RELIGION AND LIFE
1 - BELIEVING IN GOD
Key words -
Agnosticism - unsure whether God exists
Atheism - believing God doesn't exist
Conversion - when your life is changed by giving yourself to God
Free will - idea that human beings are free to make their own choices
Miracle - something that seems to break a law of science (believe only God could have done it)
Moral evil - actions done by humans which cause suffering
Natural evil - things that cause suffering but aren't related to humans
Numinous - feeling of the presence of something greater than you
Omni-benevolent - belief that God is all-good
Omnipotent - belief that God is all-powerful
Omniscient - belief that God knows everything that has happened/going to happen (al-knowing)
Prayer - an attempt to contact God (usually words)
Religious upbringing -
Christian -
- Children generally baptised - promise to bring up children to believe in God and be good Christians
- Teach children to believe in God
- Teach children to pray to God
- Take children to worship God in church
- My send children to a Church school
- Parents will have told children about God and they will believe their parents
- Christians pray to God, so they will believe that God exists because parents wouldn't waste their time by praying to nothing
- Seeing so many people worshipping God at church will make them believe that god exists
- They will be taught that God exists at Sunday school/Church school - believe teachers
Religious experience -
Numinous - a feeling of the presence of God
Numinous - a feeling of the presence of God
- Awareness of something greater than you - must be God
- eg: religious building, beautiful place, looking at stars
Conversion - an experience of God, which is so great that it makes them want to change their life/religion and commit themselves to God in a special way
- Feel that God is calling them to do something for him
Miracle - event that breaks the law of science (appears to), and can only be explained by God
- If you experience something that breaks scientific laws, you will look for an explanation
- if the only explanation is a miracle then you will start believing in God
Prayer - an attempt to make contact with God
- If they feel God is listening to their prayer, they are likely to believe in God
- An answered prayer (eg: a sick family member getting better after a prayer) will lead to belief in God
Design argument -
For -
Causation - the process of one thing causing another
For -
1 - Scientific explanations are true and prove God created universe
How it may lead to agnosticism/atheism -
For -
- The way the universe works makes it look as if it has been designed
- Anything that has been designed needs a designer - world would need a designer
- Only possible designer would be God
- Evidence the world has been designed (laws of science - gravity and magnetism, DNA as blueprint for life, evolution etc.)
Against -
- Designer would't have created volcanoes, earthquakes etc.
- Science can explain appearance of design without a God involved
- Doesn't explain dinosaurs being part of the world etc.
- Would only prove designer, not necessarily God
Causation - the process of one thing causing another
For -
- eg: a driver pressing the brake pedal causes the effect of the car slowing down
- Cause and effect = basic feature of world
- Universe and humans must have had a cause
- God = only logical cause - must exist
- Explains how and why we're here
- Fits with out common sense - can't believe something came from nothing
- Fits with science - Universe (an effect) must have a cause (God)
- God would need a cause
- Matter may be eternal (never created), process of causes could go back forever, not to God
- Universe could have been there for forever, just because everything in it needs an explanation doesn't mean the universe does too
- First Cause doesn't have to be a God of a specific religion - could be good, evil, mixture, several gods etc
- Matter is eternal
- 15 billion years ago - matter of universe exploded (Big Bang Theory), red shift in light from other galaxies is evidence the universe is still expanding
- Stars and our solar system formed by matter flying away from explosion
- Gases on Earth's surface produced primitive life
- Genetic structure of primitive life forms lead to evolution of new life forms (fossil evidence)
- Science explains it without God - no longer need God to explain why we're here
- If God created the world, he must be the only explanation for it (science says otherwise)
1 - Scientific explanations are true and prove God created universe
- Only God could've made the Big Bang at exactly the right time
- Laws (such as gravity) could only have been made by God - needed for Big Bang to form solar systems
- Only God could have made gases on Earth react so they form life
- Noah's flood
- Apparent Age theory - when Adam was created (Earth was 6 days old), would've looked billions of years old because of how God created it
- Main points of Bible fit with science
- One of God's days could be millions of years
How it may lead to agnosticism/atheism -
- Don't feel presence of God when they pray - may feel there is no God listening to them
- Praying for a child to be cured/for wars to end/end natural disasters
- God couldn't exist if he let these things happen - evil?
