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Love & Relationships

What do different religions say about forgiveness?

One question. Nine perspectives. Original sources.

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Overview

Forgiveness appears in every one of the nine traditions, but it is not the same idea in each. Some frame it as a duty owed because God forgives; some as the release of hatred for one's own liberation; some as repair of a relationship that requires the wrongdoer's part; and one — Shinto — expresses it less as a doctrine than as ritual purification that restores harmony.

Nine perspectives

Christianity

From scripture

Forgiveness is central to Jesus' teaching and is tied directly to God's forgiveness of us: the Lord's Prayer asks forgiveness 'as we also have forgiven', and Jesus tells Peter to forgive not seven but 'seventy-seven times'. Paul asks believers to forgive one another 'as God in Christ has forgiven you'. Churches differ on how forgiveness relates to repentance, confession and justice.

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Islam

From scripture

The Qur'an repeatedly describes God as Forgiving and Merciful and commends those who 'pardon and overlook'. Retaliation in proportion is permitted, but forgiveness and reconciliation are praised as the better course, and restraining anger and pardoning people is listed among the marks of the righteous.

  • Qur'an 24:22 — 'Let them pardon and overlook. Would you not love for Allah to forgive you?'
  • Qur'an 42:40 — Proportionate response is allowed; whoever forgives and reconciles is rewarded by God.
  • Qur'an 3:134 — The righteous restrain anger and pardon people.
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Judaism

From scripture

Judaism distinguishes sins against God from sins against another person. For the latter, Yom Kippur does not atone until the wrongdoer has appeased the person harmed — forgiveness follows teshuvah (repentance and repair). The Torah forbids bearing a grudge, and Maimonides teaches that once a wrongdoer has sincerely asked, the injured party should not be cruel in withholding forgiveness.

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Buddhism

From scripture

Buddhism approaches forgiveness through the release of hatred and the cultivation of loving-kindness (metta). The Dhammapada teaches that hatred is never appeased by hatred, only by non-hatred, and that anger is conquered by non-anger. Holding resentment is understood as harming oneself; forgiveness is part of freeing the mind.

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Hinduism

From scripture

Forgiveness (kshama) is listed in the Bhagavad Gita among the divine qualities, alongside non-violence, truthfulness and compassion. It is considered a virtue of the strong rather than the weak, and the epics contain extended praise of forbearance. Schools differ on how forgiveness interacts with karma and justice.

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Sikhism

From scripture

The Guru Granth Sahib says plainly, in the words of Bhagat Kabir, that 'where there is forgiveness, there is God Himself.' Sheikh Farid's saloks counsel not striking back at those who strike you. Forgiveness flows from overcoming ego (haumai) and recognising the one divine light in all.

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Bahá'í Faith

From scripture

Bahá'u'lláh's Hidden Words warn against dwelling on others' sins while one is a sinner oneself, and the Kitáb-i-Aqdas calls for consorting with all peoples in amity and concord. Bahá'í teaching treats forgiveness as part of the oneness of humanity: the remedy for enmity is love, not retaliation.

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Taoism

From scripture

The Tao Te Ching counsels requiting injury with kindness (ch. 63) and describes the sage as good to those who are good and also to those who are not (ch. 49). It also observes that even after a quarrel is settled some resentment remains, so the sage does not press claims (ch. 79). Forgiveness here is less a command than the natural way of one who has let go of contention.

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Shinto

Expressed through practice — no direct text

Shinto has no doctrinal text on forgiveness. Instead it emphasises harae — purification that removes tsumi (offence) and kegare (pollution) and restores harmony between people and kami. The Kojiki's account of Izanagi purifying himself after leaving the underworld, and the Great Purification prayer of the Engishiki, are the classic expressions. Reconciliation is enacted rather than argued.

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Where traditions overlap

  • All nine treat resentment and vengeance as spiritually corrosive.
  • Most connect forgiving others with one's own standing before God, one's own liberation, or restored harmony.
  • Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Sikhism and the Bahá'í Faith all ground forgiveness in God's own forgiving character.

