Title
Can Religion Promote Virtue?: A More Stringent Test of the Model of Relational Spirituality and Forgiveness
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2012
Publication Source
International Journal for the Psychology of Religion
Volume Number
22
Issue Number
4
First Page
252
Last Page
266
Publisher
Routledge
ISSN
1050-8619
Abstract
Rather than simply studying whether religious individuals are more forgiving than nonreligious individuals, recent research has focused on how religion may promote a more fluid and efficient forgiveness process. The present studies sought to strengthen evidence for a model of relational spirituality and forgiveness (Davis, Hook, & Worthington, 2008), given the reliance of prior studies on cross-sectional designs that did not control for hurtfulness of the offense. In Study 1, spiritual appraisals predicted unforgiveness, controlling for hurtfulness and other covariates. Furthermore, using structural equation modeling, empathy was found to partially mediate the relationship between spiritual appraisals and unforgiveness. In Study 2, participants (N = 123) completed a survey weekly for 6 weeks that included measures of relational spirituality and forgiveness. Appraisals of relational spirituality predicted subsequent unforgiveness, as well as the rate of decline in unforgiveness. Thus, using a more stringent test, we found additional evidence for the model.
Keywords
SELF-REGULATION; SCALE; DESECRATION; VALIDATION; REFINEMENT; COMMITMENT; ATTITUDES; HEALTH
Recommended Citation
Davis, Don E., Joshua N. Hook, Daryl R. VanTongeren, Aubrey L. Gartner and Everett L. Worthington, Jr. "Can Religion Promote Virtue?: A More Stringent Test of the Model of Relational Spirituality and Forgiveness." International Journal for the Psychology of Religion 22, no. 4.00 (2012): 252-266.