- More people have prayers unanswered than answered
- Selfish prayers are answered but not in the way wanted (eg: God not helping you pass an exam with no work so you work harder next time)
- God has different plans - may want ill person to enter heaven
- God loves people - God's love will answer prayers in best possible way (may not look like direct answer)
- Have faith that God will answer all prayers in best way for person praying (even if different than they expected)
Evil and suffering -
- Moral evil - caused by humans using their free will (eg: rape, murder, burglary)
- Natural evil - not caused by humans (eg: earthquakes, floods, volcano eruptions)
- If God is omnipotent (all-powerful), he must be able to remove evil and suffering from the world
- If God is omni-benevolent (all-good), he must want to remove all evil and suffering from the world
- If God exists there should be no evil and suffering in the world
- God is either not all-good and all-powerful or he doesn't exist
- If God is omniscient (all-knowing) he would have known the evil and suffering that would come from creating the universe - should have created it in a way that avoids that
1 - God must have a reason for allowing evil and suffering
- Humans can't understand it
- Should follow example of Jesus and fight against evil and suffering (healing sick, feeding hungry, challenging evil)
- Christians do this by praying for and helping those who are suffering (eg: doctors, nurses, social workers etc.) - reduce amounts of suffering in the world
- God gave humans free will
- Created a world where evil and suffering will come out through humans misusing their free will
- Caused by humans, not God
- Must face evil and suffering in order to improve their sould
- Gives people the chance to become good people
- Will show omni-benevolence and omnipotence by rewarding good in heaven
- God has a reason for not using his power to remove evil and suffering but humans can't understand it
- God is divine - no way we can understand his thoughts
Key words -
Abortion - remove of a foetus from the womb before it can survive
Assisted suicide - providing a seriously ill person with the means to commit suicide (e.g: Dignitas in Switzerland)
Euthanasia - painless killing of someone dying from a painful disease (e.g: active - doctor giving patient an overdose of muscle relaxants, passive - turning off life support machine/not carrying out life-saving operation)
Non-voluntary euthanasia - ending someones life painlessly when they are unable to ask/agree to it but there is good reason for thinking they would want to do so
Voluntary euthanasia - ending life painlessly when someone in great pain asks for death
Immortality of the soul - idea that the soul lives on after the death of the body
Near-death experience - when someone about to die has an out of body experience
Paranormal - unexplained things that are thought to have spiritual causes
Quality of life - idea that life must have some benefits for it to be worth living
Sanctity of life - belief that life is holy and belongs to God
Reincarnation - belief that souls are reborn into a new body after death
Resurrection - belief that (after death) the body stays in the grave until the end of the world when it is raised
Christianity -
Why they believe in life after death -
- Jesus rose from the dead - recorded in Gospels and New Testament
- St Paul, 1 Corinthians - people will have a resurrection like that of Jesus
- Major creeds of the Church - Jesus rose from the dead and there will be life after death, Christians should believe the creeds
- Christian Churches teach that there is life after death
- Gives their life meaning and purpose - will be judged on how they have lived this life
- Will get judged after death - should live good Christian life (follow teaching of Bible and Church)
- Good Christian life - living God and loving your neighbour, will pray and worship on Sundays
- Parable of the Sheep and Goats (Jesus) - Christians should feed the hungry, clothe the naked, befriend stangers, visit the sick and those in prison
- Good Samaritan (Jesus) - loving your neighbour means helping anyone in need = working for charities such as Christian Aid, CAFOD etc
- Sin can prevent people from going to heaven/those who die with unforgiven sins will go to hell - will avoid sinning in lives
Why they believe in life after death -
- Teaching of the Tenakh (inspired by God)
- Teaching of the Talmud (teaching of rabbis)
- One of the Thirteen Principles of Faith (in Jewish creed)
- Gives lives meaning and purpose - get judged on how they have lived this life (rewards/punishment)
How this affects their life -
- God will judge how they have lived their life after they've dies - must try to live good Jewish lives
- Good Jewish life - observing Torah and halakhah, praying 3 times a day, fasting on Yom Kippur, keeping Shabbat, celebrating festivals etc.
- Following mitzvot, keeping kosher, observing dress laws, not be involved in lending at interest/receiving interest etc.
