Discover Forgiveness
Forgiveness is central to our commitment to fund innovations for human flourishing.
Forgiveness is an age-old practice, and its benefits are more than anecdotal. When people forgive, positive emotions—empathy, love, compassion—replace negative ones, transforming people’s lives. Over the past twenty years, scientific research on forgiveness has given us simple interventions that improve physical health, mental wellbeing, and personal relationships.
Templeton World Charity Foundation, along with the John Templeton Foundation, has funded the study of forgiveness for more than two decades. As the field advances, a growing body of evidence supports the healing power of forgiveness.More than 70 studies have found that forgiveness significantly improves mental health outcomes such as depression, anger, hostility, and stress. Reports also show decreased blood pressure, heart rate, and cortisol. These studies looked at a range of contexts: individual and group settings, different types and lengths of treatment, and countries as diverse as the United States, South Korea, Sierra Leone, Malaysia, Switzerland, Colombia, South Africa, Indonesia, Ukraine, and Hong Kong.
Using rigorous science, we aim to build an ecosystem of data-driven innovations and tools that make forgiveness accessible to anyone.
In 2020, we launched a campaign for individuals to Discover Forgiveness. Targeting frontline workers of forgiveness—educators, mental health professionals and religious leaders— we launched DiscoverForgiveness.org, the first-ever digital space housing key research into the science of forgiveness. Discover Forgiveness is a joint initiative of the Templeton World Charity Foundation and the John Templeton Foundation and has been supported by a scientific advisory council. Its goal is to share how the science of forgiveness is interwoven across cultures and contexts, geographies, and traditions.
Want to learn or teach about Forgiveness?
Find validated research, tools and multimedia content on DiscoverForgiveness.org.
REACHing for Forgiveness
The science of forgiveness has provided exciting insight into how we forgive and the impact it has on us.The REACH model, recently the subject of a global randomized controlled trial conducted in six languages in sites across the world — the largest ever forgiveness study of its kind. It found that those who followed the workbook showed significant reductions in unforgiveness, depression symptoms, and anxiety symptoms, compared to a group who was delayed in receipt of the workbook.
Learn more about the largest forgiveness study ever held in this video.
