Abstract
Despite the prevalence of beliefs across religions regarding repentance and divine forgiveness and their recognition in theoretical and religious studies, these constructs are relatively understudied phenomena in the social sciences. Furthermore, in recent years, multiple scholars have argued for the need for research to systematically study and highlight the experience and processes of repentance and divine forgiveness. Subsequently, this study explored processes of repentance, antecedents and motivations of repentance, resources to aid in repentance, and outcomes of repentance that should be further examined. This analysis was done using in-depth qualitative interviews with 15 emerging adult religious exemplars identifying with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The authors used NVivo 12 and team-based qualitative coding processes to identify themes. Repentance processes included personal change, took various lengths of time, were a part of participants’ religious identity, were recurrent processes, and were influenced by participants’ view of God. Antecedents and motivations included religious practices and rituals, emotions, interpersonal interactions, and their relationship with God. Resources that aided in repentance included religious practices and rituals, interpersonal relationships, and a relationship with God. Finally, participants reported experiencing personal changes in their behavior and character, positive emotions (including feelings of divine forgiveness), improved interpersonal relationships, and a better relationship with God. These processes align with some previously discovered and theorized findings on repentance, contribute a number of novel findings, and offer future direction regarding the motivations, resources, and transformative experiences that participants reported in their personal repentance and experience of forgiveness.
Repentance is a core religious belief and practice among adherents of the Abrahamic faiths (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) and is a recurring process of seeking forgiveness and personal change (Destro & Pesce, 2004). Although there are differences regarding its salvific importance and associated rituals and practices (e.g. manner of confession; see White et al., 2018), the overall processes of repentance have several similarities across the Abrahamic faiths. Namely, repentance typically involves three central components: (a) experiencing genuine remorse for individual moral transgressions, (b) reconciling with God and others, and (c) restructuring one’s life (Etzioni & Carney, 1997).
Recent foundational work on the psychology of divine forgiveness has distinguished between conditional and unconditional divine forgiveness and has identified repentance as a common and key precondition to perceiving divine forgiveness (Fincham & May, 2021). Furthermore, because divine forgiveness is deeply connected to interpersonal forgiveness and self-forgiveness, it is important to understand how processes of repentance and divine forgiveness relate to these other types of forgiveness (Fincham & May, 2022). Previous research has found that seeking and receiving divine forgiveness may enable seeking and receiving interpersonal forgiveness as well as being more forgiving toward others (Hendricks et al., 2022). Relatedly, divine forgiveness has been found to moderate the relationship between self-forgiveness and individual well-being (Fincham & May, 2019). Given the interconnecting relationships between these types of forgiveness and the positive individual benefits that have been tied to these three domains of forgiveness, a systematic study of repentance may prove beneficial to individual flourishing.
Repentance remains an understudied phenomenon in the social sciences despite the prevalence and salience of repentance across religions and its recognition in theoretical and religious studies. A relatively small number of studies mention the word, and even fewer studies examine religious repentance specifically. In recent years, multiple scholars have argued for the need for research to systematically study the experience and processes of seeking divine forgiveness (Exline, 2013; Fincham, 2020; Murray-Swank et al., 2007). Subsequently, in the present study, we qualitatively explored the processes, antecedents, motivations, resources, and outcomes of repentance and divine forgiveness.
Review of literature
To contextualize the findings of this study, we first review the rather limited extant literature on repentance. Specifically, we will review the (a) processes of repentance, (b) antecedents and motivations of repentance, (c) resources to aid in repentance, and (d) potential outcomes of repentance.
Processes of repentance
Comparative religious studies have identified three main components or steps to repentance: remorse or recognition, reconciliation, and restructuring (Etzioni & Carney, 1997). Several studies have also used the term repentance but operationalized it without religious meaning. For example, repentance has been defined vaguely as “a manifestable attitude of remorse in the face of an offense, which encourages the offender to offer an apology for his or her misconduct” (Nwoye, 2009, p. 123). The limited empirical work that has been done on religious repentance and the work done on non-religious repentance give tentative support that this model of repentance presented by Etzioni and Carney (1997) is at play in the lives of individuals. Specifically, the research suggests how one component of the process leads to the next one and how various components play an important role in some of the goals of repentance (e.g. receiving divine forgiveness and personal change in accordance with divine laws).
One guided imagery experiment found that, out of various conditions, recognizing, remembering, and identifying one’s transgression led to the highest perceptions of divine forgiveness (vanOyen Witvliet et al., 2002). Empirical research on non-religious repentance and confession also points to the importance of remorse or guilt. Specifically, when guilt was low, confession was more likely to result in relapse, but when guilt was high, confession was more likely to result in repentant change (Lowe & Haws, 2019). In other studies of non-religious repentance, feeling guilt and remorse, putting in time and effort, and taking responsibility for transgressions correlated with later actions to repent, reconcile with others, and humbly change, but egotism was associated with reluctance to take responsibility (Fisher & Exline, 2006).
Antecedents and motivations of repentance
Researchers have posited that seeing the negative consequences of others’ damaging behavior (Fachitiandi & Permadi, 2020), as well as guilt and shame (Murray-Swank et al., 2007), are motivators of repentance. Latter-day Saint psychotherapists have reported that one positive outcome of spiritual interventions with clients was that they began to repent (Richards & Potts, 1995). Repentance and seeking divine forgiveness may also, at times, occur as a coping response (Pieper et al., 2018). Furthermore, experiencing forgiveness seems to promote non-religious repentance. Wallace et al. (2008) found that those who felt forgiven reported more motivation to repent, repair relationships, improve individual treatment of others, and make restitution for transgressions. Struthers et al. (2008) similarly noted that pre-emptive forgiveness from the victim typically promoted the transgressor’s repentance. However, this was mediated by the amount of responsibility the transgressor took and how the forgiveness was communicated. These findings shed some light on the motivational processes of interpersonal repentance; nevertheless, the processes of religious repentance still need to be empirically and systematically explored.
In addition, some theoretical work has looked at repentance antecedents and motivations. Previous scholars have theorized that self-knowledge might lead one to repentance (Haartman, 2007; Meissner, 2004). Haartman (2007) concluded from historical records that Methodists often repented after hearing about or experiencing Christ’s love and acceptance. Finally, a desire to engage in processes of self-forgiveness may also lead to repentance, as long as it does not lead to self-excusing, which may curb repentance (Exline et al., 2003).
