Buddhism
Buddhists have mixed views on the death penalty. One of the Five Precepts is to abstain from killing people in any form. More specifically in Chapter 10 of the Dhammapada, it says that, "Everyone fears punishment, everyone fears death, just as you do. Therefore you do not kill or cause to be killed." Although in some areas where Buddhism is the main religion, capital punishment is available for certain offenses. In Japan, the death penalty is legal but many justices haven't let it happen because of their beliefs in Buddhism. Bhutan and Mongolia abolished the death penalty, which are Buddhist-majority states while Thailand allows it which is also a Buddhist state.
Christianity
In the Christian/Catholic practice, there are different views. Some believe that it is a form of revenge and against the belief of Jesus' forgiveness and should be condemned while others are enthusiastic about the death penalty. According to the Gospel's of Matthew and Luke, Jesus' stepped in to condemn a stoning of an adulteress. In the Old Testament, specifically Leviticus 20:2-27, there are times when the death penalty is recommended for circumstances.
- Roman Catholic Church
- The death penalty should be avoided unless the offender is a danger to others around him/her according to Pope John Paul II in Evangelium Vitae.
- It is also mentioned that capital punishment shouldn't be avoided and should be given to a power if it is a necessity and if it's considered by numbers of people.
- Protestants
- Southern Baptists say that the death penalty should be used for treasonous acts and murder as long as it's not for discrimination or personal vengeance.
- The United Methodist Church (UMC) condemns capital punishment claiming, "it cannot accept retribution or social vengeance as a reason for taking a human life." In simpler terms, it shouldn't be used even if the public all want the criminal to be put to death. The UMC and other churches want the government to abolish the death penalty because of the reason mentioned above.
- Few protestant groups have quoted Genesis 9:5-6, Romans 13:3-4, and Leviticus 20:1-27 for the death penalty to be legal.
- Mormonism
- Today, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gives the civil law process the responsibility to decide if the death penalty is good for such a crime.
Hinduism
In Hindu teachings, ahisma is taught which means non-violence but says that death only happens to the body, not the soul. The belief of the death penalty isn't clear but Hindu teaches that the soul moves from body to body after death.
Islam
Sharia requires the death penalty for specific crimes. In the Quran, it says that if someone is against Allah and His messenger, possible punishments for them include execution, crucifixion, cutting off of hands and feet, or exile. A form of capital punishment, stoning, is meant for zina, or extramarital sex. In some schools, certain crimes mandate the death penalty. Hudud crimes, crimes against Allah, require it in public. Apostasy, fasad, and zina require capital punishment. Apostasy is leaving Islam to convert to another religion or become an atheist., Fasad is a social disturbance or moral corruption against Allah, and Zina is having an affair. Qisas allows capital punishment for intentional and unintentional murder.
Judaism
In Judaism, the death penalty is allowed but with stringent principles that the consideration must follow. Many Talmudic decisions have abolished the death penalty. In the 12th century, Maimonides (Jewish legal scholar), stated that, "it is better and more satisfactory to acquit a thousand guilty persons than to put a single innocent one to death." He reasoned that if capital punishment was used with any evidence that isn't absolute or certain, it would decrease the amount of proof to be used for the consideration of putting someone to death. The last execution in Israeli history was Adolf Eichmann, a main organizer of the Holocaust, who was hanged after his trial in Jerusalem.