Forgiving doesn’t mean forgetting the harm. Forgiving is about breaking the bond with the one who caused it and overcoming the trauma. Through interviews with experts and practitioners and digital mapping, we identified forgiveness practices and tools to make them available to those who need to apply them.
About the project
Research across various disciplines has shown that the practice of forgiveness improves mental and physical health. Forgiving doesn’t mean forgetting, allowing abuse to continue, or maintaining an amicable relationship with the wrongdoer. In this project, which starts with an academic definition of the term, forgiveness means letting go (of resentment, hatred, and bitterness) and breaking the emotional bond with the person or group responsible for the harm. It’s an individual action that may or may not involve the wrongdoer, depending on the victim’s choice.
Forgiveness is important because it’s a process of healing and overcoming trauma. Often, support from a therapist, religious leader, teacher, or expert is needed for forgiveness to take place. However, these individuals merely act as mediators, and the victims play a central role.
Through 65 interviews with experts from around the world and digital research, we have identified forgiveness practices and tools used in the fields of science, religion, and indigenous communities. The goal is to make them accessible to psychologists, community leaders, social workers, etc., so that both academic/theoretical work and practices from specific communities can be more readily available.
When
July – November 2022.
Contributor
Supported by Templeton World Charity Foundation.
