USA still have the death penalty. It is estimated that there is one legal
execution nearly every day somewhere in the world. Methods include hanging, lethal injection,
the electric chair, beheading and firing squad.
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AGAINST.
FOR.
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 All life is sacred and if it is wrong to take
life it is wrong to execute a person. Two
wrongs do not make a right.
 There is little evidence that it is a
deterrent. People still commit murder in
countries that have the death penalty.
 It can turn executed terrorists into
martyrs, leading to revenge attacks from
their supporters.
 Criminals should be given the chance to
reform.
 Mistakes can be made and innocent people
executed.
 Many murderers do not expect to be
caught and so do not think about the
punishment.
 Murderers who know they are going to be
killed if caught are more likely to kill more
people to avoid being caught.
 Murderers often regard life imprisonment
as worse than death and try to commit
suicide.
 Rather than kill so called murderers we
should begin to study their motives and
the pressures society has put them under.
People who know exactly what they are doing
deserve to forfeit their own lives.
Society needs to be protected from cold
blooded murderers and terrorists.
Human life is the most important thing there
is, therefore taking human life should be
punished by removing the life.
It is the ultimate deterrent as it makes sure
the person cannot kill again.
It puts others off who might be tempted to
kill, knowing what will happen to them if they
are caught.
It is very expensive to keep a person in prison
for a long sentence. It saves money by
executing them.
Revenge is a natural human emotion.
Capital punishment helps the victim’s family to
get over the loss.
The law should be based on ‘an eye for an eye,
and a tooth for a tooth.
A so called ‘life’ sentence is not punishment
enough.
6. Different attitudes to capital punishment among Christians and the
reasons for them.
FOR.
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The bible sets down the death penalty as the
punishment for a number of crimes, so it is allowed by
God.
The RC and the C of E churches have not retracted
their statements which permit the state to use capital
punishment.
The Christian church used it in the past for heresy
(holding beliefs different from official church
teachings.)
Christian thinkers such as Thomas Aquinas said that
punishment should reform the sinner and secure peace
for society. He said that peace for society is more
important than reform.
All the non religious arguments in favour of capital
punishment. (You must be able to say what these are,
see page 5)
AGAINST.
 Christianity is based on the idea that Jesus came
to save (reform) sinners. It is impossible to
reform a criminal who has been executed.
 Jesus banned retribution when he said that an eye
for an eye is wrong. For Christians the law of the
NT has replaced the law of the OT.
 Christianity teaches that human life is sacred and
that only God has the right to take life. If abortion
and euthanasia are wrong, then the death penalty
is wrong.
 Most of the Christian churches have condemned
capital punishment.
 All the non religious arguments against capital
punishment. . (You must be able to say what
these are, see page 5)
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7. Different attitudes to capital punishment in Islam.
Islam allows capital punishment for three offences, murder, adultery, and apostasy (a Muslim
denying Islam and working against Islam.)
WHY? ‘Take not life – which God has made sacred – except for just cause.’ Surah 17. 33
The shedding of the blood of a Muslim is not lawful except for one of three reasons; a life for a life, a
married person who commits adultery and one who turns aside from religion and abandons the
community. Hadith.
FOR.
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The Qur’an, which has come directly from
Allah, says that the death penalty can be given
for certain crimes.
Shari’ah law says that the death penalty can
be given for certain crimes.
Muhammad made many statements that
showed that he agreed with the death penalty.
When Muhammad was the ruler of Medina he
himself sentenced people to death for
committing murder.
Some Muslims would also agree with all the
non-religious arguments in favour of capital
punishment.) You must be able to say what
these are (see page 5)
AGAINST.
 The scholars of the Shari’ah do not agree on how
the death penalty should be applied.
 The Qur’an says that capital punishment is an option
which can be considered – it doesn’t have to be used.
 The Qur’an gives such strict conditions under which
the death penalty can be given, these are very
rarely met.
 In some countries Shari’ah law is not applied
properly – such as a trial not being fair –or used to
oppress women or the poor. This goes against the
teachings of the Qur’an.
 Some Muslims do not agree with capital punishment
because of the non– religious arguments. You must
be able to say what these are (see page 5)
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The victim (or the victim’s family in the case of murder) has to agree to the sentence. If they
do not want the criminal to be executed, then they cannot be and another sentence such as
compensation will be given.
8. Laws on drugs and alcohol and the reasons for them.
What is a drug?
Although the word ‘drug’ is often used to talk about illegal substances, a drug is actually any chemical
that you take into your body which changes your mood or the way you feel. Most people use some sort
of drugs every day, for example, by drinking tea or coffee which contains the drug caffeine. Tea of
course, is fairly harmless but there are other, more powerful drugs which are controlled by UK law in
order to protect people.
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Some drugs such as alcohol and tobacco can be very damaging to a person’s health.
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People can become addicted to some drugs, making it very difficult to give them up, and ruining
lives.
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Children need to be protected from some drugs for as long as possible because of the harm
they can cause.
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Some drugs cause considerable social problems.
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Penalties for possession and dealing of illegal drugs.
Possession:
Ecstasy, LSD, heroin, cocaine, crack, magic
Up to seven years in prison or
Class
mushrooms, amphetamines (if prepared for
an unlimited fine or both.
A
injection)
Dealing:
Up to life in prison or an
unlimited fine or both.
