The willingness to forgive is a powerful indicator of human flourishing, according to new data from the American Bible Society’s “State of the Bible USA 2024 Report.”
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The most recent data, released last week, was predicated, in part, on a proclamation with which respondents were asked to agree or disagree. It read, “I am able to sincerely forgive whatever someone else has done to me, regardless of whether they ever ask for forgiveness or not.”
Respondents’ responses to this statement offered key insights into how a willingness to grant forgiveness — a key concept embedded in the Christian faith — can impact people’s happiness.
“People who agreed most strongly with that forgiveness statement scored significantly higher than others in Human Flourishing and Hope Agency,” the report reads. “People who disagreed scored lower.”
The “State of the Bible USA 2024 Report” considers human flourishing a concept that involves “happiness, health, purpose, character, and relationships.” Forgiveness is affiliated with each of these.
“Those who ‘agree strongly’ that they can forgive others are a full two points higher on the overall flourishing score (7.6 to 5.4) than those who ‘disagree strongly,’” the report continues. “We find a similar pattern when we
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