- Orthodox - confess sins before they die, help with funerals, keep shiva - (always aware of death)
- Gives meaning and purpose - suffer less form depression than atheists and agnostics
Non-religious (atheist) -
1 - Near-death experiences
- Someone is clinically dead for a period of time and then comes back to life and can remember what happened
- Feelings of peace, floating above the body, seeing a bright light, entering a heavenly place (see dead relatives)
2 - Evidence for spirit world
- Ghosts, ouija boards
- Mediums - someone who claims to be able to communicate between or material world and the spirit world (where the spirits of the dead live)
- Mediums - claim religious leaders (Jesus, Muhammad) were in touch with spirit world
- Mediums - spirit world gives people a second chance at life
- Mediums - contact dead relatives, give information that they wouldn't know without contact with the dead
2 - Evidence of reincarnation
- Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists believe in reincarnation and have evidence
Not believing in life after death -
- No God - no spirit world for life after death to occur
- Different religions contradict each other (eg: Hinduism, Sikhism and Buddhism say reincarnation - Christianity, Islam and Judaism say resurrection/immortality of the soul) - if it was true then they would all say the same
- Evidence based on holy books - they contradict each other (no way of deciding which are true/false)
- Evidence of paranormal challenged by scientists
- Most life after death beliefs revolve around mind/soul surviving without the body - science shows the mind can't live without the bran (body dies, mind dies)
- No place where life after death could take place - space travels shows it is not above the sky
- Brought up by atheists - won't believe
Law - only allowed if 2 doctors agree that:
- the mothers life is at risk
- the mothers physical/mental health is at risk
- the child is likely to be born severely handicapped
- would be a serious effect on other children in the family
- must be before 24 weeks of pregnant (unless mothers life at risk/severe handicaps)
Why it is controversial -
- People believe life starts at the moment of conception - taking a human life
- Life begins when foetus is able to live outside mother - abortion = not taking life
- Non-religious - a mother should have the right to do what she wants with her body, unwanted foetus is no different from an unwanted tumour
- Religious - unborn child's right to life is greater than the mothers rights
- Time limit should be reduced to 18-20 weeks because of medical advances
- Arguments about whether medical staff should be allowed to carry out abortions
Christian attitudes -
1 - Catholic Church and Evangelical Protestant Churches
- All abortions (except medical treatments for the mother which unintentionally affect the life of the foetus) is wrong
- Life belongs to God - only he has the right to end a pregnancy
- Life begins at conception - taking life (banned in Ten Commandments)
- Teachings of Catholic Catechism (and Evangelical Protestant Churches) = all abortion is murder
- There are alternatives to abortion due to rape - counselling, adoption (good can come out of evil in a new life)
2 - Other Christians (mainly Liberal Protestants)
- Disagree with abortion but think it must be allowed in some circumstances
- Life doesn't begin at conception
- Love your neighbour - remove suffering
- Sanctity of life can be broken in things like war - why not abortion?
- Should be allowed abortion if medical tests for serious medical problems are positive
Jewish attitudes -
1 - Can never be allowed (mainly Orthodox)
- Life begins at conception = murder
- Sanctity of life - only God has the right to take it
2 - Abortion is wrong but if mothers life is at risk then it is permissible
- Sanctity of life - abortion is wrong
- Torah - permits killing in self-defence, abortion is self-defence if mothers life is at risk
3 - Believe in UK law on abortion
- Believe Torah says that life doesn't begin until the foetus can survive on its own
- Torah - must prevent avoidable suffering
- Self-defence argument
- Gentle and easy death for someone suffering from painful/deadly disease with little quality of life
- Assisted suicide, voluntary euthanasia, non-voluntary euthanasia
- British law - all of these methods are murder
- Law - stopping artificial feeding/not giving treatment (passive euthanasia) are legal
Why it is controversial -
1 - Want it to remain illegal
- Will always be the doubt of if it is what the person really wants
- A cure may be found before the disease ends the life
- Job of doctors to save lives, not end them - trustworthy?
