Revision Cards - RE - Key Words

Law - Rules made by Parliament and enforceable by the courts

Sin - An act against the will of God

Justice - Due allocation of reward and the maintainence of what is right

Judgement - The act of judging other people and their actions

Retribution - The idea that punishments should make criminals pay for what they have done wrong

Deterrence - The idea that punishments shuld be of such a nature that they will put people off (deter them from) commiting crimes

Crime - An act against the law

Punishment - A penalty given for any crime or offence

Reform - The idea that punishment should try to change criminals so that they will not commit crimes again

Capital Punishment - The death penalty for a crime or offence

Nuclear Weapons - Weapons based on atomic fission and fusion

Other Weapons of Mass Destruction - Non-nuclear weapons which can destroy large areas/numbers of people e.g. chemical weapons

Pacifism - Refusing to fight in wars

Just War - A war which is fought for the right reasons and in a right way

World Peace - The aim of the United Nations to remove the causes of war

Bullying - Intimidating/frightening people weaker than yourself

Forgiveness - The act of stopping blaming someone and/or pardoning them for what they have done wrong

Reconciliation - Bringing people together who are opposed to each other

Pollution - The contamination/degredation of the environment

Greenhouse Effect - The trapping of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere which is thought to increase the temperature of the planet

Acid Rain - Pollutants such as coal smoke make rain more acidic

Natural Resources - Naturally occuring materials such as oil and fertile land which can be used by humans

Creation - The act of creating the universe or the universe which has been created

Stewardship - Looking after something so it can be passed on to the next generation

Environment - The surroundings in which plants and animals live and which they depend on

Conservation - Protecting and preserving natural resoures and the environment

Animal Rights - The belief that animals have rights not to be exploited by humans

Bible - The holy book of Christians split into two parts; the Old Testament and the New Testament

Church - The community of Christians (with a small 'c', it is a Christian place of worship)

Conscience - An inner feeling of rightness or wrongness of an action

Situation Ethics - The idea that Christains should base moral decisions on the most loving thing to do

Electoral System - The way in which voting is organised

First-Past-The-Post - The voting system where whoever gets the most votes wins

Proportional Representation - The voting system where seats are given as a percentage of votes

Local Government - The local council which looks after local issues such as education and refuse collection

National Government - The government headed by the Prime Minister which governs the whole country

Decalogue - The Ten Commandments

Golden Rule - The teaching of Jesus that people should treat each other as they would like to be treated