The major world religions have taken varied positions on the morality of capital punishment and, as such, they have historically impacted the way in which governments handle such punishment practices. Although the viewpoints of some religions have changed over time, their influence on capital punishment generally depends on the existence of a religious moral code and how closely religion influences the government. Religious moral codes are often based on a body of teachings, such as the Old Testament or the Qur'an.
Many Islamic nations have laws that have their base in Sharia law, which permits capital punishments for various acts. However, not all Islamic nations have the death penalty as a legal punishment.
Many early Christians were strongly opposed to the death penalty, and magistrates who enforced it could be excommunicated. Attitudes gradually began to relax in the fifth century. In the thirteenth century, Thomas Aquinas argued that capital punishment was a form of "lawful slaying", which became the standard Catholic teaching on the issue for centuries. During the Protestant Reformation, Martin Luther and John Calvin defended the death penalty, but Quakers, Brethren, and Mennonites have opposed it since their founding. Since the Second Vatican Council, the Roman Catholic Church has generally opposed the death penalty, and, in August 2018, Pope Francis revised the Catechism of the Catholic Church to explicitly condemn it in all cases as an inadmissible attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person.
Buddhism has a strong belief in compassion for the lives of others, as stated in the Panca-Sila (five precepts). There is an understanding of healing people who have committed crimes rather than retaliating against them. For these reasons, Buddhism has generally opposed the death penalty. China and Japan, both historically Buddhist countries, continue to practise the death penalty.
Judaism has a history of debate over the death penalty but generally disagrees with the practice. Although the Torah describes over 30 situations where the death penalty would be appropriate, there are many limitations that have made it difficult to implement. Since 1954, Israel has outlawed the use of the death penalty, except in cases of genocide and treason.
Hinduism has historically not taken a stance on the death penalty and has little influence on the government's opinion of it. However, India (an 80% Hindu nation) has the lowest rate of capital punishment of any other country. This is likely due to the belief in Ahimsa, or non-violence, which became very apparent during Gandhi's time and was supported by India's ancient Buddhist emperor Ashoka, who is the only leader in the country's history to openly oppose the death penalty.
Baháʼí Faith
The Baháʼí Faith prescribes the death penalty, or life in prison, for murder and arson. Those punishments are intended for a future society and have never been implemented by Baháʼís. To dissuade others from comminiting such a crime again, Abdu’l-Bahá, a prominent religious figure in the Baha’i religion, conceded that society has a right of capital punishment if only for the ability to show others of its consequences and not for individual revenge.(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Some Answered Questions, p. 268) The Universal House of Justice is a democratically elected institution in the Baha’i faith and is a present representation of the laws of the Baha’i texts that promote a progress of societal peace. Details are left up to the supreme governing institution to clarify at some future date.
Buddhism
Although the death penalty is generally opposed in Buddhist nations, it is difficult to identify a specific Buddhist opinion on capital punishment because some countries that are majority Buddhist do not follow religious principles. Buddhist principles may not carry much weight, even in the case of a Buddhist ruler, because there is no direct effort of Buddhist followers to encourage pacifism in their country. The five precepts are not a divine order from god, they are merely a set of ethical guidelines to live by. For this reason, rulers do not necessarily have to worry about being punished by God for not following them, and some leaders may choose to simply ignore these guidelines when trying to run a country.
Buddhist opposition to capital punishment The first of the Five Precepts (Panca-sila) is to abstain from destruction of life. Chapter 10 of the Dhammapada states: Everyone fears punishment; everyone fears death, just as you do. Therefore do not kill or cause to kill. Everyone fears punishment; everyone loves life, as you do. Therefore do not kill or cause to kill.
This concept is meant to encourage compassion (karuna) and that everyone has the opportunity to reach enlightenment. Buddhism retains the idea that all life should be valued and valuing the life of someone who does not necessarily value the life of others shows great compassion and non-violence (ahimsa). The concept of ahimsa also includes Karma, which recognizes that killing is an example of bad karma and that killing for revenge is seen as counterproductive. It is believed that even the lives of murderers have value. There is a strong focus on rehabilitation and killing people takes away their opportunity be helped. Killing for revenge is seen as counterproductive.
