2019

Religions believe in the rebuilding of relationships after conflicts / concept of forgiveness / support the idea of restoring of harmony after relationships have broken down, etc.

Christianity
The mission of the Church is to proclaim that Jesus came so that the relationship between God and people can be restored / Catholics have a sacrament of reconciliation – the sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation / 2 Corinthians 5:18–19 and Matthew 5:23–24 state that Christians should be reconciled to God and one another / Coventry Cathedral has become a world centre for reconciliation and forgiveness / the Community of the Cross of Nails works in many countries to
bring peace and harmony / Christians set up the Corrymeela Community in Northern Ireland to bring reconciliation between Protestants and Catholics, etc.

Judaism
Some Jews are working for peace between Jews and Palestinians because they believe in the importance of building harmony and reconciliation / the Parents Circle – Families Forum (PCFF) has brought together more than 600 Palestinian and Israeli families who have lost an immediate family member in the conflict to show how reconciliation between individuals and nations is possible / they believe that this is the way to bring about lasting peace, etc.

Spec 1

Between human beings, forgiveness is a duty, it is wrong to hold grudges because you are only harming yourself by doing so. That does not mean that you are accepting that what the person did was right or that they should not be punished. It does mean that you should try to understand why they did it, because in some cases it may not have
been their fault. If the person repents their sin or crime they may be forgiven.

Christianity
Forgive one another – Colossians 3:13/Jesus told Peter to forgive seventy times seven/forgive others so God will forgive you – Lord’s Prayer/Matthew 6:14–16/Matthew 18:21–35 – Parable of the Unmerciful Servant/Matthew 5:7/Some Christians believe that you should only forgive those who repent.

Judaism
Prior to Yom Kippur, Jews ask forgiveness of those they have wronged during the year so that God will forgive them/sins between people require the asking and granting of forgiveness by the parties concerned/the person who has sinned against God needs to repent and ask God for forgiveness/Leviticus 16:30

Spec 2

God is just and therefore the source of all justice/God deals justly with his creation and treats them with equal value/as the source of all justice, God requires humans to establish and promote justice/justice leads to equality which means people are of equal worth and should be treated fairly/justice is an ideal to aim for in society, etc.

Christianity

A just God demands that humans deal with each other justly/dealing justly will improve the world and will reduce suffering and oppression/ God’s judgement is just/accept any relevant accurate quotes such as ‘Let justice roll on like a river and righteousness like an ever flowing stream’ (Amos)/‘what does the Lord require of you? To act justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.’ (Micah)/parable of the sheep and goats/any accurate and relevant teaching or example of Jesus.

Judaism

Justice is seen as ‘right and fair actions based on just laws’//true justice is only present when combined with truth, peace, compassion and mercy/achieving justice is a sacred duty and responsibility/Torah gives strong guidance on how to achieve justice/ignoring injustice is wrong/ accept any relevant accurate quotes such as ‘Let justice roll on like a river and righteousness like an ever flowing stream’ (Amos)/‘what does the Lord require of you? To act justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.’ (Micah)/‘follow justice and justice alone’ (Deuteronomy)/‘Learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed (Isaiah), etc.

2022

Religions are opposed to injustice / campaign for justice throughout the world / those who suffer from injustice should be protected / justice is about what is right and fair / wrongdoers need to be punished in order to protect society / support for upholding the law / support for systems which bring justice such as Just War / social justice, etc.

Christianity
Jesus acted against injustice by overthrowing the tables of the money changers in the temple – Matthew 21 : 12 -13 / following Jesus’ example many Christians have supported protests against wealth not being fairly distributed / many wars are fought because of injustice / many Christians support the Just War theory which lays out conditions under which fighting is justifiable, eg just cause such as restoring justice, overcoming an unjust leader or preventing genocide / the Old Testament prophets such as Amos and Micah called for people to work for justice / “But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream.” Amos 5 : 24 / “He has told you, O man, what is good, and what the Lord requires of you: Only to do justice and to love goodness, and to walk modestly with your God.” Micah 6 : 8, etc.

Judaism
The Jewish prophets such as Amos constantly warned the Jewish people about the importance of justice, especially for the vulnerable and poor in society / “But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream.” Amos 5 : 24 / “He has told you, O man, what is good, and what the Lord requires of you: Only to do justice and to love goodness, and to walk modestly with your God.” Micah 6 : 8 / people should be treated equally or resentment may build up and lead to conflict / Judaism teaches that God created humans in his image and so all people are of equal value – Genesis 1 : 27 / no one should be treated with unfairness but treated with kindness and honesty / believe that if people follow the laws of the Torah they will help to create harmony and
justice in society / “justice shall you pursue, that you may thrive and occupy the land that the Lord your God is giving you.” Deuteronomy 16 : 20 / proportionality / ‘An eye for an eye, tooth for tooth…’ Leviticus 24:19-21, etc*

Spec 2

Violence destroys inner peace/‘I will not harm any living thing is Buddhist precept/goes against the principle of ahimsa/is neither compassionate nor loving/goes against the commandment ‘Do not kill’/Jesus taught ‘turn the other cheek’/does not show ‘love of neighbour’/goes against the sanctity of life,/golden rules/no religion encourages actions that are violent or lead to suffering unless under certain circumstances etc.

2018

No religion promotes violence and generally agree that conflict should be avoided if possible / love they neighbour / violent protest is against the law and religious believers are encouraged to uphold the law / violent protest is likely to provoke retaliation and not solve the problem / may lead to extremism and entrenched attitudes / could lead to suffering and fatalities / more can often be achieved by peaceful protest eg the American Civil Rights Movement and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr or Gandhi in India / pacifists / many religious teachings reflect this eg. Ahimsa / First Moral Precept / Right Action / ‘Blessed are the peacemakers,’ etc.

2022

No religion promotes violence in their teachings / conflict should be avoided if at all possible / sometimes violence may be necessary in self-defence / ideas associated with the Just War theory / pre-emptive strikes / those guilty of violence should be dealt with, etc.

Christianity
Christians try to avoid the use of violence / “Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said, “for all who draw the sword die by the sword.” Matthew 26:52 / most Christians believe that violence is not justified / many Christians eg Quakers are pacifists / however, some Christians believe that violence is sometimes justified eg Just War / “if you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one” Luke 22 : 36, etc.

Judaism
Throughout Jewish scripture there are laws and guidance to help Jews establish a peaceful society / Jews greet each other by saying ‘Shalom’ meaning peace and harmony / Isaiah prophesied that one day there will be no more violence, ruin or destruction – Isaiah 60 : 18 / Jews have used violence and fighting to survive as a nation both since 1948 and in the times of the Torah / believe that some wars are obligatory – God commanded and that they are obliged to defend themselves, etc.

2021

While the right to protest is protected, there is no right to protest violently in law / a protest that descends into violence is known as a riot / a serious form of violent protest is terrorism where terror is used as part of their campaign to further their cause – this is not supported by any religion / violent protest is likely to turn people against their cause, etc.

Christianity
Christians are told to love their enemies and each other so generally oppose violence protest / Christians like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, and the Civil Rights movement organised peaceful rallies to protest about racial and social inequalities in the USA / many Christians believe that protest to achieve what is right is acceptable providing violence is not used / Quakers are against using violence in any circumstances / a minority of Christians might support violent protest in extreme circumstances like some did in opposing apartheid in South Africa / the example of Jesus using violence in the Temple to overthrow the tables of the money changers may be used to justify such actions, etc.

Judaism
The books of Nevi’im have stories of the prophets protesting against injustice eg Amos / protests might be necessary to bring about change, especially when vulnerable groups need support / to remain silent when there is injustice is seen as a sin / tactics like civil disobedience (active refusal to obey certain laws) are used rather than violent protest / sometimes violence does erupt as emotions run high but Judaism opposes terrorism, etc.

2020

Terrorism is indiscriminate in causing suffering / innocent people and civilians are targeted / often results in death, which is against the sanctity of life / no religion promotes terrorism / goes against the first precept / caused by hatred – one of the three poisons in Buddhism / some are pacifists and do not believe in any violence / not loving your neighbour / concept of ahimsa / scaring and hurting people is the wrong way to resolve issues / it is against the law (illegal), etc.

2018

Religions teach peace / belief in ‘love your neighbour’ or similar (golden rules) / ahimsa / First Precept / morally wrong to kill indiscriminately / innocent civilians – men, women and killed get killed or injured / wrong to scare people / should work with government (see Romans 13) / terrorism is illegal, religious believers should follow the law / reference to just war and/or holy war criteria that interprets terrorism as wrong, etc.

Christianity
Love your neighbour / treat others as you wish to be treated / do not murder / work with the government – ‘Let every person be subject to the governing authorities; for there is no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God’ Romans 13:1 / Love one another/love your enemies / ‘Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good’ Romans 12: 21, etc.

Judaism
The Torah contains several versions of the Golden Rule /Leviticus 19:18 – ‘You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbour as yourself’ / ‘What is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow man. This is the entire Law; all the rest is commentary’ – Talmud, Shabbat 3id, etc.