Understanding Of Forgiveness Research Articles

A Qualitative Exploration into How Teachers Understand and Practice Forgiveness

Forgiveness, though hard for many to simply define in concrete terms, is not necessarily a foreign concept or practice for the average individual. In an attempt to further understanding of forgiveness, the present study gathered the thoughts, opinions, and experiences of a specific community of individuals, public school teachers. Using a series of six focus group interviews, analysis of data produced insights and conclusions related to how teachers understand forgiveness in theory and practice, how they practice forgiveness within their jobs, and their thoughts on forgiveness or virtue education within schools. Thematic analysis is presented with quotational support and a discussion of application to both forgiveness theory and future forgiveness education pursuits is offered in summation. Due to the many mental, emotional, and physical health benefits associated with forgiveness, the value of exploring forgiveness and forgiveness education is readily evident. This study provides a glimpse into the experiences of a community of individuals who practice forgiveness regularly within the context of their jobs as public school educators.

Marital Forgiveness Among Turkish Married Individuals: A Qualitative Study

This study aims to understand forgiveness among individuals in their marriages in Turkey. Semi-structured interviews with 13 married individuals were conducted. How people experienced and coped with an offense in their marriage was investigated. Thematic analysis revealed nine core themes: unforgiven offenses in marriage, forgiven offenses in marriage, barriers to forgiveness, facilitators of forgiveness, coping with offenses, motives behind forgiveness, the definition of forgiveness, impacts of offenses, and reflections of forgiveness. Individuals coped with offenses in three ways: avoidance, retaliation, and granting forgiveness. Apology, repairing attempts, and empathy were facilitators of forgiveness, whereas the severity of offenses was observed as barriers to forgiveness. The motives behind forgiveness were continuous marriage, good qualities of spouses, and personal well-being. The findings can contribute to a better understanding of forgiveness in marriage.

Scrutinizing the Bachelor Level Students’ Understanding of Forgiveness

Forgiveness, defined as a deliberate and voluntary act to release oneself from resentment, grievances and the urge for revenge, plays a prominent role in promoting compassion, harmony, and peace. Despite its profound prominence, different people retain a different understanding of its existence. The key objective of this article is to scrutinize the understanding of forgiveness among the bachelor level students enrolled in the faculties of Education and Management at Makawanpur Multiple Campus in Hetauda, Nepal during the academic year 2022-2023. Employing a cross-sectional survey research design, 329 students were randomly gleaned from a pool of 2240 by maintaining a confidence level of 95% and a margin of error of 5%. The respondents were selected using computer-generated random numbers. Primary data were collected through close-ended questions regarding the students' understanding of forgiveness, while secondary data were compiled from extensive reviews of books, journal articles, and website documents spanning the years 1978 to 2013. The findings based on frequency and percent statistics reveal that 170 students (51.7%) perceived forgiveness as a strength, whereas 159 students (48.3%) regarded it as a weakness. Chi-square test shows that there was no significant association between gender and the students’ understanding of forgiveness (χ² = 1.6, df=1, p > .05), whereas there was a significant association between faculty and the students’ understanding of forgiveness (χ² = 55.755, df= 1, p < .05). The practical implication of this article lies in underscoring the need for targeted educational interventions and curriculum enhancements aimed at promoting a deeper comprehension of forgiveness among students for enhancing human relationships and reducing negative emotions.

Forgiveness as a Therapeutic Construct

Abstract Despite the evidence of having physical and mental health benefits of practicing forgiveness, resistance among therapists is evident, probably due to the lack of a coherent theoretical grounding in the understanding of forgiveness. Hence, to encourage the practice of forgiveness in clinical settings, more rigorous studies should be planned along with re-conceptualization of existing models of forgiveness by taking account of variables such as personality and other contextual factors. The purpose of this article is to explore the concept of forgiveness as a therapeutic construct and to discuss the benefits and limitations of practicing forgiveness in therapeutic settings.