Resources to aid in repentance
Almost no research has examined resources that individuals utilize or turn to during the changes involved in repentance. Three notable exceptions include a small qualitative study of six Muslim men that found that peer support and guidance, as well as internal reflection and self-control, enabled repentant change (Fachitiandi & Permadi, 2020). In addition, confession and experiences of divine forgiveness often occur during communal worship and play an important transformational role (Abernethy et al., 2016; White et al., 2018), and participation in pilgrimages may provide space for meaningful repentance (Gothóni, 2000).
Potential outcomes of repentance
A few studies have reported salutary relationships and the potential consequences of religious repentance. Treatment and educational intervention programs that discuss religious principles of repentance have noted significant improvements in individual outcomes, including reduced anxiety, enhanced serenity, improved well-being (Uyun et al., 2019), the development of virtue and spirituality, the ability to resist vices, and the reduction of stress (Ano et al., 2017). In addition, two studies examining experimental writing and imagery-seeking exercises found that religious repentance processes may cause decreased regret and self-condemnation, increased motivation to reconcile and repair relationships with those harmed, and increased feelings of divine forgiveness (vanOyen Witvliet et al., 2002, 2011). Furthermore, cross-sectional work has found that prayers of confession have a positive indirect effect on psychological well-being through increasing disclosure with God, perhaps because such prayers allow more personal and intimate communication with God (Zarzycka & Krok, 2021). In prior qualitative work, participants reported that repentance might help facilitate a deeper connection with God (Clayton-Jones et al., 2016), motivate interpersonal reconciliation and forgiveness (Dollahite & Marks, 2009; Hendricks et al., 2022), act as a form of religious coping (Pietkiewicz & Bachryj, 2016), increase gratitude and positive emotions following repentance (Abernethy et al., 2016), and decrease feelings of guilt and shame (Abernethy et al., 2016; Sremac & Ganzevoort, 2013).
Even so, repentance may have some negative consequences and processes. These include negative well-being (Whittington & Scher, 2010) and experiences of negative emotions (i.e. shame, guilt) during the repentance process (Abernethy et al., 2016). Furthermore, fixation via scrupulosity or obsessive-compulsive confession can be harmful (Himle et al., 2011). Such scrupulosity is connected to maladaptive perfectionism and negative psychological well-being (Allen et al., 2021). Exline et al. (2017) additionally theorized that repentance might increase religious/spiritual struggles as people recognize the sin within themselves. Relatedly, some Latter-day Saint psychotherapists have indicated that repentance was an ineffective intervention strategy with their clients, whereas others reported it was an effective intervention (Richards & Potts, 1995). However, given the nature of exemplar sampling, our participants were low on maladaptive behavior, restricting our ability to examine the potential drawbacks of repentance, leaving those investigations to future work.
In addition, theoretical work has identified repentance as a way to heal moral injuries (Koenig et al., 2017), as a function of generative or relationally minded religious devotion (Dollahite et al., 2019), as a tool that enables individuals to be more open to and sensitive to others who have wronged them (Hoenkamp-Bisschops, 2000), and as a process that may heal and repair relationships with others and with God (Mahoney et al., 2003; Pargament & Mahoney, 2001). Furthermore, Baumeister et al. (2010) theorized that because repentance enables acceptance by religious communities or by a higher power despite an individual’s previous misdeeds, religion, and repentance may strengthen an individual’s ability and motivate self-regulated behavior in accordance with moral or religious values. Although Baumeister and other theoretical articles discuss repentance as a process of change (e.g. Butler et al., 2021; Yair, 2021), few studies have examined repentance as a process of change and instead focused on processes of confession and divine forgiveness.
Present study
The presence of repentance in multiple religions and multiple fields of study, combined with the lack of empirical research on religious repentance within the psychology of religion and spirituality, indicates the need for research on this construct and related processes. Few, if any, studies have systematically explored religious repentance processes. Similarly, little research has explored what predicts or precedes religious repentance or the resources that individuals turn to make changes during the repentance process. Finally, although some previous work has explored the potential outcomes of repentance, this area is underdeveloped. Thus, we sought to address these gaps by employing qualitative interviews and analyses, as such methodology is well-suited for explorations and “mining the meanings” (Marks & Dollahite, 2011, p. 181).
Furthermore, we concluded that utilizing an exemplar sampling methodology to obtain a highly religious sample would facilitate the optimum opportunity for an in-depth exploration of adaptive repentance and other religious processes (Bailey et al., 2016; Matsuba et al., 2013). Smith and Denton (2005), from their interviews with the National Study of Youth and Religion, stated that the religion most teenagers experienced was “not a religion of repentance from sin” but what they termed “moral therapeutic deism” (p. 163). Because the current study sought to explore various religious and spiritual processes above and beyond moralistic therapeutic deism, and we were looking at a comparable developmental period (early emerging adulthood), we concluded that the use of religious exemplars was imperative in understanding and exploring these processes in depth. Furthermore, Smith and Denton (2005) found that perhaps teenagers from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were more intentional in their religiosity and more articulate regarding how their religious beliefs connected to their daily lives than other teenagers. This intentionality may be due to a strong emphasis on community and family programs that support youth’s religious and spiritual development (Dean, 2010). In addition, Latter-day Saint adolescents and young adults are among the highest in religious involvement, salience, religious/spiritual experiences, and belief, making them a unique model of religious behaviors (Smith & Denton, 2005). For these reasons, we incorporated purposeful sampling of Latter-day Saint exemplars to facilitate additional richness in themes and processes and to understand them in the context of this unique developmental period.
Adolescence and emerging adulthood constitute a pivotal stage of life where spiritual practices are profoundly influential on development. Thus, studying religious exemplars from this developmental period provides a unique snapshot into the development of formative spiritual practices (King et al., 2014). According to Tanner (2006), the primary task of emerging adulthood is recentering, defined as “a shift in power, agency, responsibility, and dependence between emerging adults and their social contexts—primarily experienced by emerging adults as a period during which parent regulation is replaced with self-regulation” (p. 27). Because repentance may strengthen self-regulatory processes (Baumeister et al., 2010), repentance may address developmental needs during this phase of life. Most importantly, we incorporated exemplar sampling, which provides insight into mature, adaptive repentance processes which can serve as a developmental model.
