Being hurt by others is common and can be deeply painful. How we answer it can affect our individual and collective well-being. Which raises the question of forgiveness.
In recent decades, researchers have helped us better understand how people experience forgiveness and how it affects our lives. THE Global Flourishing Study seeks to enrich this knowledge by a more global perspective. Launched in 2021, the study tracks people over time to understand what a good life looks like in different parts of the world – including health, happiness, meaning, relationships, character and financial security. It is the first study to measure forgiveness in national samples from many different cultures and settings.
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A large part of my work as a psychology researcher examines human flourishing, including data from Global Flourishing Study. In the first wave of data from more than 200,000 participants in 22 countries, my colleagues and I found that about 75% of people reported having “often” or “always” forgiven those who had hurt them. Percentages varied between countries, ranging from 41% in Turkey to 92% in Nigeria.
All five African countries included in the study – Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa and Tanzania – ranked in the top six. This should not be interpreted as implying that one region “does forgiveness better” than another, but rather shows the central role of forgiveness as a human force in African continent.
The variation between countries around the world suggests that forgiveness is shaped by cultural and contextual influences, including norms for maintaining social harmony and religious teachings on responding to offences.
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In a new longitudinal analysis Using two waves of Global Flourishing Study data collected about a year apart, we examined whether people who reported being more forgiving tended to report better well-being about a year later. We found that forgiveness predicted somewhat higher well-being across several of the 56 outcomes, including mental health, purpose in life, relationship satisfaction, and hope.
Decades of research have highlighted similar links. But this new analysis is unique. Because of its cross-national scale and range of results, it provides one of the most comprehensive tests of the link between forgiveness and flourishing.
Forgiveness can be strengthened
We are often drawn to stories of extraordinary forgiveness, such as when we read in the news for people who forgive perpetrators of extreme violence. But dramatic experiences of forgiveness are not part of everyone’s story. The reality is that forgiveness can be difficult for many people.
The good news is that forgiveness is not a rare quality that some of us have and others lack. Studies have shown that forgiveness is like a muscle that we can strengthen.
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Our big one multiple, randomized trial with more than 4,500 people in Colombia, Indonesia, Hong Kong, South Africa and Ukraine used three hour forgiveness workbook (reflective exercises, writing activities, educational materials, and the like) that participants completed to help them forgive a particular hurt.
We found that the workbook improved forgiveness, anxiety, depression, and overall well-being. Although some situations may require more support than a workbook can provide, these results suggest that even a short do-it-yourself forgiveness workbook can be helpful to many people with unresolved pain.
The workbook is based on the widely studied REACH forgiveness model and it is free to download and use. It is also available in many languagesmaking it easier for many people to use the language they are most comfortable with.
Forgiveness is a process
People sometimes resist forgiveness because it can seem like asking someone to justify a wrongdoing, forsake justice, or reopen the door to an unsafe relationship. But that doesn’t mean forgiveness.
Forgiveness is a process that involves choosing not to seek retribution, working to release resentment, and moving toward greater compassion for the person who hurt us.
While many people in the first wave of the Global Affluence Study endorsed a tendency to forgive others, about 25% of people across all countries reported having “rarely” or “never” forgiven those who had hurt them.
These results suggest that there may be value in making resources available to those who want to forgive but find it difficult. This could empower people to seek forgiveness on their own terms when it is safe and appropriate.
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Initiatives such as Global Forgiveness Movement have been established with this in mind. However, scaling up access and uptake of forgiveness resources requires partnerships and ongoing engagement across health systems, workplaces, schools, faith communities, and civic organizations. This may be particularly important in settings where mental health services are less available or accessible.
If we can expand opportunities for people to consider, access, and engage with tools of forgiveness in ways that preserve autonomy, safety, and justice, the benefits for individual well-being can ripple outward into a more flourishing humanity.
This possibility invites each of us to consider how we can participate in the creation of the world a more forgiving place.