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Normally, in many situations, life demands pardon and being forgiven. But, in some situation forgiveness is impossible and is considered as being contrary to justice. Forgiveness is moral dilemma. Many questions why immoral and brutal victimizer should be forgiven, how to forgive and when to forgive etc. follow forgiveness. Arguments in favor of and against forgiveness conflict sharply. There is no one exact meaning of forgiveness. Whenever forgiveness is needed there should be different thinking and action accordingly. The major stem of the way Dardenne Brothers understand problems of forgiveness is the belief in the universal human rationality. So, dutiful feature of forgiveness and impossibility of forgiveness clash more vehemently. Victims are urged by universal rationality to forgive and victimizers’ unlucky environments work as excuses for their wrongdoings and the excuses hider them from seeking forgiveness to lessen the burden of misdeed. Therefore, in Dardenne Brothers’ films, forgiveness is not related with the practical usefulness of mending victims and securing victims’ welfare and the background of forgiveness is not made through immature resonance with and compassion for victimizers. For victims to proceed to forgive, moral anger is needed which enables victims look straightly the injustice and unfairness of affliction and confront objective interpretation of their injury. Moral anger does not aim self-eliminating forgiveness which feeble and forceless victims inevitably are forced to choose but aims forgiveness of humanity companionship and recovery. Dardenne Brothers’ films have challenging dilemma narrative of forgiveness which has well-plotted plausibility, correct unilateral and naïve understanding of forgiveness and renew our understanding of human values and social justice. These features make Dardenne Brothers’ films valuable.

Explaining consumer–brand forgiveness through the lens of narcissism

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of two types of narcissism (rivalry and admiration) on consumer–brand forgiveness (CBF) following a brand transgression. This research also examines how narcissism interacts with transgression type to shape forgiveness intentions.Design/methodology/approachData were collected through an online survey of 634 UK consumers, focussing on two different types of transgressions (public vs private). The formulated hypotheses were tested through moderated mediation analysis.FindingsThe results highlight that only narcissistic rivalry (and not admiration) moderates the relationship between transgression type and blame attributions. Although the type of transgression seems to affect CBF, forgiveness levels do not vary across the two transgression types. Finally, as expected, blame attributions shape forgiveness intentions.Practical implicationsThe results of this research highlight that blame attributions are affected by the type of narcissism. Thus, identifying the type of narcissism will allow brands to allocate their resources more effectively in order to design recovery strategies that would promote CBF and restore brand trust.Originality/valueThe paper responds to calls for a better understanding of forgiveness through the use of personality traits and focusses on two dimensions of narcissism. This paper also uses a novel transgression typology, which is objective in nature. The results illustrate that narcissism has a differential role in shaping blame attributions and CBF.

New Directions for Research on Forgiveness in Organizations: Barriers and Boundary Conditions

This symposium aims to provide new perspectives and directions on forgiveness in organizations and extend research on forgiveness’ predictors and consequences with four papers focusing on two core questions. First, this symposium seeks to unveil key “upstream” barriers to forgiveness. It features papers on why people are reluctant to apologize in certain cultures and how employees are affected by their own inability to forgive, in particular, in the face of an expressed apology by transgressors at work. The second major goal of this symposium is to advance the limited knowledge of boundary conditions and uncover new factors that moderate the “downstream” effects and effectiveness of forgiveness, including papers on factors such as incongruence between felt and expressed forgiveness that moderate the impact of forgiveness for the forgiving individual and both the bright and dark sides of leader forgiveness in shaping followers’ responses in organizations. Furthermore, these four papers illustrate how a variety of methodological approaches (e.g., field study, experiment, panel data, large-scale language analyses) can be used to answer research questions regarding forgiveness as well as concomitant apology. Lastly, our symposium features a prominent scholar in this field of knowledge, offering theoretical and practical insights through interactive discussion to advance our understanding of forgiveness, spark new research directions, and ultimately move the research on workplace forgiveness forward with synergistic perspectives. Honor and the Reluctance to Apologize Presenter: Ying Lin; Stanford Graduate School of Business Presenter: Michele Gelfand; Stanford Graduate School of Business Presenter: Nava Caluori; U. of Virginia Presenter: Bastian Weitz; Stanford Graduate School of Business When Apologies Make Things Worse: The Interactive Effects of Inability to Forgive and Apology Presenter: Maria Francisca Saldanha; UCP - Católica Lisbon School of Business & Economics Presenter: Annika Hillebrandt; Ted Rogers School of Management, Toronto Metropolitan U. Presenter: Carlos Ferreira Peralta; U. Católica Portuguesa Presenter: Daniel Brady; Wilfrid Laurier U. The Authenticity of (In)Congruence Between Felt and Expressed Forgiveness Presenter: Seoin Yoon; Texas A&M U. Presenter: Shawn T. McClean; U. of Oklahoma Price College of Business Presenter: Bret Bradley; U. of Oklahoma When Leaders Forgive: Is Forgiveness Always Divine? Presenter: Hsuan-Che Huang; Sauder School of Business, U. of British Columbia Presenter: Jonathan Evans; U. of British Columbia Presenter: Trevor Spoelma; U. of New Mexico