To contextualize the present study, it is important to understand the views of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on repentance. In sum, the church often emphasizes the universal need for and salvific importance of repeated repentance and views the sacrifice, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ (i.e. the Atonement of Christ) as what makes repentance and divine reconciliation possible (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2011b). We also note that the general process of repentance taught within this church appears to be theoretically compatible with and similar to the process proposed by Etzioni and Carney (1997) that we have previously explained.
Methods
Sample
The authors collected online survey data in early 2019 at a religious university from students in introductory psychology courses who were given course credit for their participation (N = 532). Forty-one participants were contacted for a follow-up interview, and 15 participants elected to be interviewed (36.6%). Follow-up interviews were conducted during the summer of 2019 in an on-campus laboratory. Participants (N = 15) who scored the highest on a composite score of religiosity (e.g. each participant prayed and studied the scriptures daily), spirituality (e.g. each participant found strength and comfort in religion at least daily), and religious salience (e.g. their religion shaped how they thought and acted daily) were selected to be interviewed. These 15 religious exemplars were all members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Twelve participants (80%) voluntarily served 18- to 24-month missions for their church, sharing their beliefs nationally or internationally and gaining various cultural experiences. The majority (80% or N = 12) of participants were White Americans from different states across the United States, with the remaining three participants being Chinese-American, Brazilian, and South African. Ten were female, five were male, and their ages ranged from 18 to 25 years old (M = 21.7). Participants came from varying economic backgrounds, from households of annual incomes making less than US$45,000 (20%) to over US$100,000 (40%).
These participants had no previous relationship with the interviewer. Once data saturation was reached, interviews were halted. Interviews ranged in length from approximately 45–90 min (M = 65 min), and participants received a US$20 Amazon gift card for their time. Interviews were conducted following approval from the Institutional Review Board and informed consent, including assurances of confidentiality and descriptions of the risks and benefits of participating in the study. Interviews were semi-structured and contained 20 open-ended questions about the participant’s religious motivations, relationship and gratitude to God, their process of conversion, and experience with grace (see Supplemental Materials for interview questions). Examples of specific questions that elicited responses regarding repentance included the following: “Why are you religious?” “What is your concept of your standing before God? Has that changed at all throughout your life, and if yes, what led to the change?” and “Have you had any experience of being forgiven by God? If yes, what was that experience like?” Thirteen of the interviews were conducted by the third author, who at the time was a non-traditional student in a developmental psychology graduate program, and the second author, an undergraduate research assistant, conducted two interviews. Both interviewers were female members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Each interview was digitally recorded and transcribed verbatim and checked by a partner to ensure accuracy.
Analysis
Data were analyzed using NVivo 12, and team-based coding strategies were employed (Marks, 2015). We recruited a gender-balanced team of four coders (two males, two females) to increase sensitivity to participants’ experiences. In addition, coders were highly religious members of the same religion as the participants, which allowed coders to better capture and understand religion-specific nuances inherent in participant responses. This team performed open coding over 4 months and, through consensus, identified core themes in the interviews. Although repentance was not explicitly asked about in the original set of 20 questions, repentance was identified as one of the core emergent themes of participants’ religious experiences, and a codebook for repentance was then created and reviewed by team members (Bernard et al., 2016).
A team of two coders did further analysis, one male and one female, to better capture diverse perspectives. Coders independently analyzed each of the 15 interviews, reviewed their partner’s coding, and met weekly to identify passages that met the criteria. After 4 months of coding, 127 text passages were determined to meet the codebook criteria with an inter-rater reliability of more than 0.90 (Allsop et al., 2022), comprising 186 participant responses and passages from all 15 participants. These passages became the focal data for all subsequent analyses.
The first and second authors conducted modified grounded theory analyses to examine and explore the processes, antecedents, motivations, resources, and reported outcomes of repentance (Marks, 2015). Coders independently examined and coded each of the passages, wrote memos and annotations to maintain a data trail, and met weekly to identify and discuss patterns and codes. After 6 months of coding, reviewing the data repeatedly, and discussing which codes should be combined due to overlap or eliminated due to lack of frequency, the coders identified four core themes related to our research questions and 16 emergent subthemes. These emergent themes and subthemes were decided through consensus and their saliency and frequency within and across interviews. The first and second authors then selected coded excerpts to represent the core themes and subthemes in the “Findings” section.
Findings
Findings are presented under four core themes that reflect our research questions (i.e. processes of repentance, antecedents, and motivations of repentance, resources that aid in repentance, and reported outcomes of repentance). Our team-based analyses revealed 16 subthemes that are organized in connection to these themes and research questions (see Tables 1 and 2). Findings are illustrated by over 40 participant quotes, including responses from every participant, in a concerted effort to highlight participants’ own voices (Marks, 2015).
Numeric content analysis of themes and subthemes.
Representative participant quotes of themes and subthemes.
Theme 1: processes of repentance
All participants described processes of repentance in their life that contributed to these findings (96 coded references). Participants viewed repentance largely as a process of personal change, perceived various lengths of time in the process, described constantly seeking change as a part of their religious identities, discussed how repentance was a recurrent and often daily process, and shared how their image and expectations of God shaped their process of repentance. Some aspects of the process of repentance, as presented by Etzioni and Carney (1997), are also discussed in the other sections on the antecedents and motivations of repentance, resources that aid in repentance, and the reported outcomes of repentance (e.g. guilt as a motivator, lasting personal change as an outcome).
Subtheme A: viewing repentance as improvement
Of our 15 participants, 11 spontaneously and explicitly expressed the view of repentance as being about change rather than just seeking forgiveness (20 coded references). Tyler
1
said, When we do mess up . . . we don’t need to be so scared of asking God for forgiveness . . . but I do think He expects a little more out of us in terms of repenting and changing. Not so we can earn His forgiveness, but so we can just be better and have an actual change come about us, ’cause that’s the whole purpose of repentance.
Grace similarly shared, In studying the Atonement, I’ve learned a lot about the process of repentance . . . that repentance is about progression . . . and so, I [have] started to repent with that mindset . . . hoping that I would be able to grow out of this, and to kind of better myself because of it.
