Reasons for crime: mental illness and addiction
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can explain how mental illness and addiction can lead to crime and describe Christian and secular responses to these causes.
Key learning points
- Mental illness affects how someone thinks/behaves, making it harder to make good choices, especially without support.
- Addiction is a serious condition that can take over a person’s actions, sometimes leading to crime.
- The Bible teaches that people are judged based on what they understand and recognises how addiction can trap a person.
- Christianity teaches that mental illness and addiction can lead to crime and highlights the need to respond with care.
- Charities like Turning Point and Caritas help people with mental health or addiction problems to get support.
Keywords
Addiction - being addicted to/dependent on a particular substance; can be a cause of crime (e.g., stealing money to pay for illegal drugs)
Crime - action which breaks the law; can be against the person (e.g., murder), against property (e.g., vandalism), or against the state (e.g., treason)
Mental illness - a medical condition that can cause changes to a person’s behaviour; can be a cause of crime
Common misconception
Help and punishment are opposites.
Many religious and secular views argue that support and accountability can go together. A person may still be responsible for their actions, but helping them through treatment or rehabilitation can reduce reoffending and lead to real change.
Teacher tip
Use real-life case studies where mental illness or addiction have led to crime.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
5 Questions
Q1.Why might people in poverty turn to crime?
Q2.Growing up with or violence can make crime seem normal.
Q3.The Bible teaches that a good helps people make the right choices.
Q4.How do charities try to prevent crime?
Q5.Christian teachings stress both repentance and when dealing with crime.
Assessment exit quiz
5 Questions
Q1.Match each keyword to its meaning.
being dependent on a particular substance
an action which breaks the law
a medical condition that can cause changes to a person’s behaviour
Q2.What helps people with mental illness avoid crime?
Q3.The Bible recognises that any form of addiction can a person.
Q4.What is the aim of charities like Turning Point and Caritas?
Q5.Support and can go together to reduce re-offending.
To help you plan your 11 religious education lesson on: Reasons for crime: mental illness and addiction, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 11 religious education lesson on: Reasons for crime: mental illness and addiction, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 4 religious education lessons from the Religion, crime and punishment unit, dive into the full secondary religious education curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.