Framing Forgiveness: An Analysis from the Offender's Point of View
This article examines (1) how offenders (i.e., death row inmates) express forgiveness at the moment of imminent death, (2) why certain expressions of forgiveness are used more frequently than others, and (3) whether there is any change over time in the hierarchy of preferred forgiveness expressions....
| Auteur principal: | |
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| Type de support: | Électronique Article |
| Langue: | Anglais |
| Vérifier la disponibilité: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | En cours de chargement...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Publié: |
Springer
[2019]
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| Dans: |
Review of religious research
Année: 2019, Volume: 61, Numéro: 4, Pages: 341-363 |
| Sujets / Chaînes de mots-clés standardisés: | B
Jim Crow Laws
/ Condannato a morte
/ Ultime parole
/ Perdono
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| RelBib Classification: | AD Sociologie des religions CB Spiritualité chrétienne CH Christianisme et société KBQ Amérique du Nord ZB Sociologie |
| Sujets non-standardisés: | B
Offender
B Forgiveness dimensions B death penalty B Last words B Religious forgiveness |
| Accès en ligne: |
Volltext (Resolving-System) |
| Résumé: | This article examines (1) how offenders (i.e., death row inmates) express forgiveness at the moment of imminent death, (2) why certain expressions of forgiveness are used more frequently than others, and (3) whether there is any change over time in the hierarchy of preferred forgiveness expressions. Offenders frame forgiveness in religious terms for the most part and they prioritize forgiveness primarily by seeking religious forgiveness from others, and secondarily by seeking forgiveness from God for themselves. From there, a declining share of offenders use their final words to forgive others (religious context), and seek forgiveness from others (religious context). Religious coping theory explains this hierarchy as essentially an attempt to gain intimacy with others, followed by a need to establish control and gain comfort and closeness to God. The few nonreligious attempts to seek forgiveness from others are interpreted as efforts to gain empathy with one's victims, express adaptive guilt, and engage behaviors of reparative action, while nonreligious attempts to offer forgiveness to others are interpreted as efforts to enhance psychological well-being. Analysis of change over time reveals an increase in expressions of religious forgiveness that parallels the implementation of policies that allow the family and friends of murder victims to witness an offender's execution. The implications of these findings for the future study of forgiveness are discussed. |
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| ISSN: | 2211-4866 |
| Contient: | Enthalten in: Review of religious research
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1007/s13644-019-00385-y |