What Research Tells Us About Forgiveness

A growing body of research suggests that forgiveness is not only a private moral act. It is also connected to human flourishing.

Recent findings from the Global Flourishing Study provide one of the broadest views yet of forgiveness across cultures. Using nationally representative data from more than 200,000 adults across 22 geographically and culturally diverse countries, researchers examined how often people report forgiving those who hurt them, how forgiveness varies across demographic groups, what childhood factors may shape forgiveness later in life, and how forgiveness is associated with subsequent well-being.

The first study found substantial cross-national variation. Across the countries studied, the proportion of people who reported “often” or “always” forgiving others ranged from 41 percent in Türkiye to 92 percent in Nigeria. This suggests that forgiveness is widely present across societies, but also deeply shaped by social, cultural, and personal contexts.

A second study examined childhood predictors of forgivingness in adulthood. The findings suggest that early life may matter: better childhood health, greater family financial security, more frequent religious service attendance, and higher-quality relationships with mothers and fathers were each associated with a higher likelihood of forgivingness later in life.

These findings do not mean that childhood determines whether someone can forgive, but they do suggest that family, community, and early social environments may help cultivate the capacity for forgiveness.

A third study followed participants over time and examined forgiveness in relation to 56 later well-being outcomes. The results suggested that forgivingness was associated with better subsequent well-being, especially in psychological well-being, social well-being, and character and prosocial behavior. The associations were generally stronger for these domains than for physical health or socioeconomic outcomes.

Taken together, the research points to a simple but important conclusion: forgiveness matters. It may help release people from resentment and rumination, support emotional peace, strengthen relationships, and contribute to the character and social bonds that sustain human flourishing.

If you're interested in learning more about forgiveness, visit the Human Flourishing Program’s Global Forgiveness Movement, an initiative dedicated to making evidence-based forgiveness resources more accessible to individuals, organizations, and communities.