Forgiveness by god and human forgivingness: the centrality of the religiosity makes the difference

Abstract

The present study tested the hypothesis that centrality of religiosity as defined as the position of an individual's religious construct system in personality moderates the relationship between the experience of forgiveness by God and forgivingness for others. Participants (N = 459) completed measures of forgiveness by God, forgivingness, and centrality of religiosity. The moderating hypothesis was tested by treating centrality of religiosity both as a continuous variable and as a categorical variable with reference to a typological distinction. Results indicate that centrality of religiosity moderates the positive relationship between forgiveness by God and forgivingness for others, implying that this relation only occurs if the religious construct system is in a central position in personality, but not if it is in a subordinate position. These results underline the importance of considering centrality of religiosity as an individual difference variable.