The treatment of criminals: prison and community service
To understand Christian and other responses to prison and community service as forms of punishment.
The treatment of criminals: prison and community service
To understand Christian and other responses to prison and community service as forms of punishment.
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Lesson details
Key learning points
- Prison is used for serious crimes and removes a person’s freedom.
- Community service is for less serious offences and involves unpaid work to benefit society.
- The Bible teaches values like mercy, forgiveness and visiting those in prison (e.g. Matthew 25:36).
- Denominations have different views on how appropriate prison is compared to community service as a form of punishment.
- Both punishments raise questions about justice, change and the best way to reduce reoffending.
Keywords
Community service - punishment involving the criminal doing a set number of hours of physical labour/work in their local community
Prison - imprisonment is a form of punishment where a criminal is locked in a secure guarded building (prison) for a period of time
Punishment - a penalty given to someone who has broken the law, intended to achieve justice and discourage future wrongdoing
Common misconception
Prison always helps people change for the better.
Without proper support, prisoners may be more likely to reoffend after release due to negative influences, lack of rehabilitation and poor mental health care.
To help you plan your year 11 religious education lesson on: The treatment of criminals: prison and community service, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your year 11 religious education lesson on: The treatment of criminals: prison and community service, 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.
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The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
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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.
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- Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
Supervision
Adult supervision recommended
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