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Forgiveness
Chris Webb
Liberty University
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Abstract
This paper has the objective to examine forgiveness within the integration of psychology and
Christianity. The topics that are discussed include forgiveness in psychology, forgiveness in
Christianity, and self-forgiveness. Scholars have been investigating the concept of forgiveness
for many years, but few studies have investigated the psychological effects of forgiveness in
Christianity. When researching the psychological effects of forgiveness, they found individuals
are more likely to naturally forgive another person due to the discomfort the mental health
experiences because of unforgiveness. Regarding forgiveness in Christianity, studies have found
numerous methods in which Christians view divine forgiveness and human forgiveness.
Additionally, they also displayed that intrinsic believers are more likely to forgiveness an
individual of wrongdoing compared to an extrinsic believer. The results of the studies discussed
will bring further knowledge about forgiveness within psychology and Christianity.
Keywords: forgiveness, divine forgiveness, Christianity, psychology.
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Forgiveness Within the Integration of Psychology and Christianity
Forgiveness can be defined as motivational change that involves an increase in one’s
desire to exhibit benevolent or conciliatory behavior towards one’s partner (Behrens et al., 2023).
“After more than three decades of research, there is still no consensus on the nature of
forgiveness” (Nedeljković et al., 2023). Forgiveness is an action that is taught to children at a
young age and the understanding grows through maturity. Due to it being a unilateral act of
mercy by one side of the party, it is inconsistent with reconciliation which requires action from
both sides (Frise & McMinn, 2010). However, an individual’s morality may determine the
severity of the offense and may modify the process of forgiveness (Bassett et al., 2018). For
thousands of years, the act of forgiveness has been encouraged by the major religions in the
world (Tiwari et al., 2023). The topic of forgiveness is found in psychology and Christianity and
plays an impactful role in both.
Forgiveness in Psychology
Recent studies have discovered forgiveness affects an individual’s psychology in multiple
forms. Haikola (2023) studied how forgiveness plays a role in an individual’s emotional process.
They sought to learn more about the procedure of forgiveness from the point of wrongdoing to
the point of pardon. To evaluate the procedure, the data was collected from 23 participants
whose ages ranged from 26 to 62 through an interview format. The researchers used McAdam’s
life story interview as an outline of how the interview would be conducted. The interviews
resulted in 314 transcribed pages of responses. The study found five themes within the results:
forgiveness as a liberation, forgiveness as a relief from a burden, forgiveness as releasing energy,
forgiveness through vulnerability, and forgiveness through hate. It additionally displayed the
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processes of unforgiveness, and forgiveness are separate concepts, but often overlap and occur
together (Haikola, 2023).
To examine the topic of how forgiveness affects individual psychological health, Kim et
al. (2022) conducted a parallel mediation analysis while focusing on the role of hope and anger
in the relationship between psychological health and forgiveness. Within the concept of
forgiveness, there are two types: decisional and emotional. Decisional forgiveness is based on a
decision to forgive another individual of wrongdoing. Emotional forgiveness is a coping strategy
that is based on emotion when faced with an individual’s wrongdoing (Kim et al., 2022). When
an individual is faced with an unethical behavior, their natural emotion is anger which can lead
to a desire for revenge toward the other individual. However, when given the opportunity,
individuals may be likely to forgive the other person due to their natural mental health declining
because of the stressors and discomfort of unforgiveness. In the study, hope is defined as “the
perceived capability to derive pathways to desired goals and motivate oneself via to use those
pathways” (Kim et al., 2022).
Forgiveness in Christianity
The topic of forgiveness is found throughout scripture and is arguably a foundational
pillar in Christianity. “Forgiveness has deep and ancient roots across most major world religions”
(Fox & Thomas, 2008). In the New Testament, God sends the world a clear definition of
forgiveness through his son, Jesus Christ. Colossians 1:13-14 states, “For he has rescued us from
the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have
redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (New International Version, 2017). The verse displays
God’s mission in sending His son to the world which was the forgive the sins of the individuals
who choose to follow Him.
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To assess the different perspectives of forgiveness within Christianity, Kim & Enright
(2014) conducted a research study to specifically evaluate if Christians perceive divine and
human forgiveness differently. The study defined divine forgiveness as a gift that was sent by
God to forgive an individual’s sins. If the individuals accept his gift, they can reunite with him.
Divine Forgiveness is not only defined as God’s gift but a command to God’s followers to do to
others just as He did for us. Ephesians 4:32 explains His command through the scripture. It
states, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God
forgave you” (New International Version, 2017). The study defines human forgiveness as “an
unconditional response to another’s individual’s injustice (Kim & Enright, 2014). Human
forgiveness is the most common form of forgiveness within the secular world, but it does have
biblical foundations. Since the participants of the study were Christians, the researchers collected
data from 276 students from nine theological institutes. Each participant was instructed on a
survey on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 to 5. The data was analyzed using a paired-
sample T-test since the participants experienced both divine and human forgiveness. The results
of the study displayed that Christians do see a significant difference between divine forgiveness
and human forgiveness. Specifically, divine forgiveness contains God as the root of forgiveness,
but it is unique from human forgiveness since God is perfect and sinless. In His act of
forgiveness, he removes sins from his beliefs, which cannot be done in human forgiveness.
To expand on the topic of divine forgiveness, Upenieks et al. (2023) sought to find to
mediating effects of divine forgiveness on an individual’s mental health. This study defines
divine forgiveness as “receiving forgiveness from God”. While examining previous literature on
the concept, the researchers noticed two additional themes that were connected to the topic:
religious doubt and mental well-being. The researchers decided the examine the relationship
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between divine forgiveness, mental well-being, and religious doubt. Religious doubt is defined
as the uncertainty regarding religious beliefs. To test the mediating effects of divine forgiveness,
the study consisted of 1497 participants who were at least 66 years old. Each participant was
instructed to complete the multiple scales to measure different variables within the study.