Forgiveness of Sin in the Relation to the Community of Believers

"A large number of casualties in our day and our eroded testimony to the world around us, allows for a lot of grieving but also calls for the reassessment of our understanding of sin, forgiveness and the context of restoration: the community of the forgiven. True, there is around us a growing concern for the problem of sin. However, it is more a face-saving concern vis-a-vis the secularized world and the Church. Unfortunately, it is less a concern compared to God and His righteous standards. How do we define sin? How are we to understand the forgiveness of sin? How do we recognize it, how do we administer it? These are some valid questions that need to be addressed. The purpose behind the present research is not to sift the Bible through our experience to accommodate our generation’s understanding of sin but the other way around: to sift experience through the Bible, expose misunderstanding and thus proceed toward restoration through a way of understanding godliness. The intend is not to fill an ontological gap, but rather address the current situation from a biblical and pastoral perspective, into a situation in which theologians and churches together have lost the ability to talk meaningfully about topics such as sin and the internal workings of the human soul and thus have rendered as irrelevant the meaning of Forgiveness that the Gospel brings. The concern in the following pages is to understand the concept of sin and the experiential dynamics of sin and that of Forgiveness and its personal and corporate experience. Even though a better understanding of Forgiveness may not rid our lives of sins nor make us the best forgivers in the world, it will alert us to what is happening around us and offer insight that can become opportunities. "

Qualitative analysis of a Slovakian sample of the lay population’s understanding of forgiveness with regard to age differences

Objectives. The main aim of this study was to qualitatively explore the general population’s understanding of forgiveness with regard to its definition, factors, and effects. The special focus of the study was on comparing the views on forgiveness by two generations, young adults, and seniors.Participants and setting. Semi-structured interviews were done with 20 participants from two age groups: ten young adults aged 21 to 29 years (M = 23.4, SD = 2.79) and ten seniors aged 61 to 68 years (M = 64, SD = 2.47).Research questions. Research questions were focused on examining how laypersons conceptualize forgiveness; notably, how they view the factors and effects of forgiveness. It was also explored whether there are any specifics and differences in the views on forgiveness between young adults and seniors.Data analysis. The data obtained from semi-structured interviews were analyzed by Consensual Qualitative Research (Hill et al., 2005).Results. For most individuals in both generations, the basis of forgiveness was letting go of anger and pain. The most significant factor positively related to forgiveness was an apology and admitting the mistake. The most noteworthy negative factor was the depth of the hurt. Individuals perceive positive consequences of forgiveness, especially on their mental health and strengthening their relationships. It seems that young adults perceive forgiveness more as an interpersonal process, while seniors perceive it more as an internal process of an individual.Study limitations. The use of qualitative methodology and the sample size limit the generalization of the findings and comparing two samples at the level of statistical significance. Participants may have had various experiences dealing with hurt and forgiveness throughout their lives which could have influenced their views on forgiveness.Implications. Gaining a deeper understanding of how young adults and seniors understand forgiveness and its effects, what they perceive as helpful or blocking in their forgiving, can help counselors and therapists to improve their interventions aimed at promoting forgiveness.

The power of forgiveness in a broken world: An understanding of forgiveness in Ephesians

South Africans live in a broken country where hatred leads to violence and destroys the relationships between people. The pertinent question here is: Is forgiveness between South Africans possible? This article is an attempt to understand ‘forgiveness’ in Ephesians, and to discuss the power of such forgiveness in a violent and broken South Africa. Ephesians 4:23 demands a change in the people’s mindset in order to be able to, inter alia, be kind and compassionate when they forgive each other (Eph 4:32). This forgiveness means to take control as a believer and to use one’s power as a Christian to forgive because God forgave us. We need to be the initiators of the transaction. Forgiveness is a ‘means for imitating God’, for ‘carrying out God’s plan’, and ‘enhancing one’s relationship’ with God. Forgiveness will restore relations; it is a gift to oneself and to others, to society, to one’s country. Ephesians advises to no longer rehearse and re-think the memories of pain, to stop harbouring and nursing grudges, to stop playing the victim and perpetuating negative emotions associated with this rehearsing, and to break people’s commitment to remain angry.Contribution: Ephesians aims to persuade believers that forgiveness is a choice to imitate God. Forgiveness is an act out of grace, kindness, and compassion.

The Benefits of Forgiveness at Work: A Longitudinal Investigation of the Time-Lagged Relations Between Forgiveness and Work Outcomes.

