Survey Results on Protestant Christians’ Perceptions of Forgiveness and Proposal for Christian Forgiveness

When people form communities and live together, various unforeseen problems arise. Conflicts between individuals and between groups are continuous, and this is why incidents that disrupt the order of the community keep occurring. The Christian community is no exception. The topic that draws our attention here is the issue of ‘forgiveness.’ Against this background, this paper has two main objectives. First, it aims to investigate, through a survey, the perceptions and experiences of forgiveness among Protestant Christians, who place great importance on the value of forgiveness, and analyze the characteristics of these perceptions. To achieve this, the author intends to present and explain the key results of the 2024 survey on Protestant Christians’ perceptions of conflict, forgiveness, and reconciliation. Second, the paper seeks to lay the groundwork for establishing the perception of forgiveness among Korean Protestants by defining what Christian forgiveness is. In this section, the author will examine instances of forgiveness in the Bible and, from the perspective of Christian cultural hermeneutics, identify the subject of forgiveness, forgiveness as an obligation, and the infinite nature of forgiveness, ultimately proposing a concept of Christian forgiveness. Through this series of discussions, we will be able to confirm the clear biblical teachings on forgiveness, properly understand the connection between Protestant Christians’ experiences with forgiveness and their faith, and recognize the need to pay attention to victims who suffer from their inability to forgive.