Dimensions Of Forgiveness

Everett Worthington is one of the most cited researchers in forgiveness psychology, and this 1998 edited volume he compiled for Templeton Foundation Press brings together genuine heavyweights — Roy Baumeister, Robert Enright, Kenneth Pargament, Martin Marty — to synthesize the emerging science of forgiveness alongside theological perspectives from Jewish, Christian, and other traditions. The interdisciplinary reach is the book's great strength: it holds scientific rigor and religious seriousness together rather than treating them as opposites. For scholars, therapists, and clergy engaging forgiveness seriously, this is foundational. Faith readers will find multiple religious frameworks treated with genuine respect. The honest caveats are that academic density makes it inaccessible to casual readers, the 1998 date means it predates two decades of forgiveness research, and it is not a practical how-to guide. Approach it as the scholarly foundation it is.