Chapter 26, the final chapter of the Dhammapada, states, "Him I call a brahmin who has put aside weapons and renounced violence toward all creatures. He neither kills nor helps others to kill." The story of the Jhanasanda-Jataka contains a similar message in talking about a prince who gets rid of all places of execution. Similarly, the Rajaparikatha-ratnamala contains advice given by the Buddhist Philosopher Nagarjuna and states that people should have compassion even for murderers and that banishment should be utilized as opposed to killing. This strong emphasis on compassion, in relation to capital punishment, is also evident in the story of Angulimala. Angulimala was a murderer that everyone in the village feared but despite this, the Buddha headed down the road to where Angulimata is rumored to live. Out of compassion, the Buddha finds him and teaches him how to be a monk. This exemplifies the Buddhist concept of rehabilitation, however, Angulimata had built up too much bad karma previously and died a painful death as a result.
Historically, many Buddhist Kings in India did not impose the death penalty. They charged fines instead and cut off a hand at worst. Some people view this as surprising because many pre-modern societies used capital punishment often. Many places used banishment instead and sent murders off to mountains in the desert with just enough food to survive. Both the current Dalai Lama and his immediate predecessor have openly opposed the death penalty. The previous Dalai Lama (1879–1933) abolished the death penalty in an attempt to reform Tibet's feudal system after he had previously avoided cases involving capital punishment because of his focus on being a religious figure.
Actions of Buddhist countries Bhutan, Cambodia, and Thailand all recognise Buddhism as a state religion and use a Buddhist approach to address the issue of capital punishment. Thailand is the only one that retains capital punishment, though it has not used it since 2018.
Thailand is home to about 63 million people, 95 % of these people follow Theravada Buddhism and it has become central to the culture and identity of Thailand. Thailand's war on drugs may potentially explain its current retention of capital punishment. The manufacture and distribution of drugs is an offence for which death is mandatory. There were no executions in Thailand, however, between the years of 1988-1995 and 2004–2007.
Sri Lanka also recognizes Buddhism as its official state religion but appears to be moving toward an increase in its passage of death sentences. It is unclear, however, if this anything to do with its Buddhist beliefs. Unlike Thailand, Sri Lanka has had a long history of political and religious tension due to its history of being ruled by various countries. Its Buddhist influence was weakened by foreign rulers who believed in a suppression of Buddhist culture. A Buddhist monk was sentenced to death after his assassination of Prime Minister Bandaranaike in 1959 because he felt that he had not lived up to his political promises of promoting Buddhist culture within politics. There has not been an execution in Sri Lanka since 1977.
Although it is communist, Laos has a much less intense commitment to capital punishment than other nearby communist nations. This is likely due to the strong influence of Theravada Buddhism. Myanmar also has a strong Theravada Buddhism influence in its country and has not carried out any government ordered executions since 1989.
Christianity
Christian tradition from the New Testament have come to a range of conclusions about the permissibility and social value of capital punishment.SpearIt, Reimagining the Death Penalty: Targeting Christians, Conservatives (15 July 2020). Buffalo Law Review Vol. 68 (2020), Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3651740 While some Christians hold the view that a strict reading of certain textsE.g. Romans 12:19. forbids executions, other Christians point to various verses in the New Testament which seem to endorse the imposition of the death penalty.e.g. Acts 25:11 (though this could more properly be seen in St. Paul's declaration that the Christian should submit to the secular government and laws rather than approving of capital punishment). That the principal figure in Christianity, Jesus of Nazareth, is believed by Christians to have been the incarnate God who was executed as a martyr by the Roman Empire influences the opinions pertaining to the death penalty.
Many early Christians strongly opposed the death penalty. A church order from Rome dated to around 200 AD forbids any Christian magistrate from carrying out a death sentence under pain of excommunication. It was also forbidden for any Christian to accuse a person of a crime if that accusation might result in the person being put to death or beaten with lead-weighted leather thongs. In the fifth century, Christian attitudes towards the death penalty gradually became less stringent. In 405, Pope Innocent I ruled that magistrates who enforced the death penalty could not be excommunicated, although the custom was probably still regarded as immoral.
Roman Catholic Church
The position of the Catholic Church on capital punishment has varied throughout the centuries, with the Church becoming increasingly and explicitly more critical of the practice since the mid-20th century. The Catholic Church generally moved away from explicit condoning or support of capital punishment and has adopted a more disapproving stance on the issue, especially by the mid-20th century.
Historically and traditionally, however, the Church has at certain times (and often cautiously) condoned and classified capital punishment as a form of "lawful slaying", a view which was defended by theological authorities such as Thomas Aquinas. (See also Aquinas on the death penalty). At various times in the past, the Church has held the view that, in certain cases, a legal system may be justified in levying a death sentence, such as in cases where the sentence may deter crime, may protect society from potential future acts of violence by an offender, may bring retribution for an offender's wrongful acts, and may even help the offender to move closer to reconciliation with God in the face of death. The 1566 Roman Catechism states this teaching thus: