⚖️ Year 8 Religious Education

War & Peace

Religious Views on War

• Pacifism: the belief that violence and war are never justified under any circumstances. Some Quakers, Jehovah's Witnesses, some Buddhists are absolute pacifists.
• Just War Theory: the idea that war can be morally justified under certain strict conditions. Developed by St Augustine and St Thomas Aquinas in Christian tradition; parallels exist in Islam (Jihad) and Judaism.

The Just War Criteria

• The war must be fought for a just cause (self-defence, protecting the innocent, correcting a grave injustice)
• It must be declared by a legitimate authority (not a rebel group or terrorist organisation)
• The intention must be good (peace must be the aim)
• It must be a last resort (all peaceful alternatives must have been tried and failed)
• There must be a reasonable chance of success
• The means must be proportionate — only necessary force used; civilians protected

Islam and War

• Islam means "submission to God" and is linguistically related to "salam" (peace)
• Lesser Jihad (Jihad bil Sayf): physical struggle; can include fighting to defend the Muslim community from unjust attack. Strict conditions apply (very similar to Just War criteria)
• Greater Jihad: the spiritual struggle against sin and one's own ego (considered more important in most scholarly traditions)
• The Qur'an: "Fight in the way of Allah those who fight you but do not transgress. Indeed, Allah does not like transgressors." (2:190)
• Islam prohibits targeting civilians, destroying crops, killing animals unnecessarily, or using excessive force

Christian Views on Peace

• Jesus taught forgiveness and non-retaliation: "Turn the other cheek"; "Blessed are the peacemakers"
• Christian pacifists (e.g. Quakers) believe Jesus's life was a model of non-violence; Christians should not participate in war
• Most mainstream Christians accept the Just War theory as a framework for reluctant, defensive violence
• Nuclear weapons: many Christians argue they can never be proportionate; others argue they function as a deterrent and prevent war

Terrorism

• Terrorism: the use of violence against civilians to create fear and achieve political goals
• All major world religions condemn terrorism; extremists may misuse religion to justify it
• The debate: is one person's terrorist another's freedom fighter? Context and perspective matter in evaluating this ethically.
• Causes of terrorism: political grievances, injustice, extremist ideology, alienation, foreign policy

Environmental Ethics

Religious Teachings on the Environment

• Christianity: Genesis — God gave humans "dominion" over creation (sometimes interpreted as permission to use nature, but increasingly as stewardship — responsible care). "The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to tend and keep it." (Gen 2:15). Pope Francis's Laudato Si (2015): a strong call for environmental protection as a religious duty.
• Islam: Khalifah — humans are "stewards" (vice-regents) of the Earth on behalf of Allah. The Earth belongs to Allah, not humanity. Causing pollution or waste is forbidden (fasad). The concept of Mizan (balance) — humans must maintain the natural balance God created.
• Judaism: Tikkun Olam ("repairing the world") — human responsibility to improve the world. Bal Tashchit — the prohibition against needless destruction; waste is a moral failing.
• Hinduism: Ahimsa (non-violence/non-harm) applies to all living beings; the natural world is sacred. Many Hindus see rivers (especially the Ganges) as goddesses — though this can paradoxically coexist with pollution.
• Buddhism: interdependence (Pratītyasamutpāda) — all things are connected; harming the environment harms us. Mindful consumption — avoiding desire and waste.

Secular Environmental Ethics

• Anthropocentrism: humans are the most important beings; nature has value only as it serves human needs. Has justified much environmental destruction.
• Biocentrism: all living beings have intrinsic value, not just humans (Peter Singer, animal rights)
• Ecocentrism: the entire ecosystem (including non-living things) has intrinsic value; humans are one part of a complex web

Key Issues

• Climate change and our duty to future generations
• Animal welfare vs human use of animals (factory farming, animal testing)
• Pollution and the global commons — who is responsible when damage crosses borders?
• Consumption and global justice — rich nations consume vastly more per capita

Medical Ethics

Abortion

• Abortion: the deliberate termination of a pregnancy. In the UK, legal up to 24 weeks (Abortion Act 1967).
• Pro-life view: life begins at conception; the foetus has a right to life; abortion is wrong. Held by Roman Catholics, many Evangelicals, some Muslims.
• Pro-choice view: a woman has the right to make decisions about her own body; the foetus is not yet a person with full rights. Secular and many liberal religious perspectives.
• The debate centres on: when does personhood begin? Whose rights take priority? What are the social consequences of restricting abortion?
• Religious nuance: many traditions do not take an absolute position. Islam generally permits abortion early in pregnancy in extreme circumstances. Judaism generally permits abortion to save the mother's life.

Euthanasia

• Euthanasia: bringing about the death of someone suffering from a terminal illness to end their suffering
• Voluntary euthanasia: the person requests it. Active: a direct action causes death (e.g. lethal injection); Passive: life-sustaining treatment is withdrawn.
• Assisted dying/suicide: providing the means for someone to end their own life
• Euthanasia is illegal in the UK; legal in Belgium, Netherlands, Switzerland (assisted dying) and several US states
• Arguments for: right to die with dignity, reduction of suffering, bodily autonomy
• Arguments against: the sanctity of life, the "slippery slope" concern, pressure on the vulnerable, palliative care as an alternative
• Religious views: most religious traditions oppose euthanasia (life is God's gift; suffering can have meaning). The Catholic "doctrine of double effect" allows treatment that may hasten death if the primary aim is to relieve pain.

Organ Donation & Transplants

• UK changed to an opt-out system in 2020 (Max and Keira's Law): all adults are presumed to consent unless they have opted out
• Most religious traditions support organ donation as an act of charity (saving another's life is a great virtue in Islam, Judaism, and Christianity)
• Some objections: body must be whole for resurrection; concern about definition of brain death; distrust of the medical system

Justice & Human Rights

What Is Justice?

• Justice: fair treatment; giving people what they deserve or what they are owed
• Distributive justice: fair distribution of resources and opportunities in society
• Retributive justice: punishment fitting the crime; the wrongdoer receives what they deserve
• Restorative justice: repairing the harm done; offenders make amends to those they have wronged; increasingly used in schools and criminal justice

Aims of Punishment

• Retribution: the criminal deserves to suffer proportionately for their crime ("an eye for an eye")
• Deterrence: punishment deters the offender (individual) and others (general) from future crime
• Rehabilitation: reforming the offender so they do not reoffend; education, therapy, skills training in prison
• Protection: keeping dangerous people away from society
• Reparation: making amends (community service, paying compensation)

The Death Penalty

• Capital punishment is used in approximately 55 countries; abolished in the UK in 1969
• Arguments for: ultimate deterrent, justice for victims, removes dangerous criminals permanently, proportionate for the worst crimes
• Arguments against: risk of executing innocent people, does not demonstrably deter crime, violates the right to life, state-sanctioned killing is morally wrong
• Religious views: divided. Old Testament supports it; Christian tradition mixed. Islam permits it under very strict conditions. Buddhism and most humanists oppose it.

Global Poverty and Inequality

• Approximately 700 million people live in extreme poverty (below $2.15/day, 2022 World Bank)
• Religious duty to the poor: Zakat (Islamic obligatory almsgiving 2.5%); Christian charity and the preferential option for the poor (Liberation Theology); Tzedakah (Jewish justice/charity); Seva (Sikh selfless service to community)
• Fair trade movement: ensuring producers in LICs receive fair prices for their goods
• Non-religious responses: humanitarian aid organisations (Oxfam, MSF), government development aid, debt relief campaigns