Forgiveness has received increasing attention in the work context. Although recent cross-sectional studies have found a positive link between forgiveness and work outcomes, further research examining the temporal dynamics between these variables is needed to establish causality. This preregistered panel study investigated the time-lagged relations between forgiveness and work outcomes, and specifically addressed the question whether forgiving a coworker benefits work outcomes. Longitudinal survey data were collected at four time points among 139 Chinese employees working at least 20 hours per week. Results from cross-lagged panel models revealed that forgiving an offending coworker with whom one has a relatively good work relationship predicted better work outcomes (i.e., higher job satisfaction, higher work engagement, and lower burnout) over time, while controlling for perceived severity of the offense. Evidence for the reverse effect (with work outcomes predicting forgiveness) was not found. Our findings thus suggest that forgiveness facilitates well-being-related work outcomes. Implications for a better understanding of forgiveness in work relationships are discussed.

Метафизика прощения и наказания в концепциях Л.Н. Толстого и И.А. Ильина: традиция и современность

The purpose of study is to offer an analysis of two moral and philosophical positions from the point of view of modernity: the non-resistance of L. N. Tolstoy and the idea of resistance to evil by force of I. A. Ilyin. The author draws a parallel between the main moral categories of forgiveness-unforgiveness, good-evil, punishment-impunity on the basis of two stated concepts. The scientific novelty lies in the fact that, appealing to the philosophical ideas of the presented thinkers, the author analyzes the relationship between these positions in the current state of society, namely, what is the relationship between the understanding of forgiveness and punishment today. Studies of this problem are found in the works of Huseynov A. A., Meleshko E. D., Men A, and others. As a result, common and different accents of the studied positions in relation to the understanding of such moral categories as good and evil, as well as the authors' assessment of the role of punishment, are revealed.

Everyday Theology in Cultural Context: Forgiveness and Grace

Forgiveness is a universal virtue that appears in most cultures and religions but with cultural particularities. The current pilot research uses a mixed-methods approach to describe variations in everyday theologies of forgiveness across culture. Universal understandings of forgiveness were documented among Study 1 participants who represented three American Christian subcultures (Brazilian-Americans, Chinese-Americans, and American students), replicated in Study 2 (with Hong Kong church members and American students). Members of non-American cultures described efforts to reach social harmony by maintaining a culturally appropriate tension between reconciliation and responsibility in relationships, e.g., by demonstrating concerns with saving face, with the impact of violations on the larger community, and for personal responsibility in mitigating interpersonal violations. Differences among participants in these pilot studies were associated with the different cultural histories of the participants’ cultures and whether the cultures they represent are broadly categorized as collectivist or individualist.

Conceptual representation of mercy in legal texts of the XVII – XVIII centuries (based on the English-language and Russian-language materials)

The subject of this research is the semantics of English and Russian lexemes that represent the conceptual component of the concept of mercy in both languages. The goal of this work consists in determination of similarities and differences of the conceptual attributes of mercy in the English and Russian legal texts of the XVII – XVIII centuries. The concept of mercy was selected due to insufficient examination of its verbalization in the comparative linguistics. In the course of this research, the author applied comparative method, semantic analysis, quantitative method, and method of modeling, Based on the legal texts of Great Britain and Russia of the XVII – XVIII centuries, the author determines the composition of core lexemes and their synonyms, which are capable of resembling the conceptual characteristics of mercy in the compared languages. The scientific novelty consists in the establishment of similarity and difference of the conceptual characteristics of mercy in the Russian and English legal texts of a certain period of time. As a result of the conducted analysis, it was revealed that in the English texts of that time, the notional component of the concept represents the core lexemes and synonyms “grace”, “mercy”, “reprieve”, “forgiveness”, “indulgence” that are the synonyms of core lexemes, while in the Russian texts this is the core lexeme “mercy”, and its synonyms “grace”, “clemency”, “remission” and “forgiveness”. Comparison of composition of the conceptual attributes of mercy in the English and Russian legal texts of the XVII – XVIII centuries illustrated that they had more differences. Thus, the conceptual attributes of mercy in the English text, understanding of forgiveness as an act of mercy, grace, or  manifestation of reprieve from a king or queen; or mercy as an abolition of punishment, benevolence of God, act of leniency and forgiveness for an offence. The conclusion is also made on similarity of the compared languages in perception of mercy as an act of grace from the ruler of the country.