These emerging adults discussed how repentance involved seeking divine forgiveness, and unlike previous studies on interpersonal repentance, our participants defined repentance as being more than apologizing or seeking forgiveness. Tyler and Grace both described the central role of “actual change” or “better[ing] myself.”
Subtheme B: the timing of change in repentance
Participants described various rates of change when repenting. Participants most commonly described that their changes in repentance were gradual (31 coded references). For instance, Tyler reported that “There hasn’t [really] been a drastic change anywhere. It’s just been [a] constant trying to be better.” Camilla similarly described, “When I do make a mistake, I know I can just repent, and it works . . . [but] I would like just to be perfect faster! . . . But at the same time, it’s a process.” Some, like Camilla and Tyler, discussed a more continuous process of change, whereas other participants did report abrupt or dramatic changes relating to repentance, often in the form of making the decision to change and sticking to that decision (21 coded references). David said, That first initial spiritual experience . . . when I was 16 or 17 . . . really changed my trajectory . . . After that initial experience, I realized that my life has more to it than just what I thought it was at the time . . . [it] really prompted me to be more diligent in my gospel learning, and [is] the reason why I’m participating [and am] religiously active.
Subtheme C: repentance as a trait or identity: striving to be and do better
Twelve participants described a consistent and internal desire to be and do better in their lives, so much so that this motivation became a part of who they were (40 coded references). In response to the first questions of the interview, “Why are you religious?” and “Why do you participate in religious practices?,” multiple participants responded similarly to Melissa, who said, “The biggest thing I want to get out of it is I want to change and I want to become better.” Emily likewise shared, [I] always strive to be just slightly better than I was yesterday . . . Because I love [God], and because He loves me, I will do what I can to strive to be the best person that I can be.
This internalized identity of always striving to be and do better appeared to motivate participants to repent. This striving also helped participants to feel at peace with God, a concept that will be described in more detail in a later section.
Subtheme D: repentance as a recurrent and often daily process or ritual
Participants repeatedly related that their repentance was recurrent and often a daily process, both in the sense that they were daily striving to make changes and daily seeking forgiveness from God (28 coded references). One illustration of this was Nathan, who said, “Every night I am repenting of things I could’ve done better, [and] I’m grateful for the chances to repent.” Spencer similarly shared, “Many times I have seen myself as flawed . . . and felt grateful that I could just recalibrate with God and with where I want to be going.” Melissa similarly said, There’s a lot that I need to work on, on a daily basis, because there’s a lot of things I know I’m not doing well enough in, and I am slowly figuring out step by step how to get better . . . [my sins] are not all going to go away in one day, ’cause I’ve tried it, it doesn’t work. [laughs] . . . But if I can get a little better [each day], then that’s good enough.
Subtheme E: image and expectations of God during repentance
It is important to briefly note that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (2011a) teaches that God is our Heavenly Father. Thus, many participants’ references to God use masculine pronouns. Overall, 12 participants discussed their perception of God during the repentance process, and all 12 described God as a benevolent and merciful giver and forgiver (23 coded references). Spencer said, [When] I’ve really come to [God] in a penitent way to ask forgiveness . . . [I’ve felt] “That’s fine with me,” that would be what He might say to me . . . just like a smiling grandfather . . . “I will help you going forward . . . [and] as you start to get off the track a little bit, come back, and we’ll recalibrate a little bit.” That’s the feeling I have in my relationship with Him as a whole. It’s a great feeling.
Although participants described a current positive relationship and perception of God, a few described how that had changed throughout their life. For example, some participants reported that when they were younger, they feared God and perhaps scrupulously confessed their sins and sought to be “perfect.” However, after learning more about God and discussing his nature with others, participants reported positive changes in their perceptions. Jessica said, I feared God in many ways, and [felt] that no matter what I did, He would never be pleased …. I think a big part of [changing] that was the Book of Mormon, and coming to know His nature . . . Because in coming to know Christ and the role that He played, I came to realize . . . I didn’t have to fear . . . God loves me, and that even though I had these imperfections, that didn’t matter.
Lydia reported a similar change in her life: I was really hard on myself when I didn’t feel like I was meeting [God’s] expectations . . . [but I] realize[d] that when I mess up and when I need to repent, it’s not like God is angry with me and is suddenly like, “Okay. Since you asked for forgiveness, we’ll mend things.” . . . God is there the whole time …. I’ve done something wrong, but that doesn’t change His love for me, . . . He just wants me to repent.
Although some did acknowledge previous or childhood struggles, participants reported feeling accepted by God throughout the repentance process, and many conveyed that they felt God gently and lovingly helping them to repent, as will be discussed in one of the following sections.
Theme 2: antecedents and motivations of repentance
All participants described various antecedents and motivations of repentance in their life that contributed to these findings (94 coded references). The most frequently mentioned antecedents and motivations for repentance that these emerging adults discussed were religious practices and rituals, emotions, interpersonal interactions, and their relationship with God.
Subtheme A: religious practices and rituals led to repentance
All 15 emerging adults in this study reported that engaging in religious practices and rituals prompted them to recognize areas of their life that required repentance and motivated them to take the next steps in changing their behavior (45 coded references). Essentially, this was because participating in these practices strengthened and reminded them of their beliefs, as illustrated by the following comment from Spencer: Reading scripture, attending the temple, praying, those kinds of things, that’s where the learning happens about what kinds of things God expects of me . . . what kinds of things I can do in my life to protect me from . . . sin . . . [and] make me feel clean.
Another reason that participants gave for why religious practices and rituals led them to repent was that it encouraged them to examine their lives repeatedly and increase their self-awareness and self-knowledge. Grace said, Every once in a while, I’ll re-find the chapter [in the Book of Mormon] and go through it myself, and be like, “How am I going to be able to approach God at judgment day?” . . . There’s sometimes when I ask myself that and there are things in my life that I need to change, sometimes immediately. And sometimes, it’s more of a virtue that I think that I need to adopt so that I can feel more ready [to meet God].
One landmark practice in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the opportunity (i.e. an expectation for young men and an option for young women) to serve as full-time proselytizing missionaries for 18 months to 2 years. Twelve of the 15 participants had served missions, and almost all of these described how their missions were difficult but transformative experiences that led them to repent and change. Amber said, The whole change of who I was started on my mission . . . it changed me in the fact that I knew the doctrine, and not just the fluffy stuff . . . Actually understanding and realizing the . . . doctrine changed me in my commitment of wanting to live the gospel and of being more deeply converted.
