The Nature of Suffering (WJEC Eduqas GCSE Religious Studies): Revision Note

What is suffering?

• Suffering is the bearing or undergoing of pain or distress, which most people experience at some time in their lives

• There are two types of suffering

  • Natural suffering, caused by events outside human control 

    • This includes natural disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis and floods

  • Human suffering, caused by the evil actions of humans towards one another

    • This includes murder, terrorism, violence and war

• Most religions teach that suffering is a universal human experience

  • They attempt to explain suffering and learn lessons from it, even if humans do not fully understand it

  • They also provide support for people who are suffering

• For many religious people, the fact that people suffer raises difficult questions about why God allows this to happen (see next page)

Christian attitudes to suffering

• Christians believe suffering is part of life in an imperfect world. Although Christians do not all agree on why suffering happens, they share several key beliefs about its purpose and meaning

• Many Christians believe that suffering is a test of faith and commitment to God

• The story of Job shows that:

  • Suffering does not always mean someone has done wrong

  • Suffering can happen to anyone, even the righteous

  • Keeping faith during difficulty is spiritually valuable

  • God’s reasons may remain unknown to humans

• Christians also see suffering as a consequence of free will, which they believe God gave humans 

• This means:

  • People can choose to do good or evil

  • Some suffering is the result of human misuse of free will

  • Choices have consequences (as shown by Adam and Eve leaving the Garden of Eden)

• Some Christians (including Catholics) believe that suffering entered the world because of original sin and that Adam and Eve’s disobedience has had a lasting effect on all humans

• This explains:

  • The presence of suffering, even when no one has deliberately caused it

  • Why humans have a natural tendency to sin

• Many Christians think that suffering is all part of God’s plan for humans

• They say that:

  • God is loving, so he would not let people suffer without a reason

  • Humans cannot fully understand God’s purposes

  • Suffering may bring about a greater good

• Some Christians say that suffering through evil helps develop a moral soul

  • Both Irenaeus and John Hick taught this

• Christians believe Jesus suffered on the cross, so when they suffer, they feel closer to Jesus

• This means that:

  • They understand his sacrifice more deeply

  • They may grow in compassion for others who suffer

• Catholic teaching supports these ideas, saying that suffering can have deep spiritual value 

• Pope John Paul II taught in ‘Salvifici Doloris’ that:

  • Suffering can bring people closer to God and help them share in the suffering of Christ (paragraph 13)

  • Suffering can have a healing and redeeming purpose when it is united with Christ’s own suffering (paragraph 23)

• All Christians try to respond to the suffering of others by providing prayer, practical help and support

Muslim attitudes to suffering

• Muslims believe that everything that happens, including suffering, is part of Allah’s will and plan. This belief is called Al-Qadr

• Even though Muslims may not understand the purpose behind suffering, they trust that Allah is wise and just

• Islam teaches that life is a test, and suffering is one of the ways this test appears. Hardship helps to reveal a person’s faith, patience and character

• Suffering enables Muslims to prove their faith by resisting temptation

• Those who resist Shaytan and follow the straight path will be rewarded in the afterlife

• Good can come from suffering because hardship encourages Muslims to:

  • Grow spiritually

  • Develop patience and resilience

  • Support others in their community

  • Deepen their trust in Allah

• Muslims look to the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) as a model of patience and perseverance during times of suffering. His example teaches Muslims to respond to hardship with faith, compassion and reliance on Allah