- People might change their mind when it is too late
- Would be hard to check if someone really wanted/needed euthanasia
2 - Want it to be made legal
- Medicinal discoveries mean that people who would have dies are not kept alive (in agony) - should have the right to die
- Doctors have right to switch off life support machines if the patient has no chance of recovering and allow people in comas for years to die - already forms of legal euthanasia
- People have the right to commit suicide - should have right to ask for doctors to help if they are too weak to do it themselves
- Euthanasia already given to suffering animals - no different
Christian attitudes -
1 - Catholics and many Liberal Protestants
- Assisted suicide, voluntary euthanasia and non-voluntary euthanasia is all wrong
- Switching off life support machines, not giving treatment that could cause distress and giving dying people painkillers is not euthanasia
- Sanctity of life
- Euthanasia is murder - forbidden in Ten Commandments
- If doctors say someone is brain-dead, they have already died - switching off machine is accepting what God has already decided
- Doctrine of double effect - if you give painkillers to a dying person in pain, and it kills them, it isn't murder because the intention was to relieve the pain (not kill them)
2 - Some Christians
- Any euthanasia is wrong (turning off life-support machines, refusal of extraordinary treatment, giving large doses of painkillers) etc. because life is being ended by humans, not God
- Take Bible teaching literally - forbids suicide
- All forms of euthanasia are murder - banned in Ten Commandments
- Sanctity of life
3 - A few christians
- Accept euthanasia in some circumstances
- Medical advances mean its hard to know what God's wishes for someone are
- Love your neighbour - can justify assisted suicide, most loving thing to do
- Basic human right to have control of your body and what people do to it - have right to refuse treatment, should have right to ask for euthanasia
Jewish attitudes -
1 - Many Jews (Orthodox)
- Do not allow euthanasia
- Torah bans suicide - assisted suicide is wrong
- Voluntary euthanasia can be seen as the same as assisted suicide
- Murder banned in Ten Commandments
- Tenakh - death and life of someone is in the hands of God
2 - Some Jews
- Don't allow euthanasia but accept switching off life-support or not 'striving to stay alive'
- Some rabbis have said switching off life-support for the brain-dead isn't euthanasia
- Brain-dead - God has already taken their life
- Striving to keep someone alive is prevent God from taking their soul - against God's wishes
Shouldn't be free to criticise religious views on life and death -
- Can stir up religious hatred - banned by Racial and Religious Hatred Act of 2007 (eg: Catholic Church told Catholics to withdraw support from Amnesty International for deciding abortion should be a human right for rape victims. Media reports chose examples that showed Catholic Church in bad light)
- Religious believers - freedom of media should be restricted, can cause offence (eg: Danish newspaper published cartoons of prophet Muhammad in 2005/6)
- Close to crime of blasphemy (eg: if media criticises Pope's etchings on abortion, they are condemning the Catholic Church)
- Religious statements are based on what God says - beyond human criticism
Should be free to criticise religious views on life and death -
- Freedom of expression (basic human right), needed for democracy to work - need free media to be aware of options for voting, what is going on in the world and their own country - must be free to criticise religious attitudes
- Religious leaders use media to make statements about matters of life and death (eg: on stem cell research) then they must be prepared for the media to criticise the statements
- Multi-faith society (like UK), needs freedom of religious belief and expression - media must have right to question/criticise
- Life and death and the issues surrounding it are important to everyone - can't be discussed/views chosen if religions were allowed to put forward views that no one else could criticise
3 - MARRIAGE AND THE FAMILY
Key words -
Adultery - a sexual act between a married person and someone other than their marriage partner
Promiscuity - sex with a number of partners without commitment
Homosexuality - sexual attraction to the same sex
Pre-marital sex - sex before marriage
Contraception - intentionally preventing pregnancy from occurring
Procreation - making a new life
Faithfulness - staying with your marriage partner and having sex only with them
Civil partnership - legal ceremony giving a homosexual couple the same legal rights and a heterosexual married couple
Nuclear family - mother, father and children living as a unit
Re-constituted family - where 2 sets of children (step-brothers/sisters) become one family when their divorced parents marry eachother
Re-marriage - marrying again after being divorced from a previous marriage
Cohabitation - living together without being married
Changing attitudes to marriage and family life -
1960's -
- Young people were expected to only have sex after marriage
- Most people married young and in church
- Divorces were very rare and frowned upon
- Families were nuclear (husband, wife and children)
- Male homosexuality was a criminal offence
How attitudes have changed -
- Most people have sex before marriage
- Many couples cohabit instead of marry - more children brought up by cohabiting parents
- Average marriage age has decreased
- Most marriages don't take place in a church
- Divorce is accepted and a lot more common
- More single parent families and re-constituted families
- More extended families
- More mothers in employment
- Society treats homosexual sex the same way as heterosexual sex
- Homosexual couples can now have a civil partnership - same rights and treatment as an opposite-sex couple
Why things have changed -
1 - Cohabitation and marriage
- Contraception - safer to have sex before marriage
- Less people go to church - not encouraged to abstain from sex until marriage
- Media and celebrities make cohabitation seem more respectable - more popular
- Media shows sexual relationships outside marriage as the norm
2 - Divorce
- New laws - now easier and cheaper
- More equality for women - no longer accept unequal treatment from men, will divorce if abused etc.