Lexical-semantic representation of periphery of the notional component of the concept “clemency” in the English and Russian languages

The goal of this work became the identification of similarities and differences of peripheral conceptual attributes of clemency in the English and Russian languages. The subject of this research is the semantics of English and Russian lexemes representing the notional component of the concept of clemency in the compared languages, placed in the core and on the periphery of the concept. The concept of clemency was selected due to insufficient study of its verbalization in comparative linguistics. On the materials of lexicographic sources, the author determines the composition of nuclear lexemes and their synonyms that are capable of reflecting peripheral conceptual attributes of clemency in the English and Russian languages. The scientific novelty of this research consists in the fact that it is first to establish similarities and differences of peripheral conceptual attributes of clemency in the English and Russian languages. It is determined that core of the concept in English language is binominal and represented by the lexemes clemency and pardon; while in Russian language it is monomial. In conclusion, the author reveals that on the periphery of the concept in question in the English language are the lexemes grace, oblivion, allowance, indulgence, leniency, which are the synonyms of nuclear lexemes; and in the Russian language, there are  fewer synonyms of nuclear lexeme – apology, mercy, grace, remission. Comparison of the composition of peripheral conceptual attributes of clemency in the English and Russian languages demonstrated that they differ for the most part. Thus, the peripheral conceptual attributes of clemency in the English language is the comprehension of forgiveness as leniency with regards to a human being who committed the transgression, as a punishment, but in mitigated form. In the Russian language, the understanding of forgiveness as condescension to the transgression and aiding the one who transgressed.

A politics of forgiveness? Engaging the ontological and the structural in the dialogical theology of John de Gruchy

Forgiveness is a deeply contested theological notion in contemporary South African theology and society. The same could be said for South African theologies of reconciliation, of which forgiveness is considered to be a part. Some claim that these concepts have been weakened, abused, and corrupted. In particular, there are doubts whether forgiveness holds any theological or social value at present. John de Gruchy has devoted a great deal of time and effort to developing a theologically subtle, and politically robust, understanding of forgiveness that links justice and reconciliation. This article will consider how John de Gruchy’s dialogical theology, which takes account of both the ontological and the structural aspects of forgiveness, facilitates an understanding of political forgiveness that can address some of the critiques of this notion in contemporary South African theologies.

Offenders’ understandings of forgiveness

Offenders’ understandings of forgiveness

Forgiveness in Children Placed in Children's Homes: Understanding, Process and Motivation for Forgiveness

ABSTRACT Children placed in children's homes encounter negative experiences in the form of abuse from caregivers, interpersonal conflicts with peers and victimizations from community members. How these children negotiate forgiveness of these negative experiences is unknown due to limited studies on the subject. The present study explored the nature of negative experiences reported by children in residential care, their understanding of forgiveness, as well as the process and motivations for extending forgiveness. Participants were 10 children in residential care, aged between 9 and 18 years, resident in two Children's Homes in Accra. Results from these interviews show that while participants have cordial relationships with their peers and caregivers, they experience daily relational problems in the form of insults, bullying, being lied about, teasing and denial of gift items. Their knowledge of the meaning of forgiveness is largely different from all the three existing conceptualizations of the concept, and is influenced by religious, contextual factors in their relationships and the perceived benefits of forgiveness. Forgiveness process involved deferral to God, educating or confronting the offender on the impact of their behavior and reporting the offender to an authority. Implications of the findings are discussed.

A Social Imagination of Forgiveness

Abstract This article studies the complexity of understandings of forgiveness among a sample of Black and White South Africans within the context of an empirical intercultural Bible reading process. We will first focus on the foundation upon which the study is predicated—namely that the social imagination of forgiveness is deeply contested among South Africans. Next, we will discuss the approach that the study took to gather the necessary data, and analyse the theological views of forgiveness among the participants in the study. Finally, we shall discuss some of the primary findings of the study. These show that social identity plays a significant role in shaping theological hermeneutics. Black and White participants hold diverse, and even conflicting, expressions and expectations for forgiveness. These are characterised as predominantly social and political for the Black participants, and predominantly individual and spiritual for the White participants.

How Does Culture Shape Conceptions of Forgiveness? Evidence From Japan and the United States

Theories of culture, cognition, and social relations suggest there may be differences in conceptions of forgiveness between the members of East Asian and Western cultures, but few researchers have examined this issue. This article builds on previous research on prototypes of forgiveness in the United States to address the question “What is forgiveness?” in Japan. In Studies 1a and 1b, we investigated Japanese conceptions of forgiveness. Study 2 demonstrated that forgiveness features that U.S. and Japanese participants generated are meaningfully different. Compared with Americans, Japanese participants focused more on aspects related to relationship harmony; they seemed to emphasize an adjustment motive and decisional forgiveness. They also put less emphasis on emotional forgiveness and attention to individuals in comparison with Americans. Our results suggest that the high value placed on relationship maintenance in Japan leads to different understandings of forgiveness. Inclusion of culturally diverse conceptions into the definition of forgiveness aids further understanding of forgiveness, which, in turn, enhances the development and application of existing theories.