Crime, good and evil intentions
A crime is an act that breaks the law of a country. A sin is an act against religious teaching; some acts are both.
- Evil intention: meaning to harm or to gain unfairly.
- Good intention: e.g. stealing food to feed a hungry child.
- Many religions teach that people are capable of both good and evil, and that the heart's intention matters to God. Courts also consider intention (e.g. murder vs accidental killing).
Reasons for crime; hate crime and murder
- Poverty and unemployment.
- Upbringing: neglect, violence or crime at home.
- Addiction: stealing to pay for drugs or gambling.
- Mental illness.
- Greed and hate.
- Opposition to an unjust law: e.g. breaking unfair laws in non-violent protest.
Hate crime: a crime against someone because of their race, religion, disability, gender or sexuality. Murder: deliberately killing a person; seen by all faiths as one of the gravest wrongs because life is sacred.
Views on lawbreakers: most faiths condemn the crime but not the person; they encourage helping offenders to change and also helping victims.
Aims of punishment
- Retribution: the offender gets what they deserve; "an eye for an eye" limits the punishment to fit the crime.
- Deterrence: putting the offender and others off committing crime.
- Reformation: helping the offender change through education, therapy and work skills.
- Protection: keeping society safe from dangerous people.
- Reparation: making up for harm, e.g. paying back or apologising (restorative justice).
Many religious people stress reformation and reparation because every person can change.
Prison, corporal and community punishment; treatment of offenders
- Prison: loss of freedom; protects society; may deter. Problem: some leave prison and reoffend.
- Community service: unpaid work for the community; repairs harm and avoids prison's bad influences.
- Corporal punishment: physical punishment (caning, whipping). Banned in most countries as cruel and against human dignity.
Treatment of offenders
Fair trial, no torture, decent conditions, chances to learn and work. Many faith groups visit prisoners (prison chaplains) and support their families.
Forgiveness and the death penalty
Forgiveness means letting go of hatred and revenge. Most faiths teach forgiveness (e.g. "forgive as you are forgiven", or compassion in Buddhism), but forgiving does not mean there should be no punishment.
The death penalty (capital punishment)
| For | Against |
|---|---|
| Retribution: a fitting punishment for murder | All life is sacred; only God gives and takes life |
| May deter others | Little evidence it deters more than long prison |
| Protects society permanently | Innocent people have been executed; mistakes cannot be undone |
| Some scriptures allow it for grave crimes | It removes any chance of reform and forgiveness |
About two-thirds of countries have abolished it in law or practice. India keeps it for the "rarest of rare" cases.
Try it: the 3D and at home
Compare punishments in free play, then run a two-sided family debate on the death penalty.
Key formulas and definitions
- Five aims: Retribution + Deterrence + Reformation + Protection + Reparation
- Crime = breaks the law; sin = breaks religious teaching
- Hate crime = crime + targeting identity
- Forgiveness ≠ no punishment
Worked examples
1. Which aims does a sentence of community service for vandalism meet?
Reparation (repairing harm to the community) and reformation (learning responsibility). It gives some deterrence, but less retribution and protection than prison.
2. A woman steals medicine she cannot afford for her sick child. Discuss intention.
The act is still a crime. Her intention is good (to save her child), so many people, and many religious teachers, would show mercy and look at the cause, poverty, while still saying stealing is wrong.
3. Give two religious arguments against the death penalty.
1) Life is sacred and belongs to God, so humans should not take it. 2) Everyone can repent and change; execution removes that chance. Also courts can make mistakes that cannot be undone.
Common mistakes
- Thinking forgiveness means no punishment. A person can forgive and still want justice.
- Mixing up deterrence (putting people off) and retribution (paying back).
- Saying all religions support the death penalty. Many religious groups oppose it.
- Treating all crimes as having one cause. Causes are many and often linked.