- Women are more financially dependant, can support themselves after a divorce
- Most divorces occur 10 years after marriage - big change in average
3 - Family life
- Cohabitation more popular
- Increase in divorce - more re-marriage and therefore more re-constituted families (as well as single parent families)
- More mothers in paid employment - grandparents look after children
4 - Homosexuality
- Law changes - easier to be openly homosexual
- Society more aware and accepting
- Medical research has shown that homosexuality is natural - people accept equal status and rights for homosexual couples
- Media coverage of gay couples - increased acceptance
- Gay rights organisations (eg: LGBT(Q) )
Christian attitudes -
- Most believe sex outside marriage is wrong
- God gave sex for procreation of children who should be brought up in Christian family - should only take place within marriage
- Bible - sex outside marriage is sinful
- Catechism - pre-marital sex is wrong
- All Christians against adultery - breaks wedding vows, banned by Ten Commandments and condemned by Jesus
- Some accept cohabitation before marriage, but only in a long-term relationship leading to marriage
Jewish attitudes -
- Believe sex outside marriage is wrong
- Torah - forbids sex before marriage
- Talmud - sex should only take place in marriage
- Sex is for procreation of children - should be raised in a family where mother and father are married
- Adultery banned in Ten Commandments, breaks marriage contract, would harm family (should not be harmed - where children learn about Judaism and how to live a Jewish life)
- Progressive Jews (some) - accept cohabitation before marriage, but only in a long-term relationship leading to marriage
Christian attitudes -
1 - Catholic Church
- Doesn't allow religious divorce or re-marriage
- Only way a marriage between baptised Catholics can be ended is by death of one of the partners
- Allows civil divorce if it's better for the children - couple are still married in the eyes of God (cannot re-marry)
- Jesus taught that divorce is wrong
- Couple made covenant with God - 'cannot be broken by any earthly power'
- Catechism - a marriage cannot be dissolved, religious divorce is impossible
- No re-marriage as there is no religious divorce - bigamy (2 husbands/wives) and adultery
- If marriage is proved to be an untrue Christian marriage (not consummated) - can have an annulment so they can re-marry
2 - Non-Catholic Churches
- Divorce is wrong but allowed if the marriage as broken down
- Permits divorced people to remarry
- Sometimes asked to promise that this time the marriage it for life
- Matthew 19:9 - allowed divorce for a partners adultery
- Broken marriage - effects of staying together would be a greater evil than the divorce itself, 'the lesser of two evils'
- Christians repent and confess their sins so they are forgiven - should have another chance at marriage if they are keen to make it work this time
- Believe it is better to divorce than to live in hatred and quarrel
Jewish attitudes -
1 - Divorce is wrong
- Talmud - divorce is an offence to God
- Children need to be brought up as good followers of Judaism for faith to survive
- (some) Rabbis - divorce is wrong because of the harm it can cause for the family (financial, emotional etc.)
