Forgiveness

== Popular recognition ==
The need to forgive is widely recognized, but people are often at a loss for ways to accomplish it. For example, in a large representative sampling of American people on various religious topics in 1988, the Gallup Organization found that 94% said it was important to forgive, but 85% said they needed some outside help to be able to forgive. However, not even regular prayer was found to be effective.

Akin to forgiveness is [[mercy]], so even if a person is not able to complete the forgiveness process they can still show mercy, especially when so many wrongs are done out of weakness rather than malice. The [[Gallup poll]] revealed that the only thing that was effective{{specify|reason=what did it effect? how was this effectiveness measured?|date=July 2023}} was "[[meditation|meditative prayer]]".<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Gorsuch | first1 = R. L. | last2 = Hao | first2 = J. Y. | year = 1993 | title = Forgiveness: An exploratory factor analysis and its relationship to religious variables | url = https://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=96262671 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20040921041403/http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=96262671 | url-status = dead | archive-date = 2004-09-21 | journal = Review of Religious Research | volume = 34 | issue = 4 | pages = 351–363 | doi = 10.2307/3511971 | jstor = 3511971 }}</ref>

Forgiveness as a tool has been extensively used in such areas as [[restorative justice]] programs,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.breakingthecycle.com/about|title=About Breaking the Cycle, A project of the Bruderhof|website=www.breakingthecycle.com|access-date=2020-01-18}}</ref> after the abolition of [[apartheid]] in the [[Truth and Reconciliation Commission (South Africa)|truth and reconciliation]] process, among victims and perpetrators of [[Rwandan genocide]], in response to the violence in the [[Israeli–Palestinian conflict]] and the [[Northern Ireland conflict]]. This has been documented in the film ''[[Beyond Right and Wrong: Stories of Justice and Forgiveness]]'' (2012).<ref>{{multiref2
|1={{cite news |title=The key to forgiveness is the refusal to seek revenge |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/belief/2013/feb/08/key-forgiveness-refusal-seek-revenge |work=The Guardian |date=8 February 2013 |access-date=Feb 21, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140324002701/http://www.theguardian.com/uk/belief/2013/feb/08/key-forgiveness-refusal-seek-revenge |archive-date=24 March 2014 }}
|2={{cite web|title=Beyond Right & Wrong: Stories of Justice and Forgiveness|url=http://theforgivenessproject.com/beyond-right-wrong-stories-of-justice-and-forgiveness/|date=February 1, 2013|publisher=Forgiveness Project|access-date=February 22, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130302112321/http://theforgivenessproject.com/beyond-right-wrong-stories-of-justice-and-forgiveness/|archive-date=March 2, 2013}}
}}</ref>

Forgiveness is associated with the theory of [[emotion]] because it draws from a person's emotional connection with the situation. Forgiveness is something that most people are taught to understand and practice at a young age. The philosopher [[Joseph Butler]] (''Fifteen Sermons'') defined forgiveness as "overcoming of resentment, the overcoming of moral hatred, as a speech act, and as forbearance".<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Newberry|first=Paul A.|date=April 2001|title=Joseph Butler on Forgiveness: A Presupposed Theory of Emotion|journal=Journal of the History of Ideas|volume=62|issue=2|pages=233–244|doi=10.2307/3654356|jstor=3654356}}</ref>