In addition to the rituals and practices mentioned above of scripture study, temple worship, prayer, and missionary service, participants also reported that listening to the words of church leaders both on a local level and on a global scale led them to repent.
Subtheme B: emotions leading to repentance
Two-thirds of the participants (10 of 15) reported that their emotions were a driving force for their repentance (24 coded references). Some shared how feeling positive emotions led them to repent, such as Amber, who said, When I feel that gratitude . . . it causes me to rethink what I’m doing. I’m like . . . “What do I need to change?” Because I need to feel like I’m worthy of the things [God] gives me. . . .
Others described how feeling a lack of positive emotions was connected to their decision to repent. In response to the follow-up question, “What leads to you to feel like it’s time to make changes [in your life]?” Melissa replied, I think mostly it’s just that I don’t feel peace anymore . . . [I] go from being my very happy self to very visibly down and heavy . . . it’s [then] almost a mental battle of trying to figure out . . . what I’m doing, and then I realize “Wow! Okay, you should probably change this.”
Similarly, participants described how guilt led them to repent, such as Lydia, who said, I remember when I was young that I had done something wrong, and I felt so guilty about it . . . and I felt that guilt just weighing on me. And there was one day that I finally just knelt down and cried and asked God to take that guilt away . . . you know, the repentance thing. [And] it was just gone, I just felt it lifted away, and [I] felt [His] love.
Like Lydia, several participants identified that their emotions were not just a driving force leading to repentance, but a positive consequence of repentance, as we discuss in a later section.
Subtheme C: how interpersonal interactions led to repentance
Two-thirds of the participants reported that their interactions with others often preceded and encouraged their repentance (17 coded references). Some described how the examples of friends and family members inspired them to want to repent and change. Emily said, Seeing the example of others and how the gospel has blessed their lives reminds me of how it feels when I am in tune with the Spirit …. The way that others live their lives . . . can really impress me and make me want to try harder.
The relational processes of conflict and reconciliation also led some participants to make changes, such as Grace, who said, I didn’t handle the situation as well as I should have . . . [but] I didn’t realize that it was weighing me down …. This girl reached out to me and apologized . . . and it wasn’t until that moment that I actually realized that I was still holding on [to my grudge and my pride], and I had to let go and feel the difference in my life. And since then, I’ve tried to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
In addition to these things, participants also described how conversations with their parents, and encouragement or invitations from their peers or church leaders, led them to repent, seek forgiveness, and make changes in their lives.
Subtheme D: relationship and experiences with God led to repentance
A salient theme reported by 80% of our participants was that having a relationship and spiritual experiences with God led them to repent (43 coded references). For some, spiritual experiences reportedly helped them solidify their belief in God and realize the love and closeness of God. This sense of connection and care motivated participants to make subsequent changes. David said, “I just knew in that moment that Christ . . . had to suffer for every mistake and sin that I have [made] or I will make . . . [and] I [realized I] needed to change because of [that] experience.” Nathan also described that after coming to know God more, he desired to become more like God. He said, With [God] there, knowing that relationship, and having Him be real to me, it’s definitely changed me . . . in the fact that I want to become more like Him . . . everything about Him is something that I strive to become.
Many other participants reported being inspired by teachings of God’s character and charitable actions and subsequently sought to become more like this loving God. Many were also motivated to repent because of their perceived relationship with God, their love for God, and their desire to be worthy to enter into heaven to be with God. Lydia said, I want to show [God] my love by doing what I know He would want me to do …. So even when it seems hard, I try to sacrifice my own feelings of, “This is hard,” or “I don’t want to do that.” . . [because] I want to leave this life and enter back into His presence, just being like Him, and having Him be proud of me . . .
Furthermore, some participants reported that when they realized the debt that they owed God because of what they believed God had done for them, they described how this indebtedness or gratitude to God motivated them to repent. Emily said, Having the reminder [that] we are indebted to Him keeps Him always on our minds . . . and maybe that’s how we recognize we may not be doing something right and how we recognize that we need to use the Atonement and repent and be able to keep that relationship with Him.
In addition to these motivators, some participants said they repented out of obedience to God’s commandment to repent. They repented not because they were fearful of God or perceived God to be highly demanding but because they trusted that God had pure motivations in requiring repentance and that their lives would be better after doing so.
Theme 3: resources to aid in repentance
All participants described various resources that aided in their repentance that contributed to these findings (59 coded references). These emerging adults most often mentioned that religious practices and rituals, interpersonal relationships, and their relationship with God aided and enabled them in their repentance.
Subtheme A: religious practices and rituals as resources in repentance
Almost all participants also noted that religious rituals and practices served as a resource in their repentance process (30 coded references). The practices they mentioned included those addressed previously, including prayer, church services, scripture study, temple worship, and some additional practices. One commonly mentioned and important practice was a confession to religious leaders. Camilla shared this regarding her experience with confession, “When I finally talked to [the bishop] . . . something heavy was gone, completely . . . it was just surreal, the guilt was gone. And I then I just felt completely happy and willing to help.” Another reported ritual that supported repentance was taking the sacrament (communion). Zach said, “When I . . . prepare . . . and partake of the sacrament with the right mindset . . . I always have the same feeling of forgiveness, and a weight lifted off of my chest, [a feeling of] peace.” In addition to facilitating feelings of forgiveness, Zach further shared how religious rituals enabled and strengthened him to make changes in his life: My view on the world has drastically changed because of prayer and scripture study . . . My desire to break rules has kind of disappeared …. a lot of the aspects of life that my fellow generation shares, where it’s like, “party hard and enjoy life,” I lost a lot of that because of prayer and scripture study …. Previously it was just “live day to day, enjoy things while you can.” But I think prayer and scripture study lengthened my timeline view and my worldview.
