Heeding the Call from McCullough: Is Religion Related to Retrospective Trends in Forgiveness Over Time?

Abstract

This study explores the use of a new retrospective method of forgiveness to study forgiveness trends in religious individuals. This article tries to establish an initial “proof of concept” for this new method. Also, the growth trends in emotional forgiveness and how decisional forgiveness as well as religious commitment affect these patterns are explored. Participants (N=238) were recruited at a university setting answered questions about a specific offense. They then recalled their level of forgiveness of the same offense at various time points, including immediately after the offense and the present, as well as their level of decisional forgiveness and religious commitment. Decisional forgiveness predicted both initial levels of forgiveness and changes in forgiveness over time. Religious commitment did not predict either initial levels of forgiveness or change in forgiveness. The implications of these findings, as well as the initial “proof of concept,” are discussed. The possible benefits of using this new retrospective method in place of traditional longitudinal methods are also discussed. Limitations with the validity of the retrospective method and the need for further studies to validate the method are noted.

Keywords

positive psychology psychology of religion

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