Year 11 - Religious education
The aims of punishment
Religion, crime and punishment
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This pupil-friendly study guide includes a unit summary, clear notes, common mistakes, and quick questions with answers.
Unit Summary
In this unit pupils will study ideas of crime and how people may view crime is caused. From that, they will examine different ideas of punishing crime and treating criminals focussing especially on a case study of the death penalty and ideas of forgiveness.
Lesson Summary
You will learn to explain the different aims of punishment and how religious and non-religious beliefs influence views about which aims matter most.
Key Notes
- Punishment can focus on the offender or on others, such as society and victims.
- Retribution and reformation focus on the offender, through deserved consequences or personal change.
- Protection, deterrence and justice focus on preventing harm, discouraging crime and ensuring fairness.
- Non-religious views often prioritise reducing harm, protecting society and respecting dignity.
- Christian views emphasise justice, mercy and the possibility of forgiveness and reformation.
Vocabulary To Learn
- deterrence: the threat of punishment as a way to put a person off committing crime
- justice: ensuring fairness by responding to crimes in a way that holds the offender properly accountable
- protection: legal measure aimed at preserving others' rights and freedoms by removing or restricting those who pose a risk
- reformation: helping the criminal understand why their behaviour was wrong, with the goal of changing their mindset and actions
- retribution: getting the criminal back for their crimes by giving a punishment as payback or revenge for the wrongdoing
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- All punishments try to achieve the same thing.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain the lesson in two key points.
Punishment can focus on the offender or on others, such as society and victims. Retribution and reformation focus on the offender, through deserved consequences or personal change.
2. What does this key word mean in this lesson? 'deterrence'
the threat of punishment as a way to put a person off committing crime.
3. Correct this common mistake.
Mistake: All punishments try to achieve the same thing. Correction: Different punishments have different aims: some focus on changing the offender (like reformation), while others aim to protect society, discourage crime or deliver justice.
More Lessons In This Unit
- Different religious views about corporal punishment Study Guide
- Different religious views about forgiveness Study Guide
- Different religious views about the death penalty Study Guide
- Ethical arguments relating to the death penalty Study Guide
- Good and evil intentions Study Guide
- Opposition to an unjust law Study Guide
- Reasons for crime: greed and hate Study Guide
- Reasons for crime: mental illness and addiction Study Guide
- Reasons for crime: poverty and upbringing Study Guide
- The concept of forgiveness Study Guide
- The treatment of criminals: corporal punishment Study Guide
- The treatment of criminals: prison and community service Study Guide
- Views about different types of crime Study Guide
- Views about people who commit crime Study Guide
Browse all guides in the Year 11 Religious education guide library.