Subtheme B: interpersonal relationships as resources in repentance
The majority of participants reported that their discussions and relationships with others were a resource in their repentance process (14 coded references). Kayla said, “I’m engaged right now! . . . I feel just so blessed to have him in my life and to be able to learn from him ’cause he’s really spiritual and really helps me be a better person.” Tyler similarly said, “I’ve always respected those people most of my life, the ones that even when they are my friend . . . they’re not really content just being my friend. They’re always helping me progress.” In addition to getting help from romantic partners or friends, multiple participants described how discussions with their Bishop (pastor) and other religious leaders helped them repent, and that sharing their mistakes with select others helped them feel forgiven by God. Tyler also described this in his life when he had a struggle involving sexual behavior that was bothering him. He said, I kept hearing talks that said, “You need to talk to the bishop.” So I did, [I] finally went to him. I was so scared that he was gonna be disappointed in me . . . but I remember just walking out of there, feeling like a million bucks. [I remember thinking], “Wow, why did I not talk to him earlier?”
Some participants also noted that their interactions with others helped them gain needed perspectives that helped them change.
Subtheme C: divinely assisted change
All 15 participants reported that they had asked God for or experienced divine assistance in making changes as they sought to repent (33 coded references). In doing so, they expressed the theological belief that repentance would not be possible without Jesus’ sacrifice (or Atonement). Participants also reported the experience of receiving a strength beyond their own that served as a vital resource in making changes. David said, Christ has forgiven and lifted me from something that I thought was impossible to be lifted . . . there [are] no mistakes that I could make in this life . . . that [are] out of Christ’s power . . . to help me.
Zach similarly said, On my mission, I had been reading [in the scriptures] that we needed to forgive everyone . . . [and live] the commandment “Honor thy father and thy mother.” . . . [But] the only two people in my life that I ever . . . I hated was my parents. I realized that was not good …. So, I started praying . . . [I said], “I need this forgiveness, I don’t want this [hatred] anymore.” . . . And it didn’t actually come immediately . . . [but I] left it in the Lord’s hands …. [One day] this wave of peace and forgiveness and love and comfort just hit me all at once . . . and I just started crying . . . Since then, it hasn’t changed. I love my parents despite everything they’ve done, and I know that came from God’s love. That’s where it originated from, ’cause it definitely wasn’t from me.
Theme 4: reported outcomes of repentance
All of the emerging adults in our study described the perceived outcomes of repentance in their life (104 coded references). Following repentance, participants reported experiencing personal changes in their behavior and character, positive emotions (including feelings of divine forgiveness), improved interpersonal relationships, and a better relationship with God.
Subtheme A: repentance led to personal changes in behavior and character
All 15 of the interviewed emerging adults reported that the process of repentance and the experience of divine forgiveness changed their behavior and character in lasting ways (53 coded references). For example, Tyler shared how his experience of repentance and divine forgiveness in his adolescence had a long-term effect on him: “[Since] God was good with me . . . I could just continue going forward even stronger . . . I got rid of [pornography], and I’ve never had an issue with that kind of stuff since.” Similarly, Kayla described the effect of repeated repentance on her character, behavior, and perspective this way: “Being able to recognize how many mistakes I make all the time has really made me feel more compassionate and patient with others when they make mistakes.” Finally, after undergoing the process of repentance for sexual sin, Camilla stated how the process changed her internal desires: It helps me to want to keep the commandments for real . . . If I do go and break it, then I know what I’m going to feel again, and I know I’m gonna have to repent and [go through] all the process [again] . . . [so] it helps me to keep the commandments, [to] not let it go.
Overall, the process of repentance reportedly changed many of the participants in a variety of ways. For example, participants generally felt more committed to their religion and living up to their religion’s standards for behavior. Furthermore, several participants described that the process of repentance helped them to be humble and more moldable, and they reported an increased desire to continue making needed changes in their present and future.
Subtheme B: reported positive emotional outcomes of repentance and divine forgiveness
All but one of the participants described the removal of negative emotions or the presence of positive emotions following repentance and divine forgiveness (37 coded references). Most participants repeated a common analogy that repentance lifted or removed the emotional weight or burden of sin. David said, “Through repentance and through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, that burden was lifted, and I could feel it.” Hannah similarly shared, “Being forgiven is such a peace, and it feels like a burden’s being lifted …. I think sin weighs us down and the Atonement can take that burden off.” In addition to the removal of negative emotions, several participants shared that repentance brought positive emotions. Hannah went on to say, “I heard a quote once that said, ‘repent faster’, and I think, ‘Oh yeah, you might as well, ’cause it’s right there’, and I think there’s peace and love that can be felt because of it.” Grace shared, It took time; repentance does [take time], but [there’s an] immense amount of peace that comes from knowing that you’ve given something up to God . . . something that may have given me temporal enjoyment, but the joy that I receive almost immediately from the Gospel already balances it out so well.
In addition to these descriptions of joy, love, and peace, participants also described several other feelings. These included increased gratitude, self-confidence, happiness, healing, hope, and a sense of meaning, as well as feeling less anxiety and fear about their circumstances.
Subtheme C: repentance improved interpersonal relationships
The majority of participants reported that personal repentance helped their interpersonal (e.g. familial and peer) relationships (23 coded references). In describing ways that repentance influenced their relationships with others, some reported repentance helped them feel closer to others and that it even significantly improved their perceptions of other people. Nathan said, Using the Atonement in my marriage has not only changed me . . . but it’s actually brought me closer to someone else …. The Atonement of Jesus Christ is real, and that power has influenced me, and I try to let it influence me every day . . . [to] change how I see people and how I perceive the world.
Emily similarly recounted how repentance influenced her relationship with her brother: I remember I had a really, really awful fight with my brother, and walking away from that . . . I was thinking . . . “Heavenly Father, I messed up . . . and I want to be better, and I want to do better, and I want to show my brother how much I love him . . . Next time I feel like I am about ready to start that fight with my brother, give me the strength that I need to stop and think about what I’m gonna say, and what I’m gonna do” …. I’ve gotten to the point where I’ve become a little bit . . . stronger with that and that I can really show him how much I love him and that we don’t need to fight.
Participants further reported that repentance helped them reconcile with and forgive others, be less judgmental of others’ mistakes because they were all too familiar with their own, feel love for others, and generally feel happier in their relationships.
