Crime and Punishment
For your exam you need to know:
• The need for law and justice.
• Theories of punishment and the arguments for and
against them.
• Why justice is important for Christians and Muslims.
• The nature of capital punishment and non-religious
arguments about capital punishment.
• Different attitudes to capital punishment among Christians
and Muslims and the reasons for them.
• Laws on drugs and alcohol and the reasons for them.
• Social and health problems caused by drugs and alcohol.
• Different attitudes to drugs and alcohol in Christianity and
Muslims and the reasons for them.
Write down the meaning of these keywords
Sin
An act against the will of God
Crime
An action against the criminal law
Reform
Using punishment to help people not to offend again and so become law
abiding citizens
Deterrence
Making punishments so severe that people will be put off committing crimes
Retribution
Using punishment to make criminals suffer and pay for the wrong they have
done
Justice
due allocation of reward and punishment/the maintenance of what is right
Addiction
a recurring compulsion to engage in an activity regardless of its
bad effects
Capital punishment
death penalty for a crime or offence
Judgement
the act of judging people and their actions
Law
rules made by Parliament and enforceable by the courts
Rehabilitation
restore to normal life
Responsibility
being responsible for one’s actions
So people know how to
act towards each other
Laws allow people
to feel safe and
secure
With out laws people
could murder and steal
without fear
To protect the weak from the
strong and to allow people to live
in safety and order
But are there times when laws need to be
broken?
Reasons why are
What about laws
whenneeded
it is an emergency?
What about when some laws are unfair?
To keep
control of
society and
avoid
chaos and
accidents
e.g
speeding
Why we need justice
• Justice means that fairness happens to all. If someone does
something wrong it means that they and the rest of society are treated
fairly.
• If the law was unfair to society then people may break it (this
happened when Poll Tax was introduced in the 80’s/90’s).
• If punishments are unfair by being too lenient then it can lead to
vigilantism – people take the law in to their own hands which is unfair
as it often goes too far.
Christian Attitudes to Justice
Remember, justice means being fair and treating people
equally is of utmost importance to both Christians and Muslims
Jesus taught that people
should act in a just way towards
each other because God is just.
If you want to be treated fairly,
you must act that way too.
People should “love thy
neighbour”
The Bible teaches what is
fair: The Old Testament
says “an eye for an
eye” which shows that
punishment shouldn’t be
more than the crime
The Bible teaches that God is just.
He will reward the good and will
punish those who are unjust.
In the Bible Jesus taught
the parable of the sheep
and goats which says that
God expects everyone to
be treated fairly, regardless
of what they’ve done
(prisoners should be visited
and cared for).
Jesus worked for equality, and
often was revolutionary. He
said that “eye for an eye” was
old school and instead people
should fight injustice with love
One way which Christians work for justice in the world is through the organisation
Christian Aid. They work in some of the poorest places in the world, with
Christians AND non-Christians because they believe that they must work for
equality for all. They do it because of the reasons given on the previous slide.
Some of the things they do are:
•
Support sustainable development so that all people have a basic standard of
living e.g. drill wells for clean water, help irrigate crops
•
They work to ensure that people are treated fairly by their governments e.g. in
Bolivia they support farmers whose land has been taken off them without
compensation
•
They build factories which manufacture basic drugs in countries who can’t
afford to import the most basic of medicines for their people.
•
They campaign for people to receive fair trials, regardless of what they are
accused of
Why Muslims should work for
Justice:
The fear of punishment
5 Pillars
in the afterlife
Allah is just and He will
reward those who are good
and punish those who are
evil on the Day of
Judgement to make it fair
Shari’ah Law
According to Shari’ah law
(Islamic law) punishment
must be only handed out
when in the right frame of
mind e.g. not angry or
distracted. It must be fair to
the accused as well as the
victim.
Justice is the basis of the 5 Pillars of Islam
(especially zakah where richer Muslims give
2.5% of their income to poorer ones) . In fact if
a Muslim has savings, the interest earned on
them is given to the poor as they are taught that
the rich should help the poor, not just make
themselves even richer.
Qur’an
The Qur’an
teaches that
Allah and
Muhammad
acted with
justice and so
Muslims
should follow
their example.
