Description

The Forgiveness Subscale of the Multidimensional Measurement of Religiousness/Spirituality (MMRS) is a component of a broader psychometric tool developed to assess various dimensions of religiosity and spirituality. The forgiveness subscale focuses on measuring an individual’s ability and tendency to forgive others, themselves, and to experience forgiveness from God or the divine.

Objective

The primary objective of the Forgiveness Subscale of the MMRS is to provide a reliable and valid tool for assessing forgiveness as a part of religious and spiritual experience. This tool helps researchers and clinicians understand how forgiveness impacts mental health, interpersonal relationships, and overall well-being.

Analysis

The Forgiveness Subscale of the MMRS consists of a series of statements that assess the following dimensions of forgiveness:
Forgiveness of Others:
Evaluates an individual’s ability and willingness to forgive those who have hurt them.
Example statements:
“I forgive others easily when they hurt me.”
Self-Forgiveness:
Refers to an individual’s ability to forgive themselves for mistakes and wrongdoings.
Example statements:
“I can forgive myself when I make mistakes.”
Divine Forgiveness:
Evaluates the individual’s experience of feeling forgiven by God or the divine.
Example statements:
“I feel that God has forgiven me for my mistakes.”

Scoring

The Forgiveness Subscale of the MMRS is scored using Likert scales, where participants rate each statement on a scale from 1 (never) to 5 (always). Responses are collected and analyzed to generate overall scores for each dimension of forgiveness. Higher scores indicate a greater ability and willingness to forgive.

References

Fetzer Institute, & National Institute on Aging Working Group. (1999). Multidimensional Measurement of Religiousness/Spirituality for Use in Health Research: A Report of the Fetzer Institute/National Institute on Aging Working Group.
Idler, E. L., Musick, M. A., Ellison, C. G., George, L. K., Krause, N., Ory, M. G., … & Williams, D. R. (2003). Measuring multiple dimensions of religion and spirituality for health research: Conceptual background and findings from the 1998 General Social Survey. Research on Aging, 25(4), 327-365.
McCullough, M. E., & Worthington, E. L. Jr. (1999). Religion and the forgiving personality. Journal of Personality, 67(6), 1141-1164.
Exline, J. J., & Geyer, A. L. (2004). Perceptions of sanctity and the role of forgiveness in the context of social harm. In J. L. Mahoney, R. K. Pargament, & E. Shafranske (Eds.), Religion and the individual: Belief, practice, and identity (pp. 257-286). Guilford Press.