2 - Orthodox Jews
- Allow divorce
- Only if husband has a get from the Bet Din
- Torah - various statements that permit divorce
- Contract that can be broken in certain circumstances
- Halakhah - only men can apply to Bet Din for a get
3 - Reform Jews
- Allow divorce
- Men and women can apply for a get from the Bet Din
- Torah and halakhah need to be interpreted for modern life and situations
- Men and women should have equal rights in religion and therefore divorce
- Lesser evil than forcing couple to live in hatred and bitterness
Family life -
Why it is important for Christians -
Why it is important for Christians -
- A main purpose of Christian marriage is to have children and bring them up to be good Christians
- Family created by God as basis of society and the only place for bringing up children
- Family too important to be broken up by divorce
- Teaches children the difference between right and wrong
- Important for Christianity to continue and grow (brings children into the faith)
However -
- Jesus taught there are more important things than family
- Catholic priests, nuns and monks leave family to serve God
Why it is important to Jews -
- Mitzvot for Jewish people to marry and have children
- Children of Jewish parents are automatically Jewish - continuation of faith
- Teaches children the difference between right and wrong
- Where Shabbat is served and festivals celebrated
- Importance stated in Ten Commandments
Christian attitudes -
1 - Catholic
- Homosexuality isn't a sin, but homosexual sexual activity is a sin
- Asks homosexuals to live without any sexual activity - will be helped to do this by the sacraments of the Church
- Sinful to criticise homosexuals or attack their behaviour
- Bible condemns homosexual sexual activity
- Church tradition that any sexual activity should have the possibility of creating children
- Is the teaching of the Magisterium
- Church - teaches that people can't help their sexual orientation but they can control their sexual activity
- Discriminating against people because of their sexual orientation is racism - sinful
2 - Evangelical Protestant
- Homosexuality is a sin
- Homosexuals can be changed by the power of the Holy Spirit
- Bible - homosexuality is a sin, believe it is the direct word of God
- Bible - salvation of Christ can remove all sins (including homosexuality)
- All Churches have said homosexuality is wrong, even now they have now changed their minds/teaching
- RECENTLY condemned homophobia, said churches should welcome homosexuals
3 - Liberal Protestant
- Welcome homosexuals to Church
- Accept homosexual relationships
- Some provide blessings for civil partnerships
- Bible texts condemning homosexuality show beliefs at the time, not word of God
- Major Christian belief in love and acceptance means homosexuals must be accepted
- If homosexual Christians feel the Holy Spirit approves of their homosexuality, it must be true
- Christians should be open and honest and so homosexual Christians shouldn't be made to tell lies/hide sexuality
Jewish attitudes -
1 - Orthodox
- Being homosexual isn't a sin
- Homosexual sexual activity and homophobia are sins
- Torah - condemns homosexual sexual activity
- Torah and Talmud - marriage between a man and a woman is the only lawful form of sex
- Any sexual activity should have the possibility of creating children
- Mitzvot - Jewish adults should marry and raise a family
2 - Liberal/reform
- Homosexuality is acceptable
- Torah needs to be re-interpreted in the light of modern society
- Scientists believe sexual orientation is natural - must be given by God
- Should treat others how they would want to be treated - must accept homosexuals
- Labelling homosexuality is wrong leads to homophobia - evils of racism
Contraception -
Christian attitudes -
1 - Catholic
Christian attitudes -
1 - Catholic
- Responsible parenthood - deciding on how many children to have and when to have them
- Should achieve this through natural family planning instead of artificial methods of contraception
- Pope Pius XI -condemned all forms of artificial contraception
- Pope Pius XII - all Catholics should use natural methods of contraception
- Pope Paul VI - only allowable forms of contraception are natural - confirmed in the Catechism
- All sex should be unitive and creative
- Some contraceptives bring about a very early abortion (abortifacient)
- Artificial contraception leads to promiscuity, broken families, divorce and STD's
2 - Non-Catholic Christians
- All forms of contraception are permissible
- Christianity is about love and justice - contraception improves womens' health and raises standard of living
- Nothing in Bible that forbids use of contraceptives
- 1930, Lambeth Conference of the worldwide Anglican Communion (Church of England) - Christians could use contraception to limit family size
- Condoms are the best way to combat HIV/AIDS
Jewish attitudes -
1 - Ultra Orthodox
- Don't approve of any artificial contraception unless mother's health is at risk
- God's command that Jewish people should be fruitful - should have large families
- Torah - male sperm is sacred and not to be killed
- Rabbis teach that God created sex for having children
2 - Orthodox
- Allow women to use contraception after a couple has had 2 children
- Torah, Talmud and rabbis - health of the mother should come first
- Contraceptives for women don't kill the sperm
- Mitzvot to have a family
3 - Liberal/Reform Jews
- Couples should make own decisions about contraception
- God expects people to use intelligence and technology to prevent unwanted things from happening
- Torah needs updating - contraception should be available to men and women
- Better to use contraception than bring unwanted children into the world
