Consensus Theory Vs Conflict Theory
There are several factors contributing to whether or not certain behaviours are criminalized by law in a society.
From the sociological aspect, there are two major models that explain the origin of law and crimes: the consensus theory and the conflict theory. These two theories have radically different views on what crimes are.
“The consensus theory is rooted in John Locke's (1632-1704) “Social Contract Theory”” (Cox). According to Locke’s theory, government is based on a social contract between rulers and their subjects. The government needs to deal with the population justly; otherwise the population will withdraw their consent from the social contract and stop recognising its legitimacy (Tuckness). Locke also defined political power as …show more content…
Taking homosexual activity as an example, it was made illegal in many countries in various periods in the past. In Roman Empire, homosexuality was legal and Christianity was banned before 313(A). In 313, Christianity was made legal by the Emperor Constantine. 29 years after Christianity came under rule, same-sex marriage was declared illegal by the Emperors Constantius II and Constans, homosexual sex was also declared illegal by the emperors Valentinian, Theodosius, and Arcadius in 390. During the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, the Kingdom of France and the Swiss canton of Zurich, which were heavily influenced by the Roman Catholic Church, instated death penalty against homosexual activities. The United Kingdom also recriminalized male homosexuality with the Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885 under the reign of Queen Victoria (who was also a Christian). In some Islamic countries, such as Iran, Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan, homosexuality is not only being criminalized but is also punishable by death (Bearak and Cameron, 2016). Although there are no direct evidences stating that religion is the only factor behind the criminalisation of homosexual activities, the aforementioned examples and the facts that homosexual activities are strictly prohibited in Islam, Christianity and Catholics, led to the belief that there is a great link between the criminalisation of certain acts and religion. In fact, the Islamic Law (also known as the Sharia Law) itself is “derived from the religious precepts” of Islam, particularly the Quran. In conclusion, behaviours infracting religious beliefs had a high chance of being criminalised in a religious country, especially in the earlier
From the sociological aspect, there are two major models that explain the origin of law and crimes: the consensus theory and the conflict theory. These two theories have radically different views on what crimes are.
“The consensus theory is rooted in John Locke's (1632-1704) “Social Contract Theory”” (Cox). According to Locke’s theory, government is based on a social contract between rulers and their subjects. The government needs to deal with the population justly; otherwise the population will withdraw their consent from the social contract and stop recognising its legitimacy (Tuckness). Locke also defined political power as …show more content…
Taking homosexual activity as an example, it was made illegal in many countries in various periods in the past. In Roman Empire, homosexuality was legal and Christianity was banned before 313(A). In 313, Christianity was made legal by the Emperor Constantine. 29 years after Christianity came under rule, same-sex marriage was declared illegal by the Emperors Constantius II and Constans, homosexual sex was also declared illegal by the emperors Valentinian, Theodosius, and Arcadius in 390. During the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, the Kingdom of France and the Swiss canton of Zurich, which were heavily influenced by the Roman Catholic Church, instated death penalty against homosexual activities. The United Kingdom also recriminalized male homosexuality with the Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885 under the reign of Queen Victoria (who was also a Christian). In some Islamic countries, such as Iran, Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan, homosexuality is not only being criminalized but is also punishable by death (Bearak and Cameron, 2016). Although there are no direct evidences stating that religion is the only factor behind the criminalisation of homosexual activities, the aforementioned examples and the facts that homosexual activities are strictly prohibited in Islam, Christianity and Catholics, led to the belief that there is a great link between the criminalisation of certain acts and religion. In fact, the Islamic Law (also known as the Sharia Law) itself is “derived from the religious precepts” of Islam, particularly the Quran. In conclusion, behaviours infracting religious beliefs had a high chance of being criminalised in a religious country, especially in the earlier