Examining the relationship between forgiveness, revenge and religious attitude

Forgiveness in interpersonal relationships is a subject that is addressed in terms of both theology and psychology. Forgiveness regulates interpersonal relationships and is effective spiritually. When people understand the importance of forgiveness, they regulate their relationships, especially their relationships with their family and social environment. Revenge, on the other hand, involves being punished by the wronged party in the face of the injustice experienced. Revenge, unlike forgiveness, wears out human relationships. Religious attitude has a structure that affects the individual's life in many ways and shapes their interpersonal relationships. These variables have not been examined together in the field of religious psychology. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between forgiveness, revenge and religious attitude and to determine whether it varies according to demographic variables (gender, age, marital status, education level and monthly income). The sample of the study consists of 416 people. The scales used in the study were transferred to the internet and shared with the participants online. In the study, the 'Forgiveness Scale in Interpersonal Relationships' developed by Kaya (2019), the 'Revenge Scale' developed by Stuckless and Goranson (1992) and adapted into Turkish by Satıcı, Can and Akın (2015), and the 'Ok- Religious Attitude Scale' developed by Ok (2011) were used. According to the results of the study, significant relationships were found between the participants' forgiveness (forgiving the situation, addressing the problem, focusing on the positive), revenge and religious attitude (behavior, emotion, cognition, relationship) levels. The level of forgiveness differed significantly according to other demographic variables except marital status. The level of revenge differed significantly in terms of other demographic variables except age. No significant relationship was found between them. In addition, religious attitude differed significantly according to all demographic variables.