Forgiving Others and Compassion

Abstract

The virtue of forgiving others and the virtue of compassion occupy a pivotal position in the core study model because they provide an important point of departure for explaining how spiritual support affects health. This fundamental issue is explored in three sections: (1) a theoretical rationale for focusing specifically on forgiveness and compassion is provided—in the process the social underpinning of these virtues is highlighted; (2) studies on the relationship between forgiveness and health as well as compassion and health are reviewed; (3) a submodel is introduced that aims to flesh out the nature of the relationship between spiritual support and these two social virtues is provided.