The Theory of punishment
What some people think punishments should be about
Deterrence
Retribution
If we punish harshly enough, it
will put other people off doing
the same crime
It should be about making
someone pay for what
they have done, and be
seen by others to be
punished
Reparation
Purposes of punishment
Using punishment to allow a
criminal to make right their
wrong to their victim or to
society. Community service is
an example of this
Reform
Punishment should be about trying to make a
person realised that what they did was wrong
and make them never want to do it again
Protection
Prison etc takes the
dangerous people out of
society and so keeps
everyone else safe
But what are the problems with these
theories behind punishing?
Deterrence
Retribution
Some crimes are in the heat of
the moment, so the
consequences are not thought
about
But does this work as
well for someone who
assists someone with
voluntary euthanasia?
Reparation
Purposes of punishment
How can a murderer or drink
driver make amends to their
victim’s family?
Reform
How can you tell if someone is reformed? Will
society be happy in using tax payers money to
pay for a criminal to be retrained as a plumber
etc?
Protection
Not all crimes are
dangerous to the safety of
others so this wouldn’t
always work e.g a debtor
Punishment – Christians believe:
• the purpose of punishment is reform
and prisoners should be helped do this
• Those punished should be treated properly.
Elizabeth Fry campaigned in the 1800’s for
better conditions for prisoners e.g. medical
attention and education
• All punishment should be fair and people should
be treated well in order to be rewarded by God,
as told in the parable of the sheep and the
goats
Test yourself
1. Give 3 theories of punishment
2. Give an advantage and disadvantage of
reform
3. Give 2 reasons why laws are needed
4. Give 2 reasons why justice is important
to Christians
5. Give 2 reasons why justice is important
to Muslims
Non-Religious Arguments about Capital Punishment:
For:
The death penalty is a
deterrent for those thinking
about committing a serious
crime
It means society can rid itself
of dangerous people so they
can’t be a treat again
It is cheaper than keeping
someone in prison for life
It is a fair punishment for
those who commit the most
horrendous crimes
Against:
There have been many cases of
the innocent executed (over 130
people on death row in the USA
since 1976 have been found
innocent
Countries with execution still
seem to have high crime rates!
The USA has one of the highest
murder rates in ratio to the
number of people living there
It may force some criminals to
kill rather than be caught
It makes us as bad as the
criminals
Christian views on Capital
Punishment:
Most Christians are against the death penalty as:
1. St Paul said “Do not repay anyone evil with evil” (Romans 12);
2. They also believe in the Sanctity of life – all life is holy and belongs to
God so it is not up to people to take anyone’s life
3. It also goes against the idea of reform
4. The Decalogue says “Do not kill”
However, other Christians believe it is a way of preventing serious
crime as:
1. The Old Testament allows capital punishment
2. St Thomas Aquinas argued that peace and order in society is more
important than reforming a wrongdoer.
3. It has been used in the past by Christians
4. Jesus said “Whoever curses his father or his mother is to be put to
death” Matthew 15!
There are 2 Muslim views
1. The Qur’an says that it
may be allowed in just
causes – murder, adultery
and working against Islam
1. “Take not life – which
God has made sacred –
except for a just cause”
(Hadith).
2. Also, Muhammad also
sentenced murderers to
death and so Muslims may
follow his example
3. Shari’ah law allows the
death penalty for deliberate
murder
However,
1. The Qur’an does not
allow it for all crimes,
and does allow the
criminal to pay a
victim or their family
‘blood money’ instead
(reparation)
2. The prophet
Muhammad didn’t
enforce the death
penalty showing that
it is not compulsory
3. Muslims would use
the non-religious
arguments too
Amnesty International
A non-religious organisation who disagree with
capital punishment
Amnesty work for justice
and to ensure that
everyone has Human
Rights. They believe
that no matter what
someone has done, the
death penalty goes
against Human Rights.
Laws on alcohol
It is illegal to give a
child under 5
an alcoholic
drink except
under medical
supervision in
an emergency
This is because too
much alcohol for our
bodies can be a
poison. Children
need protecting.
