A person who has been wronged chooses to release resentment and the claim to repayment. That act is forgiveness. Religious traditions treat it as both a divine attribute and a human duty.

Scriptures urge believers to forgive as they have been forgiven. Rituals of confession and absolution institutionalize the process. Forgiveness does not always require reconciliation or the removal of consequences; it primarily concerns the inner release of bitterness. Difficult cases test the teaching when injuries are severe or unrepented.

Psychological studies note benefits for the forgiver’s mental health, yet religious framing goes further by rooting the practice in the character of God or the order of the universe. Communities that practice forgiveness interrupt cycles of retaliation. The demand remains one of the most challenging and distinctive elements of many faiths.

Forgiveness is often harder to practice than to praise.