The world is witnessing astonishing acts of forgiveness and of seeking forgiveness. Pope John Paul II made a comprehensive apology for the sins committed by the Roman Catholic Church and its members against groups of people throughout its history. In South Africa, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission submitted its Final Report to President Nelson Mandela. Prime Minister Tony Blair, of the United Kingdom, sought forgiveness for England's role in the Irish Potato Famine. Leaders of Cambodia's Khmer Rouge have come forward in search of amnesty. Following September 11, 2001, Palestinian and Israeli officials issued orders to pull back from aggression and violence.

We see its effects in our communities as well: when warring gangs call for a cease-fire after years of senseless killings; when a spouse accepts into their home a marriage partner who has repented from unfaithfulness; when a former addict becomes sober, makes amends, and is fully restored to family and community.

Each time we witness an act of forgiveness, we marvel at its power to heal, to break a seemingly unending cycle of pain. Forgiveness is something virtually all Americans aspire to -- 94% surveyed in a nationwide Gallup poll said it was important to forgive -- but it is not something we frequently offer. (In the same survey, only 48% said they usually tried to forgive others.) Perhaps this is because forgiveness is something we don't fully understand. Perhaps, as Friedrich Nietzsche did, we associate forgiveness with weakness. Or perhaps we view forgiveness as an almost saintly quality that imbues only the very special and most certainly cannot be learned.

In fact, the opposite is true. Those who have studied it can tell you without qualification that forgiveness is a sign of strength. Not only is it a very human quality, displays of forgiveness and reconciliation are common among monkeys, apes and other primates, and suggest this behavior has been around for over thirty million years. And research conducted at the University of Wisconsin in 1997 indicates forgiveness can be taught and with positive resutlts.

• Building Roads to Reconciliation
• The Power of Forgiveness
• Research into the Strength of Forgiveness
• Funded Research Projects
• Other Active Researchers
• Campaign Leaders
• Campaign Video
• Contact the Campaign
• Media Coverage About Forgiveness

Lewis B. Smedes

"[Four case] studies, taken as a whole, suggest that forgiveness may be taught and learned, and that the outcomes can be quite favorable. Across all of the studies, there was not one instance in which a group experiencing forgiveness education showed a decline in psychological health. In fact, statistically significant improvement in such variables as hope and self-esteem, as well as significant decreases in anxiety and depression, were more the rule than the exception."