Religion: Crime & Punishment Edexcel GCSE Religious Studies Unit 8.4 - Religion: Crime & Punishment

Key Words Sin: An act against the will of God. Crime: An act against the law. Law: Rules made by Parliament and enforceable by the police and the courts. Justice: Due allocation of reward and punishment, the maintenance of what is right. Judgement: The act of evaluating people and their actions. Capital Punishment: The State sponsored death penalty. Reform: The idea that punishments should try to change criminals so that they will not commit crimes again. Deterrence: The idea that punishments will be of such a nature that they will put people off (deter) committing crimes. Retribution: The idea that punishments should make criminals pay for what they have done wrong. Rehabilitation: Readapt to normal life and thinking in society. Responsibility: Being responsible for your own actions. Addiction: A recurring compulsion to engage in an activity regardless of its effects.

Sin & Crime Q 1. What is the difference between sin and crime? A 1. Sin is an act against God, crime is an act against the law. The Bible states that not one of us is free from ‘sin’. “Everyone sins and falls short of God’s standards.” Rom 3 : 23 And the reason is..? “People sin when they give in to the temptations of their own evil desires.” James 1 : 14 Q 2: Which one(s) of the following would you say was a sin and why? A rich man is asked for food by a beggar but refuses. A married woman sleeps with another man - adultery. A boy swears and shouts at his parents all the time. A business man pays immigrant workers less because he knows they need the work. A 2: All of them, because they go against the will of God.

Does this not make sin and crime a matter of perspective? Breaking God’s laws is a sin, breaking society’s laws is a crime. Often wrong actions are both a sin and a crime, but many sins, like adultery, are not crimes, and unjust laws are not sins. Laws tell people how to behave, and justice makes sure the good are rewarded and the evil are punished. Society needs laws for it to work properly, and the laws need to be just Society needs laws so that: People know what sort of behaviour is expected. People are protected from violence and crime. People can enjoy the rewards of their efforts without them being taken from them.

Crimes are not necessarily sins. In 1956 Rosa Parks was arrested in the USA for refusing to give up her seat on a bus for white man. This was a crime. Germans who gave jobs to Jews during the Nazi period broke German laws. This was a crime. So, should Christians forget the law and just follow religion? No! St Paul said “Everyone must submit themselves to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established.” Romans 13 : 1 Crimes that are not sins usually come about as a result of unjust laws. Unjust laws are not proper laws. People should obey the laws of the land. However, St Thomas Aquinas argued; - First Century Christians should have renounced Jesus and worshipped Caesar so as to please the Roman authorities? - Jesus should have just said, “Oh well, I am not really your King. Go ahead and worship Caesar”? - Christians in the 1850s should have obeyed the Fugitive Slave Laws and sent runaway slaves back to their owners? - Rosa Parks should have obeyed the local segregation ordinances and given up her bus seat to that white man? - America should never have declared its independence from Britain? - Christians should not have defended Jews or otherwise resisted in Nazi Germany? - No one should have resisted or fled from numerous Communist regimes of the last century? - Christians in countries where Christians are persecuted should renounce Christ and just “go along to get along” with their  earthly masters? If laws are unjust people will feel it is right to break them. If some laws are unjust people may think all laws are unjust. If laws don’t give justice, people may take the law into their own hands.

Law, Justice & Punishment Humans live in communities, and any community requires rules outlining acceptable behaviour. Laws, society’s rules made by Parliament, guide people as to how they should behave in a civilised society. ‘Justice’ is often represented by the image of a blindfolded woman holding a set of scales in her left hand and a sword in her right hand. This represents that true justice does not discriminate, is fair, and will punish where appropriate. For law and justice to work their must also be punishment for those who break the law. Punishments are given to make sure the law is obeyed and that justice is done, and seen to be done. Punishment is the consequence of breaking the law. The form of the punishment given should always be in proportion to the crime committed and be suitable to the desired aim.

Form Aim The type of punishment a person is given (e.g. fine or prison) is called the ‘form’ of punishment. The purposes for which a punishment is given (e.g. protect society or deter others doing the same) are known as the ‘aims’ of punishment. Complete each section of this paragraph in your own words. Laws are important because without laws... ...However, laws need to be fair laws otherwise people will... …punishment is necessary because… …It is important that punishment has an aim because… You should now have fully answered the GCSE question; ‘Explain why society needs law and justice.’, to at least a ‘B’ grade or above.

Aims of Punishment Deterrence: ‘The idea that punishments will be of such a nature that they will put people off (deter) committing crimes.’ Reform: ‘The idea that punishments should try to change criminals so that they will not commit crimes again.’ The idea of deterrence is prevention. The punishment a person is given is severe enough to act as a deterrent and discourages a person from committing the same offence and the offender from re-offending. Many people see punishment as an opportunity to reform offenders. Helping the individual realise the error of their ways, change, and become law abiding citizens who will not commit crimes again. Reform can include training and education so offenders will not need to re-offend.

Retribution: ‘The idea that punishments should make criminals pay for what they have done wrong.’ Protection: ‘The idea that society should be protected from the criminal and the offences that a criminal commits.’ Many people believe that a person should pay for what they have done. This gives society and the victims of crime a feeling of justice. Punishments should also match the severity of the crime. Many people are frightened by crime. One of the ideas of punishment is to protect society from the acts of criminals, particularly violent or persistent offenders, by imprisoning them so they cannot harm society.

Judgement & Justice in the UK In the UK, laws are enforced by the police and the courts. Minor crimes, e.g. shoplifting, are dealt with by magistrates’ courts, while more serious crimes, e.g. murder, are dealt with in crown courts. In a magistrates’ court a judge or panel of judges will decide guilt or innocence and pass judgement on what a person has done. In a crown court a jury will decide guilt or innocence and a judge will decide on the punishment. An individual can appeal a judgement to the High Court, the Court of Appeal and then the House of Lords. Appeals can even be taken beyond that to the European Court of Justice or European Court of Human Rights. UK law has a system called ‘Doli Incapax’ which means ‘incapable of wrong doing’. One application of this is that a child under 10 years old is considered too young to understand what they are doing is a crime, and so cannot be convicted of a criminal offence (unless it can be proven that they fully realised what they were doing was wrong).

Christian Attitudes to Justice The concept of justice is extremely important to Christianity. Criminal justice is important. However, so is social justice, so the weak and vulnerable are not oppressed and the strong and powerful don’t take advantage. God is a ‘God of Justice’: ‘There is no God but me, a just God and a Saviour.’ Isaiah 45:21 People should be treated fairly and not cheated: ‘So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you.’ Matthew 7:12 The rich should share with the poor: ‘The man who has two coats should share with him who has none, and the man who has food should do the same.’ Luke 3:11 People should be treated equally: ‘There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male or female, for you are all one in Christ.’ Galatians 3:28 For Xians, social justice is a responsibility. ‘Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do but does not do it, sins.’ James 4:17

Please see “Crime & Punishment” PowerPoint 2 for continued information…