Interestingly, the results of the study concluded that individual who experiences high levels of
religious doubt and low levels of mental health often experiences high levels of divine
forgiveness.
To determine whether an individual’s religion can control their willingness to forgive
another individual, Gordon et al. (2008) conducted a study at seven Christian churches. Since the
Christian faith is intertwined with believers' daily lives and choices, the study hypothesized that
intrinsic Christians are more likely to forgive individuals who conduct an act of wrongdoing
towards them. The researchers broke the types of believers into two categories: intrinsic and
extrinsic. Intrinsic believers view religion as a guide to how to live their lives daily (Gordon et
al., 2008). Extrinsic believers view religion as a source of comfort, but not as a guide. They also
view it as satisfying legal and social rules (Gordon et al., 2008). The study consisted of 113
adults from seven churches in the Knoxville metro area. To measure the different variables with
the topic, the researchers decided to use the Age Universal Religious Orientation Scale,
Transgression-Related Interpersonal Motivations Inventory, and the Social Pressure to Forgive
questionnaire. The Age Universal Religious Orientation Scale is a 20-item scale that is used to
measure the different types of religious orientations. The Transgression-Related Interpersonal
Motivations Inventory is an 18-item questionnaire used to measure an individual’s motivation to
forgive another individual. The Social Pressure to Forgive questionnaire is a six-item
questionnaire that is used to measure an individual’s amount of pressure they must forgive from
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friends and family. The results of the data collected indicated that the null hypothesis was
rejected, and intrinsic believers are more likely to forgive a wrongdoing from another individual.
However, the results also showed that extrinsic believers are more likely to forgive if they are
receiving social pressure to do so.
Self-Forgiveness
Self-forgiveness is the act of forgiveness towards oneself of any knowledgeable wrong
fostered by love and compassion. An additional aspect of self-forgiveness is the act of ensuring
the previous actions are not repeated. This can be done through multiple avenues. If a group of
peers is influencing harmful actions, a form of self-forgiveness is for an individual to disconnect
from the group.
To explore the topic of self-forgiveness, Tiwari et al. (2023) sought to determine the role
played by self-esteem when paired with human flourishing. The study analyzed data from 300
students from a university in India. To measure the role of self-esteem, the researchers used the
Self-Esteem Scale, Self-Forgiveness Scale, and Mental Health Continuum-Short Form. The Self-
Esteem Scale is a 10-item scale in which the participants are instructed to answer each item on a
4-point Likert scale to measure self-worth accurately. The Self-Forgiveness Scale is a 30-item
scale to measure self-forgiveness. Each participant was directed to answer each item on a 7-point
Likert scale. The 30 items were used to evaluate realization, reparation, guilt, and attribution
which are the three dimensions of self-forgiveness (Tiwari et al., 2023). The Mental Health
Continuum-Short is a 14-item scale in which the participants are commanded to rate them on a 6-
point Likert scale. The data will be used to analyze human flourishing and its three dimensions;
emotional, social, and psychological well-being (Tiwari et al., 2023). The results of the study
confirm there is a positive relationship between self-esteem, self-forgiveness, and human
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flourishing. Further exploration of the results showed self-esteem and self-forgiveness accounted
for significant variability in human flourishing through regression analysis (Tiwari et al., 2023).
There are many developed ways to measure forgiveness, but the concept of self-
forgiveness contains very few. Griffin et al. (2018) acknowledged this issue and conducted a
research study to test the validity of the Self-Forgiveness Dual-Process Scale. To accurately test
the validity, the research consisted of three different studies. The first study examined the
reconstruction of an individual’s personal esteem and value reorientation after wrongdoing
towards another individual. The study consisted of 191 students from a large public university
who were all at least 18 years old. Each participant was given 26 statements and instructed to
rate each item on a 7-point response format. An Exploratory Factor Analysis was used to
measure the results. The study rejected the null hypothesis and concluded that an individual-s
personal esteem and value reorientation are positively affected when an offense to another
individual is conducted.
The mission of study two was to test the construct validity of the Self-Forgiveness Dual-
Process Scale. To determine the degree of construct validity, the researchers collected data from
100 students from the same public university. The data was retrieved by instructing the students
to complete the 10-item Self-Forgiveness Dual-Process scale while also completing the
Differential Process Scales of Self-Forgiveness. The results from study two found Self-
Forgiveness Dual-Process Scale contains high levels of construct validity.
The final study was conducted to inspect the predictive validity of the Self-Forgiveness
Dual-Process Scale with the addition of scales measuring esteem reconstruction and value
reorientation. The volume of participants in study three was significantly smaller at 65 at the
same public university. The participants were to complete the Self-Forgiveness Dual-Process
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Scale again with the addition of the Interpersonal Offense Scale. The results found that
strengthening personal esteem is closely related to personal functioning (Griffin et al., 2018).
The overall results from the general study concluded that the Self-Forgiveness Dual-Process
Scale contained accurate psychometric properties and high levels of validity.
Conclusion
The concept of forgiveness can be found within the integration of psychology and
Christianity. Forgiveness occurs when an individual decides to refrain from conducting an act of
revenge towards an individual who did them wrong. Secular scholars have found forgiveness to
positively affect individual psychological processing due to unforgiveness being unhealthy for
mental health. Forgiveness is also a prominent topic within Christianity. Christian scholars have
made significant contributions to the understanding of forgiveness through the study of scripture.
Through understanding the contributions that forgiveness has on the integration of Christianity
and psychology, researchers are further able to value the convergence of the topics and develop a
better understanding for future clients.
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References
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