Theme E Flashcards
Why do some religious believers view intention as more important than action?
Certain actions are only right if the intention is good e.g. giving to charity just to show off would not be considered moral / part of the Buddhist Eightfold Path is ‘Right Intention’ / many Christian rules focus on intention e.g. ‘Do not covet your neighbour’s wife’
Why do some religious believers view action as more important than intention?
Some acts can never be justified e.g. murder is ruled out by almost all religions / Anyone can claim to have good intentions but since we cannot tell, it makes more sense to judge people by their actions
What are the four main reasons for crime?
Poverty and upbringing
Mental illness and addiction
Greed and hate
Opposition to an unjust law
Why might poverty cause someone to commit a crime e.g. gang violence?
Membership of a gang can bring social status in a disadvantaged community / many people in these communities already have broken relationships with the police due to feeling singled out
Why would an unjust law cause someone to commit a crime?
The law singles them out for who they are e.g. homosexual couples living under laws which prohibit homosexuality / they do not respect the law so choose to ignore it e.g. blasphemy / they get involved in criminal acts (e.g. violent protests) in order to protest against an unjust law
What is a hate crime?
A crime committed because of prejudiced views about a person or group
Why do many people view murder as the worst crime?
For religious believers it goes against the sanctity of life / murder (unlike manslaughter) is intentional and premeditated
How do religious believers respond to murder?
Recognise the seriousness of murder e.g. unrepentant murderers will go to hell in both Christianity and Buddhism / encourage the murderer to repeat and serve penance e.g. jailtime, giving back to the victims in some way
How do religious believers respond to theft?
Theft is banned in both Christianity and Buddhism, but Buddhists may take this further as ‘Do not take what is not freely given’ goes beyond theft to include time-wasting and gambling / religious believers may be more tolerant of theft which is committed out of desperation e.g. to feed a starving child
How do religious believers respond to hate crime?
In Christianity they would emphasise the importance of loving your enemy and healing the rifts between groups which might be hateful towards each other, as shown in the Good Samaritan / Buddhists would recognise that hate crimes are caused by all three of the poisons (ignorance, greed, and hatred) and will try to counter these, for example by educating people about minority groups
What are the three main aims of punishment?
Reformation
Retribution
Deterrence
What is reformation?
helping the criminal see how and why their behaviour was wrong, so that their mindset changes for the better
What is retribution?
getting the criminal back for their crimes
What is deterrence?
the threat of punishment as a way to put a person off committing crime
How is the idea of reform shown in religion?
In the Parable of the Sheep and Goats, the righteous are praised for visiting those in prison / The Buddhist story of Angulimala shows the importance of reformation. This is reflected in the work of the Angulimala Prison Chaplaincy, who work in prisons to provide mindfulness and guidance to prisoners.