Where they differ

  • Judaism (and much of Islam) foregrounds the wrongdoer's repentance and repair; Christianity and Buddhism place more weight on the injured person's unconditional release.
  • Buddhism frames forgiveness without reference to a God who forgives — as freeing one's own mind.
  • Shinto expresses restoration through ritual purification rather than through a doctrine of pardon.

Sources

TraditionPassageSummary
ChristianityMatthew 6:14–15
Bible Gateway, NRSVue
Forgiving others is linked to receiving God's forgiveness.
ChristianityMatthew 18:21–22
Bible Gateway, NRSVue
Forgive 'seventy-seven times'.
ChristianityEphesians 4:32
Bible Gateway, NRSVue
Forgive one another as God in Christ has forgiven you.
ChristianityLuke 6:37
Bible Gateway, NRSVue
'Forgive, and you will be forgiven.'
IslamQur'an 24:22
Quran.com
'Let them pardon and overlook. Would you not love for Allah to forgive you?'
IslamQur'an 42:40
Quran.com
Proportionate response is allowed; whoever forgives and reconciles is rewarded by God.
IslamQur'an 3:134
Quran.com
The righteous restrain anger and pardon people.
JudaismLeviticus 19:18
Sefaria
'You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge.'
JudaismMishnah Yoma 8:9
Sefaria
Sins against another person require appeasing that person.
JudaismMaimonides, Laws of Repentance 2:9–10
Sefaria
The wronged party should forgive a sincere request and not be hard-hearted.
BuddhismDhammapada 3–5
Access to Insight, Buddharakkhita
'Hatred is never appeased by hatred in this world.'
BuddhismDhammapada 223
Access to Insight, Buddharakkhita
Conquer anger with non-anger, the bad with good.
BuddhismKaraniya Metta Sutta (Snp 1.8)
SuttaCentral, Sujato
Boundless goodwill toward all beings.
HinduismBhagavad Gita 16:1–3
Holy Bhagavad Gita, Mukundananda
Forgiveness among the divine qualities.
HinduismBhagavad Gita 10:4–5
Holy Bhagavad Gita, Mukundananda
Forgiveness listed among qualities that arise from the divine.
SikhismGuru Granth Sahib, Ang 1372 (Bhagat Kabir)
SikhiToTheMax
'Where there is forgiveness, there is God Himself.'
SikhismGuru Granth Sahib, Ang 1378 (Sheikh Farid)
SikhiToTheMax
Do not strike back at those who strike you.
Bahá'í FaithHidden Words, Arabic 27
Bahá'í Reference Library
'Breathe not the sins of others so long as thou art thyself a sinner.'
Bahá'í FaithKitáb-i-Aqdas ¶144
Bahá'í Reference Library
'Consort with all religions with amity and concord.'
TaoismTao Te Ching 63
ctext.org, Legge
Respond to injury with kindness.
TaoismTao Te Ching 49
ctext.org, Legge
The sage is good to the good and to the not-good.
TaoismTao Te Ching 79
ctext.org, Legge
After reconciliation some resentment remains; the sage holds no claim.
ShintoKojiki, Book 1, Sect. X (Izanagi's purification)
Sacred Texts, Chamberlain 1882
Cleansing after contact with death and pollution.
ShintoŌharae no kotoba (Great Purification, Engishiki)
Encyclopedia of Shinto, Kokugakuin
Liturgy for removing offences and impurity.

All citations on this page were opened in the linked reference editions and compared with the summaries (last full pass September 12, 2026). Links open at the verse, paragraph or section wherever the edition supports it; otherwise at the chapter or entry. Translations vary; we link to widely used public editions so you can compare. Evidence labels on each perspective follow our editorial standards.

Frequently asked questions

Do all religions require forgiving unconditionally?

No. Jewish sources make the wrongdoer's repentance part of the process; the Qur'an permits proportionate response while praising forgiveness; Christian and Buddhist texts lean toward unconditional release. Traditions also differ internally.

Is forgiveness the same as forgetting or excusing?

In most traditions, no. Forgiveness generally means letting go of vengeance and hatred, not denying that harm occurred or abandoning justice.

Which traditions link forgiving others to being forgiven?

Christianity (Matthew 6:14–15), Islam (Qur'an 24:22) and Judaism (Yoma 8:9 read with the liturgy of Yom Kippur) all make this connection, in different ways.

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