Religion and the process of forgiveness in late life

In-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with 129 elderly people in o rder to examine the process of religiously motivated forgiveness in late li fe. In particular, the purpose was to see how older people go about forgivi ng each other, and to explore the role played by religion in this process. Three major themes emerged from the data having to do with: (1) the factors influencing whether elderly people are willing to forgive others; (2) what transgressors must do to be forgiven; and (3) whether the process of forgi veness is complete (i.e., whether older adults can forget as well as forgiv e). The implications of these findings for the study of forgiveness and hea lth in late life are explored.