Subtheme D: repentance led to a better relationship with God
Nearly all participants described how repentance helped them have a better relationship with God (54 coded references). Many commented on how repentance influenced their perception of feeling worthy before God and how it helped some to anticipate joyfully meeting God after this life. Rebecca said, “[I] feel worthy to stand before God, [while] I definitely have my struggles today, I . . . repent every night, and I still try my best, and I feel like that’s all God asks us to do.” Other participants reported loving God more, experiencing God’s love, and feeling reaffirmed in their relationship with God following repentance and divine forgiveness. David said, “That forgiveness moment . . . just re-solidified that He loves me, and I’m His son.” Lydia said, Because of my experiences with repentance, it has changed my relationship with the Savior, and . . . it’s also changed my perspective of repentance . . . I [now] have a very positive view of it. It’s something that I want to do every day …. As I have repented, I have gained more of an understanding of how the Savior feels about me, and that has changed my relationship with Him.
Discussion
Because of the nascent literature on religious repentance, this study sought to contribute to the literature by qualitatively exploring (a) processes, (b) antecedents and motivations, (c) resources, and (d) outcomes of repentance and divine forgiveness. We will focus our discussion on the unique contributions of our study in these areas and how our findings support and provide insight into prior research. Then, we will discuss limitations and future directions.
Processes of repentance
Our study tentatively confirms that the process of repentance, as described in religious studies (Etzioni & Carney, 1997), is evident among our sample of religious Latter-day Saints. Indeed, recognition and remorse reportedly led participants to reconcile with others and with God and restructure or change their lives. In addition, the processes of divine and interpersonal reconciliation were identified as facilitating lasting personal change. Furthermore, our findings suggest that processes identified in studies of relational repentance (e.g. Exline & Baumeister, 2000) also apply to religious repentance.
Our study also adds unique ideas surrounding repentance processes. There was variation both within and between individuals regarding the length of repentance and change. Repentance was a recurrent and often daily process or ritual for these emerging adults and was one of great significance to them. Given our sample of religious exemplars, our analyses identified relatively few instances of participants exhibiting scrupulosity or perfectionistic tendencies as part of their repentance. However, in each of these cases, these tendencies were discussed in the past tense and were accompanied by a description of what brought them to have a healthier perspective. Often this change was reportedly brought about by a changed perception of God’s nature and expectations of them, as is illustrated by Jessica’s and Lydia’s narratives. This finding supports previous clinical recommendations that those struggling with scrupulosity may benefit from reframing their perspective of God (Weir et al., 2014).
Antecedents and motivations of repentance
In answer to our research question regarding what leads to repentance, we found that emotions, relationships/experiences with God, interpersonal interactions, and religious practices and rituals acted as antecedents to and motivations for repentance. Our findings support previous research using historical accounts that positive experiences with God and his love, as well as self-knowledge, can lead to repentance (Haartman, 2007). Although some research suggests that those with a highly forgiving image of God will be more likely to engage in deviant behavior (DeBono et al., 2017), our study provides a contrasting perspective with religious emerging adults reporting that their image of God as a merciful forgiver led them to repent and make lasting changes, including more prosocial behavior. Further, this study provides support that guilt can motivate repentance (Murray-Swank et al., 2007), and similarly builds upon the finding in non-religious studies of repentance that pre-emptive forgiveness can promote repentance (Struthers et al., 2008). Relatedly, theoretical work differentiates between neurotic guilt for sin that is associated with self-punishment and signal guilt that signals to individuals their need for repentance (Meissner, 2004). Although signal guilt leads to growth and development, neurotic guilt might impede spiritual progress. These theoretical propositions should be further explored.
In addition, this study uniquely identifies several reported motivations or antecedents of repentance. These include positive emotions such as gratitude, recognizing the lack of positive emotions (e.g. a loss of peace), an identity of always striving to be and do better, participating in religious practices and rituals, and positive examples of and interactions with others.
Resources to aid in repentance
The present study importantly builds upon the little research noted in the literature review that has been done on resources to aid in repentance. Our findings harmonize with and build upon previous qualitative work, indicating that interpersonal interactions and support (Fachitiandi & Permadi, 2020), as well as communal worship and confession (Abernethy et al., 2016), are helpful resources in achieving repentance goals. The reports of divinely assisted personal change in this study also build upon and support previous work on grace and divine intervention (Bronte & Wade, 2012; Emmons et al., 2017). Our study uniquely identifies religious practices and rituals (including private worship and religious study), as well as sharing one’s beliefs with others as potential resources in repentance.
Because prior clinical work has proposed that repentance may serve as an effective spiritual intervention for women with eating disorders (Richards et al., 2009) and in general therapeutic practices (O’Grady & Richards, 2009), clinicians and clergy may benefit from facilitating these resources in the lives of individuals seeking change. Specifically, if a client wants to work from a repentance framework, it may be valuable to help the client identify and utilize relational and religious resources such as these in achieving their goals. Given that a strong relationship with and positive image of God can provide support in various circumstances, including disability (Underwood, 2000), this resource may particularly be valuable to cultivate.
Reported outcomes of repentance
Our study contributes to the theoretical notion discussed in the literature review that religious repentance processes can lead to lasting change and that such beliefs and processes can aid in the process of moral self-regulation (Baumeister et al., 2010). In addition, similar to Abernethy et al. (2016), we found that after repentance and divine forgiveness, participants experienced positive emotional outcomes. This study also supports prior findings that repentance processes can lead to the perception or experience of divine forgiveness (vanOyen Witvliet et al., 2002). Furthermore, findings from this study support the theory of generative devotion that posits that repentance appears to be a generally positive relationally oriented process (Dollahite et al., 2019). Similarly, our finding that repentance helped these emerging adults be less judgmental of others supports the prior theoretical proposition that repentance can help individuals be more sensitive to others (Hoenkamp-Bisschops, 2000). Furthermore, the present study affirmed a previous finding that repentance can help individuals to connect with God (Clayton-Jones et al., 2016) but does so with an emerging adult sample and with a different religious denomination.
Limitations
Our sample was small and exploratory. It is also important to note that although purposive (i.e. exemplar) sampling is ideal for providing in-depth insights into a given phenomenon, the findings may not be generalizable. Although our highly religious sample provides unique insights into the phenomenon of repentance at highly developed stages, they do not represent the experience of less religious people (e.g. information about repentance processes, antecedents, motivations, and resources). Therefore, less religious people may have more negative experiences associated with repentance. Nevertheless, the present work provides an adaptive model for repentance that can aid individuals and clinicians to adopt a healthy repentance process. In addition, this study recruited emerging adults to study this period of development, and these findings may not be consistent across different developmental stages.