Key words -
Community cohesion - common vision and shared sense of belonging for all groups in society
Multi-faith society - many different religions living together in one society
Multi-ethnic society - many different races and cultures living together in one society
Religious pluralism - accepting all religions as having an equal right to coexist
Religious freedom - the right to practise your religion and change your religion
Racial harmony - different races/colours living together happily
Interfaith marriages - marriage where the husband and wife are from different religions
Ethnic minority - a member of an ethnic group (race) which is much smaller than the majority group
Discrimination - treating people less favourably because of their ethnicity/gender/colour/sexuality/age/glass
Prejudice - believing some people are inferior or superior without even knowing them
Racism - the belief that some races are superior to others
Sexism - discriminating against people because of their gender
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RELIGION AND SOCIETY
1 - Rights and responsibilities
Key words -
Bible - the holy book for Christians
Church - the community of Christians (non-capital C means a Christian place of worship)
Conscience - an inner feeling of the rightness or wrongness of an action
The Decalogue - the Ten Commandments
Democratic Processes - the ways in which all citizens can take part6 in government (usually through elections)
Electoral processes - the ways in which voting is organised
The Golden Rule - the teaching of Jesus that you should treat others as you would like them t treat you
Human rights - the rights and freedoms to which everyone is entitled
Political party - a group which tries to be elected into power on the basis of its policies
Pressure group - a group formed to influence government police on a particular issue
Situation ethics - the idea that Christians should base moral decisions on what is the most loving thing to do
Social change - the way in which society has changed and is changing (also possibilities for future change)
The Bible as a basis for making moral decisions -
- Moral decisions - where you have to decide what is the right or wrong thing to do
- The Bible is the word of God - God's guidance to humans
- Contains God's teachings on how Christians should behave (eg: The Decalogue - treatment of parents, stealing, murder, adultery etc.)
- Contains teachings of Jesus on how to live - Son of God
- Contains letters from the leading disciples of Jesus on how Christians should behave - guided by Holy Spirit
- Think Bible was written by humans inspired by God - many attitudes need to be changed for modern world (eg: St Paul's attitude to women and slaves)
- Need Church to tell them what the Bible means for today
- Would use own conscience or reason to decide whether to follow the Bible today
2 - Environmental and medical issues
Key words -
Artificial insemination - injecting semen into the uterus by artificial means
Conservation - protecting and preserving natural resources and the environment
Creation - the act of creating the universe or the universe which has been created
Embryo - a fertilised egg in the first 8 weeks after conception
Environment -the surroundings in which plants and animals live and on which they depend to live
Global warming - the increase in the temperature of the Earth's atmosphere (caused by greenhouse effect)
Infertility - not being able to have children
In-vitro fertilisation - the method of fertilising a human egg in a test-tube
Natural resources - naturally occurring materials (eg: oil and fertile land) which can be used by humans
Organ donation - giving organs to be used in transplant surgery
Stewardship - looking after something so it can be passed onto the next generation
Surrogacy - an arrangement where a woman carries a child and gives birth on behalf of another woman
3 - Peace and conflict
Key words -
Aggression - attacking without being provoked
Bullying - intimidating/frightening people weaker than yourself
Conflict resolution - bringing a fight or struggle to a peaceful conclusion
Exploitation - taking advantage of a weaker group
Forgiveness - stopping blaming someone/pardoning them for what they have done wrong
Just war - a war which is fought for the right reasons and in a right way
Pacifism - the belief that all disputes should be settles by peaceful means
Reconciliation - bringing together people who were opposed to each other
Respect - treating a person or their feelings with consideration
The United Nations (UN) - an international body set up to promote world peace and cooperation
Weapons of mass destruction - weapons which can destroy large areas and numbers of people
World peace - the ending of war throughout the whole world (basic aim of UN)
4 - Crime and punishment
Key words -
Addiction - a recurring compulsion to engage in an activity regardless of its bad effects
Capital punishment - the death penalty for a crime or offence
Crime - an act against the law
Deterrence - the idea that punishments should be of such a nature that they will put people off committing the crimes
Judgement - the act of judging people and their actions
Justice - due allocation of reward and punishment/the maintenance of what is right
Law - rules made by Parliament and enforceable by the courts
Reform - the idea that punishments should try to change criminals so that they will not commit crimes again
Rehabilitation - restore to normal life
Responsibility - being responsible for one's actions
Retribution - the idea that punishments should make criminals pay for what they have done wrong
Sin - an act against the will of God
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