Up to 14 years in prison
Class Amphetamines, Cannabis, Methylphenidate Up to five years in prison or an
or an unlimited fine or
unlimited fine or both.
B (Ritalin), Pholcodine.
both.
Up to 14 years in prison
Up to two years in prison or an
Class Tranquilisers, some painkillers, Gamma
or an unlimited fine or
unlimited fine or both.
C hydroxybutyrate (GHB), Ketamine.
both.
Parliament has passed several laws to prevent the misuse of drugs:
 The police have the power to stop and search anyone or their vehicle if the possession of drugs is
suspected. The police can seize anything that appears to be illegal and they can arrest anyone who is
suspected of committing an offence.
 It is illegal to be in possession of a controlled drug, but if it can be proved that a drug was put in
someone’s pocket without their knowledge it is not an offence. (However this is hard to prove.)
 It is a serious offence to supply drugs or intend to supply them. This includes giving as well as selling
drugs to someone.
 Growing cannabis is a serious offence, especially if it is proved that the drug was intended to supply
others.
 Importing and exporting drugs carries heavy penalties.
At What Age Can You Drink Alcohol?
Under Five - If you give any form of alcoholic drink to a child under five, you are breaking the law, unless the
drink is given under medical supervision and in an emergency.
Under Sixteen - Children under 16 are allowed to enter pubs and other licensed premises as long as they are
being supervised by an adult – however they are not allowed to have any alcohol.
Sixteen or Seventeen - Those aged 16 or 17 are allowed into licensed premises and can consume beer, wine or
cider with a meal as long as two conditions are met: they must be accompanied by an adult and the alcohol must
be purchased by an adult. However it is illegal for them to drink any form of spirits in pubs or nightclubs, even if
they are eating a meal.
Under Eighteen - Anybody under 18 is breaking the law if they buy or attempt to buy alcohol in a pub, off-licence
or shop. It is also illegal for anyone to buy alcohol for someone else who is under 18 except when they purchase
wine, beer or cider for consumption with a meal. This law extends to people under 18 drinking wine, beer or cider
in a public place.
9. Social and health problems caused by drugs and alcohol.
Addiction - a recurring compulsion to engage in an activity regardless of its bad effects.
Drugs and alcohol can cause some of the following problems – violence, debt, overdose, crime, disorderly
behaviour, homelessness, unemployment, serious illness, family and relationship breakdown, mental illness. Many
of these will affect not just the person taking the drugs or alcohol, but their families, colleagues and the
community.
The health problems associated with alcohol use include heart disease, stroke, liver disease and cancer.
Psychological and emotional breakdown are also higher among heavy drinkers.
Smoking leads to a range of health problems, including cancer, lung disease, and high blood pressure. Since
smoking has been banned in public places it is seen as far less socially acceptable.
Drug taking has a serious effect on the health of addicts in all sorts of ways, both physical and psychological.
They have a serious affect on the brain, leading to mental illness and loss of brain function.
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10. Different attitudes to drugs and alcohol in Christianity and the reasons for
them.
The Bible teaches that God created our bodies and that we should not abuse them. Although there are different
Christian attitudes to alcohol, the vast majority of Christians believe that taking any drugs excessively damages
the body that God created and is therefore wrong.
All Christians in the UK believe that taking illegal drugs is wrong because:
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The Bible teaches that Christians must obey the law of the land in which they are living, which includes the
law on drugs.
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They are illegal because they are damaging, and Christians should not harm their bodies.
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Many illegal drug users end up turning to crime.
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Drug abuse can break down marriages and families and make people anti-social.
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Drug abuse can make people behave in ways that Christians should not.
However alcohol and smoking is not illegal and so some Christians think that alcohol in moderation is acceptable
because;
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The Bible does not forbid the drinking of alcohol.
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Jesus drank wine and even performed a miracle that turned water into wine at a wedding.
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During the Last Supper, Jesus gave his disciples wine during the first Holy Communion.
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St Paul told his friend Timothy to drink wine to help with digestion.
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Many Christian Churches do not forbid the drinking of alcohol; it is used during Holy Communion today.
Some choose never to drink alcohol particularly the evangelicals and The Salvation Army because:
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Drinking alcohol can affect a person’s judgement and may make them behave less like a Christian should.
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There are now many non alcoholic drinks available unlike in Biblical times.
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Today alcohol is much stronger.
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Drinking alcohol may offend others.
11. Attitudes to drugs and alcohol in Islam.
All Muslims see alcohol and illegal drugs as intoxicants that should not be taken by Muslims because:
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All Muslims believe that their bodies were created by Allah and should be looked after until Judgement Day.
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The Qur’an says that intoxicants are haram (forbidden)
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Muhammad said they should not be taken and he taught about the danger of using them.
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The effects of drugs would mean that a Muslim would not be able to pray or perform their religious duties
properly. This would affect their relationship with Allah.
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The effects of drugs would mean that a Muslim would be more likely to commit other sins.
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All Muslims must obey the law of the land in which they are living, which includes the law on drugs. In many
Muslim countries alcohol is illegal and processing drugs carries severe penalties.
Some Muslims do smoke tobacco and this is seen as a personal choice, although many Muslims do not agree with
smoking because of the harm that it can do to the body. Many Muslim will not sell alcohol as part of their
business or work for a company that sells alcohol. Other Muslims believe that this is ok as long as non Muslims will
be buying the alcohol.
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