Young people aged 16 or
17 can drink beer, wine or
cider with a meal if it is
bought by an adult and they
are accompanied by an
adult. It is illegal for a 16
and 17 year old to drink
spirits in a pub or with a
meal.
Spirits are more concentrated
and in comparison to others
alcoholic drinks, less is needed
for the effects to be felt. Food
lines the stomach and helps to
counteract the effects.
The effects
Accidents happen
Statistics show that
someone drunk or on
drugs is more likely to
harm themselves or
others, especially if they
are driving.
Crime occurs
Drinkers and drug users are
more likely to be the victims of
crime or the cause of violence.
50% of street crime is related to
drink
Leads to addiction
Alcohol is as much a
drug as heroin is
and people become
addicted. Without
medical help and
treatment for
rehabilitation, people
are trapped by their
habit.
Relationships fail
Partners and families
frequently find that
they are no longer able
to deal with an addict
who lies to them and
treats them badly
Causes health problems
Liver damage is one of the well known effects of heavy drinking
and it is irreversible. Equally, heart rate and blood pressure rises
leading to long-term heart damage. Drugs steadily destroy
people’s vital organs, as well as causing permanent damage to
the brain.
Laws on drugs
Many drugs are controlled and
put in to categories A,B or C.
Class A include things like
heroin, class C includes doctor
prescribed drugs. It is illegal to
supply these unless
The police have powers to
stop and search people
suspected of carrying illegal
drugs, or suspected to be
driving under the influence of
illegal drugs
Christian views on drugs and
There are 2
alcohol
attitudes
All Christians are against the use of illegal
drugs, and the misuse of drugs. This is
because the body is special and should
not be misused with these things
Most churches have issued
statements saying that drug
abuse is wrong and pointing
out the social problems they
cause
Groups such as the Salvation Army offer
drink and drugs programmes to help
support people come off them and
rebuild their lives
towards the use
of alcohol.
These reasons
are on the next
slide.
Opinion 1: Alcohol in moderation is
fine because:
The Bible says that Jesus’
first miracle was at the
Wedding at Cana where he
turned water in to wine.
At the last supper Jesus
shared wine with his
followers and instructed
them to this in the future
to remember him. Today
Christians do this when
they celebrate with Holy
Communion.
Jesus would also
have drunk wine as
a traditional way of
welcoming in the
Sabbath day.
Note! Being drunk
is NOT ok though
as it can lead to
suffering
Opinion 2: Some Christians
(Salvation Army/Methodists) do not
allow any alcohol to be drunk
The Bible also teaches that people are
special and made in the image of God so
should not abuse their bodies
They see the devastation
that alcohol can cause.
They work in some of the
most deprived areas and
see that a lot of social
problems are caused by
drink
The Bible says
“Don’t you know
that your body is
the temple of the
Holy Spirit, who
lives in you and
who was given to
you by God?”
(1 Corinthian 6:19)
All Muslims are against the use of alcohol and drug abuse.
They do allow healing drugs and alcohol to be used in
medical situations.
They are
haram –
forbidden
by the
Qur’an
Islam aims to create a
peaceful and just
society and so this
makes drugs and
alcohol evil.
Also the prophet Muhammad
taught that they are wrong and
so Muslims follow his example:
“Intoxicants are the mother of
all evils. Alcohol is not a
medicine but a disease.”
The Qur’an
has many
teachings on
the dangers
of drinking
and gambling.
They destroy the
body and no one
has the right to do
this because they
believe that Allah
owns are bodies
Test yourself
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
What is capital punishment?
Give 2 non-religious arguments for and against capital
punishment
Give the 2 different Christian views on capital
punishment
What do Muslims think about the death penalty?
When do Muslims believe that it is acceptable to use
the death penalty?
Why do Muslims and Christians hate drug abuse?
Give a reason for each of the Christian opinions on the
use of alcohol
Why are Muslims against drinking alcohol?
End of unit test
a. What is meant by retribution? (2)
b. Do you agree that justice is more important to
religious people than anyone else? Give 2
reasons for your point of view (4)
c. Explain Christian attitudes to capital
punishment (8)
d. “Punishment should only be to reform the
wrongdoer.”
Do you agree? Give reasons for your opinion
showing that you have considered other points
of view. At least one view must be religious (6)