Restorative Justice: Religious Rehabilitation Schemes for Offenders
Restorative justice is an approach that focuses on repairing harm and reconciling offender, victim and community, rather than punishment alone, put into practice through religious rehabilitation schemes grounded in Christian and Islamic teaching on forgiveness and repentance. UK case studies include prison chaplaincy and the Sycamore Tree Programme.
Before you start
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Method
- Learn the definition of restorative justice: an approach that brings offenders, victims and the community together to repair the harm caused by a crime, as distinct from purely retributive punishment (link to RS.TE2).
- Learn a key Christian teaching supporting a restorative approach: the parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32), where a father welcomes back and reconciles with a wayward son rather than punishing him.
- Learn Jesus's teaching on limitless forgiveness in Matthew 18:21-22, that Peter should forgive 'seventy-seven times', and the Catholic tradition of visiting prisoners as a corporal work of mercy (Matthew 25:36).
- Learn a real UK case study: the Sycamore Tree Programme, run by the Christian charity Prison Fellowship, which brings offenders face to face with victims of crime (not usually their own) to encourage empathy and genuine change.
- Learn the Islamic basis for rehabilitation: tawbah (sincere repentance) and belief in Allah as Al-Ghaffar (the Forgiving), supported by Qur'an 5:39, that Allah accepts the repentance of 'anyone who repents after his wrongdoing and mends his conduct'.
- Learn that Islamic criminal justice (link to RS.TE8) can combine fixed retributive elements, such as hudud, with restorative options, such as diyya (compensation) in place of qisas (retaliation), supported by Qur'an 5:45, where forgoing retaliation 'in charity' is described as an expiation for the one who forgives.
- Learn that UK prisons have statutory multi-faith chaplaincy teams, including imams and Christian chaplains, supporting rehabilitation alongside education and other programmes.
- Practise a balanced answer that also notes criticism of restorative justice, e.g. that it may feel insufficiently punitive for very serious crimes, or that victims may not wish to participate, before reaching a conclusion.
Worked example
Explain two Christian teachings that support a restorative, rather than purely punitive, approach to criminals.
- Identify a first teaching: the parable of the Prodigal Son models reconciliation and welcome rather than punishment for wrongdoing that is genuinely regretted.
- Develop it with a reference: in Luke 15:20, the father, seeing his son 'still a long way off', runs to him and embraces him, rather than demanding punishment first.
- Identify a second teaching: Jesus's teaching on limitless forgiveness supports repeatedly offering the chance of reform rather than treating a person as beyond redemption.
- Develop it with a reference: in Matthew 18:22, Jesus tells Peter to forgive not seven times but 'seventy-seven times'.
- Combine both points into a complete answer: the Prodigal Son parable and Jesus's teaching on limitless forgiveness both support a restorative approach, treating reconciliation and the possibility of genuine change as more central than simply punishing an offender.
Practice questions
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Q1What is restorative justice?Show answer
Answer: An approach that focuses on repairing harm and reconciling offender, victim and community, rather than punishment alone.
Q2Name the UK-based Christian programme, run by Prison Fellowship, that brings offenders face to face with crime victims.Show answer
Answer: The Sycamore Tree Programme.
Q3According to Matthew 18:22, how many times does Jesus tell Peter to forgive someone?Show answer
Answer: 'Seventy-seven times' (a way of saying without limit).
Q4In restorative justice, what name is given to a meeting where the offender, the victim and community representatives discuss the harm caused and how to repair it?Show answer
Answer: A restorative conference (also called a victim-offender conference or mediation).
Q5According to Qur'an 5:45, what happens when a victim's family chooses to forgo retaliation (qisas) in charity?Show answer
Answer: It is described as an expiation (a means of making amends) for the person who forgives.
Q6What is required of every UK prison in terms of religious support for prisoners?Show answer
Answer: A statutory multi-faith chaplaincy team, including chaplains and imams, supporting prisoners' rehabilitation and wellbeing.
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a GCSE Religious Studies exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
Explain two ways religious teaching supports restorative approaches to criminal justice.
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'Restorative justice is a better approach to crime than punishment.' Evaluate this statement, referring to religious teaching and reaching a justified conclusion.
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See real GCSE Religious Studies past-paper questions, with official mark schemes →
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