2021

God created all humans of equal value / no individuals or groups should be singled out for inferior treatment / religions preach love, tolerance and reconciliation / it is against the law / / Love your neighbour / the Golden Rules / hate crimes are often violent and could end in murder / Jews were murdered during the Holocaust – one of the world’s worse hate crimes / Mool Mantra describes God as without hate / religious believers themselves have been victims of hate crime / their religion and religious spaces have been victims of hate crime, etc.

2021

Christianity
The Ten Commandments teach ‘Do not steal’ / ‘Do not covet’ / theft has an impact on the victim / Christians teach the Golden Rule / ‘Do to others what you want them to do to you’ / Jesus taught people to love their neighbour (Mark 12:31) / Paul taught in Romans 13 to obey the law of the land and stealing is regarded as a crime / stealing may be considered less serious than some other crimes such as hate crimes or murder, it is still wrong particularly if the motive is greed / may be understanding of people committing theft out of need eg stealing food if they are starving, etc.

Judaism
The Ten Commandments teach ‘Do not steal’ / ‘Do not covet’ / someone gets hurt if their property is stolen / people should not be greedy or be jealous of what others have / Leviticus 19:18 instructs Jews to love their neighbour meaning everybody / lawbreakers should try to pay back for the wrongs they have committed so if they have stolen money they should make efforts to repay it / crimes committed out of need should be discouraged by helping the poor to remove the need to commit crime, etc

2018

Hate crimes go against fundamental religious teachings of equality and love, community and brotherhood / often motivated by prejudice or to get revenge / often rooted in fear, insecurity and envy / goes against the sanctity of life as may lead to serious harming or murder / breaks the Golden Rules / breaks the law, etc.

Christianity
God created all human beings in his image (Genesis) with equal value / no individuals or groups should be singled out for inferior treatment to others / Mark 12 : 31 – ‘Love your neighbour’ / your neighbour is everybody, regardless of race, religion, sexuality, disability or gender / Galatians 3 : 28/ the Golden Rule ‘ Do to others what you want them to do to you.’/ New Testament teaches to love your enemies not hate them, etc.

Judaism
Hate crimes are serious crimes and sometimes lead to murder / Jews have been the victims of anti-Semitic crimes / during the Second World War millions of Jews were murdered by the Nazis / Jews condemn both hate crime and murder / God created everyone equally / Leviticus 19:18 instructs Jews to love their neighbour (everyone), etc.

2022

Religions teach that human life is precious / it is wrong to take human life as it is sacred / murder is unlawful and regarded as one of the most serious of crimes / murderers should be punished but not as an act of revenge / some would say use capital punishment as a response to the crime of murder / family and friends of victims should be supported, etc.

Christianity
Christians believe in the sanctity of life / humans are made in the image of God / God gave life and only he has the right to take it away / “You shall not murder” – Exodus 20 : 13 (sixth commandment) / “Blessed are the merciful” – Matthew 5 : 7 / “You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.” Matthew 5 :21 / “it does not matter whether you take away a life that is born, or destroy one that is coming to the birth. In both instances, destruction is murder.” Tertullian / murder is seen as a very serious crime / Cain and Abel / “Whoever sheds the blood of man, By man shall his blood be shed” – Genesis 9 : 6 / some support capital punishment for murderers – Exodus 21 : 23-24 “…life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth …” / murder has eternal consequences / “Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him” 1 John 3 : 15 / Revelation 22 : 15, etc.

Judaism
Jews believe in the sanctity of life / God created humans in his own image – Genesis 1 : 27 / God created life and only God should take it / murder is regarded as a very serious crime / Genesis story of the first murder – Cain and Abel / during the Second World War many Jews were murdered by the Nazis / God created all humans with equal value and no individuals or groups should be singled out as not being worthy of life / The Ten Commandments include the instruction “You shall not murder” – Exodus 20 : 13 (sixth commandment) / Jews are taught to love their neighbour – Leviticus 19 : 18 / some believe that severe punishment should be given to those who murder as scripture says “Whoever sheds the blood of man, By man shall his blood be shed” – Genesis 9 : 6 / some support capital punishment for murderers – Exodus 21 : 23-24 “…life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth …”, etc.

Spec 1

Students may include some of the following points, but all other relevant points must be credited:Many religious believers would argue that breaking the law if it contradicts religious teaching is justified/for example, breaking a law that discriminates against different races when religion teaches that all races are equal/protest including violent protest, raises similar issues/if a repressive government denies its people their human rights as laid down in scripture and makes public demonstrations of opposition illegal, then many religious believers might consider breaking the law/ and be prepared, as citizens of the state, to face the consequences that would follow.

Christianity
Romans 13:1–7 requires Christians to obey the laws of the land because God has given them the authority to do so/however Acts 5:27– 27 shows that when a government law is against the law of God, it may (and possibly should) be broken/following the teaching of Jesus in Mark 12:15, Christians accept their duty of obedience both to the state and to God/but God is the priority/in the 20th century, some Christians refused to pay a tax that they saw as morally wrong and went to prison as a result/most Christians would not accept violent protest because it shows a lack of love and respect for others/Martin Luther King and his supporters broke the law non-violently.

Judaism
The Tenakh contains many examples of protest against repression and injustice/the refusal of the midwives to carry out the order to kill all newborn Hebrew males (Exodus 1) has been described as the first act of civil disobedience/the person who breaks the law in protest must be prepared to face the consequences/in the 2nd century BCE many Jews died when they disobeyed the Syrian king’s ban on religious practices/
‘whoever can protest and does not, is accountable to his household, his community and the whole world’ (rabbinic teaching)/many Jews in modern times protest against injustice/the emphasis in religious teachings is on non-violence.

2022

Arguments in support
• The law is there to protect the rights and security of all citizens and should be respected.
• There would be chaos and anarchy if people just ignored the laws of the land.
• The law helps to prevent evil actions from taking place.
• Laws are expected to remind people of the best way to live in society for the good of everyone.
• Religious believers should follow the laws of their religion, etc.

Arguments in support of other views
• Some laws might be considered as morally wrong and could be challenged.
• Some state laws might be contrary to the teachings and beliefs of a religion hence a conflict
between secular and religious law.
• Some laws may be perceived as being unjust and go against a person’s conscience, eg historical laws allowing slavery.
• There are circumstances where people may feel justified in breaking the law, eg by stealing if they or their families are starving, etc.

Christianity
Christians are against people breaking the law without just cause / Romans 13 instructs Christians to obey the authorities / “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established.” Romans 13 : 1 / breaking the law may result in the abuse of the free will God gave to humans which allowed them to choose right from wrong / however, sometimes there are unjust laws which Christians may feel need changing, eg laws against religious freedom or which promote racial discrimination / example of Rosa Parks in the USA in 1955 who refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white person / the Golden Rule, etc.

Judaism
Jews believe that they should obey the laws of the land of the country where they live providing they do not contradict Torah law / the Torah gives instructions that a person must love God and also love their neighbour / religious people like all humans have been given free will by God and sometimes ignore the mitzvoth / “Those who forsake the law praise the wicked, but those who keep the law resist them. Evil men do not understand justice but those who seek the Lord understand it fully.” `Proverbs 28 : 4-5 / greed can result in law breaking which is wrong / God gave people laws to follow, eg Ten Commandments / sometimes people break what they believe is an unjust law in
order to bring changes, eg laws based on racial or gender prejudice, etc.

2019

Retribution / deterrence / reformation / protection / vindication / reparation / justice / rehabilitation / compensation, etc.

2021

The offenders need to realise that what they have done is wrong and unacceptable / their behaviour needs to change so they become responsible citizens / this may involve group therapy session, individual counselling and treatment / reforming people can be linked to forgiveness / some believe that other forms or aims of punishment may be preferable e.g. in the case of serious crime, etc.

Christianity
Reformation is a good aim of punishment because it helps offenders become law abiding citizens and gives them the potential of a better future / allows repentance through punishment and forgiveness / ‘If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents forgive him.’ (Luke) / gives a second chance / reformation and repentance are important if the individual is to become a responsible citizen, etc.

Judaism
Reformation is important in Judaism because it seeks to help offenders to understand that their behaviour has been harming society / reformation requires repentance, asking for God’s forgiveness and doing good works / ‘Turn back, turn back from your evil ways…’ Ezekiel 33:11 / ‘When justice is done, it brings joy to the righteous but terror to evildoers.’ (Proverbs), etc. 

Spec 2

Arguments in support
• reformation is positive and potentially allows a better future
• it gives punishment a purpose
• doesn’t imply the offender has no future
• helps to promote repentance
• is most compassionate and loving, etc.

Arguments in support of other views
• serious offenders do not deserve a future
• other aims of punishment are more important
• reoffending rates show reformation does not always work
• the victim deserves more support than the offender
• no aim is best, it depends on individual offenders, etc.

Christianity
Reformation is best because it helps offenders become law abiding citizens and gives them the potential of a better future/allows repentance through punishment and forgiveness/‘If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents forgive him.’ (Luke)/gives a second chance/reparation can link with reformation and repentance so it is important/retribution is wrong/‘turn the other cheek’ (Matthew)/deterrence is good provided the needs of the offender are considered and that their punishment is just, etc.

Judaism
Reformation is important in Judaism but so is deterrence/reformation requires repentance, asking for God’s forgiveness and doing good works/‘When justice is done, it brings joy to the righteous but terror to evildoers.’ (Proverbs), etc.

2022

Arguments in support
• Deterrence is a good aim as it designed to prevent a crime taking place.
• The punishment given should deter the offenders and help them to realise that they should not commit another crime.
• Others are put off committing a crime when they see the punishment which is given.
• Society needs to be protected from criminals and punishments that deter do this, etc.

Arguments in support of other views
• Other aims of punishment can be more effective in preventing crime
• Offenders need to reform and change their ways so ‘reformation’ is the most important aim
• Society needs to show and victims know that crime will be punished
• Sometimes crimes are so horrific that retribution should occur, etc.

Christianity
Retribution is seen as the least positive aim of punishment / the Old Testament does say that the punishment should be equal to the crime / “The penalty shall be life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot …” Exodus 21 : 23-25 / many Christians believe that deterrence is very important / if offenders are punished it might put others off from committing the crime / the offenders themselves might be deterred from reoffending / punishment in public places is not allowed as people should be treated with respect / that some reject deterrence because it is a weapon of fear / most Christians prefer the aim of reformation / reformation expresses Jesus’ teaching to love one’s enemy / it is hoped that offenders will change their ways and become responsible members of society / Romans 12 : 19-21, etc.

Judaism
Making an extreme example of an offender is not acceptable to many Jews / the Torah does say that the punishment should be equal to the crime / “The penalty shall be life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot …” Exodus 21 : 23-25 / most prefer Leviticus 19 : 17 -18 “Do not seek revenge…” / most Jews believe that the best aim is of reformation – Ezekiel 33 : 11 / however, if it is necessary for an individual to be punished as a deterrent, then it is acceptable / working with offenders to turn their lives around is the positive response, etc.