Furthermore, because this was a religiously homogeneous university sample, research is needed to explore these processes in other demographics. Because of these limitations, it is necessary to discuss the potential transferability of these findings to other religions, cultures, and contexts, as well as to discuss a few key areas that would particularly benefit from exploration in other samples.
Bearing in mind the religious homogeneity of the sample, we now discuss the potential transferability of these findings to other religions. One nationally representative US study found that Protestants and Catholics were not significantly different in their perception of feelings of divine forgiveness, despite their differences in religious belief (Toussaint & Williams, 2008). Relatedly, although Latter-day Saints may differ from other religions in their beliefs about repentance, given their many similarities with sectarian Protestants (Lehman & Sherkat, 2018), the reported outcomes of divine forgiveness discussed here may be like those in other Christian religions. However, we recognize there are meaningful differences. For example, some religious practices that reportedly motivated and enabled participants’ repentance are somewhat distinct from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (e.g. reading in the Book of Mormon, proselyting missions for 18 months to 2 years). We argue there would be great value in identifying both religion-specific and across-religion repentance practices. Furthermore, because of differences in the expression and experience of emotion across religions, variations likely would arise in other studies exploring the motivational and consequential role of emotions in repentance (Kim-Prieto & Diener, 2009). One specific example of this is that on average, Muslims experience significantly higher guilt and shame than Christians or Jews (Kim-Prieto & Diener, 2009). In addition, some religions (e.g. Muslims and Christians) differ in the teaching that a transgressor’s repentance is required before forgiveness should be offered (Azar & Mullet, 2002; Mullet & Azar, 2009). Thus, findings regarding the interpersonal benefits of repentance may differ in intensity and prevalence across religions.
It is also critical to note potential limitations in the transferability of these findings to other cultures and contexts. Individuals in individualistic countries, particularly men, report less intense feelings of guilt than those in collectivist countries (Fischer & Manstead, 2000). Accordingly, the role of guilt in repentance might be better understood by contrasting samples from diverse (e.g. collectivist versus individualist) countries. In addition, women across cultures and countries tend to experience more guilt than men (Fischer & Manstead, 2000); thus, future work might seek to understand potential gender differences in emotions of repentance. Furthermore, because few participants were married and none were parents, the potential relational repercussions of repentance should be explored in marital or parent-child contexts.
Future directions
There are many directions for future research on religious repentance. We recommend five specific potential directions. First, the processes, antecedents, motivations, resources, and outcomes mentioned in this article should be tested quantitatively and qualitatively in more extensive, generalizable samples with multiple religions. Some empirical work has investigated repentance in Muslims (Uyun et al., 2019), Jews (Yair, 2021), Christians (vanOyen Witvliet et al., 2011), and across religions (Mullet & Azar, 2009), but more research is needed. Future research may also benefit from exploring how interpersonal interactions may help or hinder repentance. Although our participants described how the example of and interactions with others acted as a resource in their repentance, we note that interactions with others may at times act as an obstacle to one’s repentance. For example, some may experience what has been termed “Bishop roulette,” where ecclesiastical responses to repentant confessions appear to be inconsistent (Shoemaker & Griffin, 2017).
Second, although prior research on religious repentance has examined repentance as it relates to forgiveness and reconciliation, this study indicates that further research should be undertaken to understand repentance as a process of change. Third, we recognize and recommend that continuing research on these processes study both the positive and negative relational, spiritual, and emotional consequences of repentance and divine forgiveness. One important avenue of research in examining the positive and negative repercussions of repentance is to find what distinguishes the kind of positive repentance reported in this study from maladaptive scrupulosity. Some factors that may distinguish the two include differences in motivations such as perfectionistic expectations as well as signal or neurotic guilt.
Fourth, given the connections between divine forgiveness, self-forgiveness, and interpersonal forgiveness (Fincham & May, 2022), additional work is necessary to explore connections between repentance and these domains of forgiveness. We echo Exline et al.’s (2003) theorizing that one specific and potentially fruitful line of research would be to test if a desire to forgive the self leads to repentance. Future research may also benefit from testing if the relationship between divine forgiveness and self-forgiveness or interpersonal forgiveness is different depending upon whether the divine forgiveness was conditional (e.g. repentance was required before forgiveness was granted). Fifth, quantitative work on repentance is needed, particularly using experimental, longitudinal, or experience sampling methods to establish causality and understand dynamic processes over time.
Conclusion
In The Varieties of Religious Experience, William James (1902) described potential difficulties and possibilities regarding repentance and healthy-minded or sick-souled religion. He recognized the potential harm in dwelling and harrowing ourselves regarding evil and likens doing so to being a disease. In this line of thought, he said, “The best repentance is to up and act for righteousness, and forget that you ever had relations with sin.” Relatedly, the emerging adults in our study described how a critical part of repentance in their minds was to make changes. Furthermore, they reported that repentance was a deeply meaningful construct positively related to their relational, spiritual, and emotional well-being. Much prior work has been done on the positive psychological virtue of forgiveness (McCullough & Witvliet, 2002), and we argue that it may be similarly beneficial to give attention to its sister virtue of repentance. Although we strongly advocate for future research on repentance as a religious construct, we similarly recommend that scholars continue to study repentance as a relational, individual, and psychological construct related to change and reconciliation. This study is among the first to systematically explore repentance processes, antecedents, motivations, resources, and outcomes in this unique developmental period. We hope and anticipate that it will instigate further rigorous empirical investigation of repentance.
Supplemental Material
sj-docx-1-prj-10.1177_00846724221133137 – Supplemental material for Qualitatively exploring repentance processes, antecedents, motivations, resources, and outcomes in Latter-day Saints
Supplemental material, sj-docx-1-prj-10.1177_00846724221133137 for Qualitatively exploring repentance processes, antecedents, motivations, resources, and outcomes in Latter-day Saints by Justin J Hendricks, Jocelyn Cazier, Jenae M Nelson, Loren D Marks and Sam A Hardy in Archive for the Psychology of Religion/Archiv Für Religionpsychologie
Footnotes
Funding
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This research was funded by internal grants from Brigham Young University.
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