Intellectual Humility and Forgiveness of Religious Conflict

Abstract

Intellectual humility (IH) involves an accurate view of one's intellectual strengths and weaknesses as well as the ability to negotiate different ideas in an interpersonally respectful manner. The current study examined how IH and perceptions of IH affect responses to a religious conflict. Participants (N = 200) were undergraduate students who filled out online questionnaires about their experience of a religious conflict. Participants rated (a) their own IH toward the offender's religious beliefs and values, (b) their perception of the offender's IH toward the participants’ religious beliefs and values, and (c) their own general humility. Next, they reported their forgiveness of the offender following a religious conflict. Both victim IH and perceived IH of the offender were positively associated with forgiveness, even when controlling for general humility. We conclude by discussing limitations and areas for future research.