New
New
Year 11
AQA

The concept of forgiveness

I can explain the concept of forgiveness and its connection to restorative justice, and assess arguments about it.

New
New
Year 11
AQA

The concept of forgiveness

I can explain the concept of forgiveness and its connection to restorative justice, and assess arguments about it.

These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.

Switch to our new teaching resources now - designed by teachers and leading subject experts, and tested in classrooms.

These resources were created for remote use during the pandemic and are not designed for classroom teaching.

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Forgiveness means to grant pardon for a wrongdoing; to give up resentment and the desire to seek revenge.
  2. It can help people heal emotionally and rebuild relationships.
  3. Forgiveness is shown in different ways, including restorative justice.
  4. Restorative justice helps victims and offenders communicate, supporting forgiveness.
  5. There are both positives and negatives to forgiveness, related to healing and justice.

Keywords

  • Forgiveness - to grant pardon for a wrongdoing; to give up resentment and the desire to seek revenge against a wrongdoer

  • Healing - the process of becoming emotionally or physically whole and restoring well-being after harm or injury

  • Restorative justice - an approach to justice that focuses on repairing the harm caused by wrongdoing through dialogue and understanding

Common misconception

Forgiveness means forgetting what happened or excusing the wrong.

Forgiveness means letting go of resentment and anger, but it does not mean forgetting or saying the wrong was acceptable.


To help you plan your year 11 religious education lesson on: The concept of forgiveness, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Use examples from the Forgiveness Project to illustrate why and how victims of crime have been able to forgive.
Teacher tip

Equipment

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of sensitive content

Supervision

Adult supervision recommended

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

Loading...

Prior knowledge starter quiz

Download quiz pdf

5 Questions

Q1.
What Christian value is undermined the most by corporal punishment?

love
power
Correct answer: dignity

Q2.
Christians read Bible verses through the lens of love, mercy, and .

Correct Answer: respect, Respect

Q3.
Which Christian group strongly opposes corporal punishment?

Levites
Correct answer: Quakers
Samaritans

Q4.
Corporal punishment fails to meet aims like reformation and .

Correct Answer: protection, Protection

Q5.
Which ethical theory would oppose corporal punishment since it fails to achieve a loving outcome?

Kantian Ethics
utilitarianism
Correct answer: Situation Ethics

Assessment exit quiz

Download quiz pdf

5 Questions

Q1.
Match each keyword to its meaning.

Correct Answer:forgiveness,to to grant pardon for a wrongdoing

to to grant pardon for a wrongdoing

Correct Answer:healing,the the process of restoring well-being after harm or injury

the the process of restoring well-being after harm or injury

Correct Answer:restorative justice,an approach to justice that focuses on repairing the harm caused

an approach to justice that focuses on repairing the harm caused

Q2.
Forgiveness is giving up resentment and the desire for .

Correct Answer: revenge, Revenge

Q3.
Restorative justice allows victims and offenders to , which can lead to forgiveness.

Correct Answer: communicate, Communicate

Q4.
What is a criticism some people have about forgiveness?

Correct answer: that it delays justice
that it is harmful
that it creates unhappiness

Q5.
What does forgiveness not mean?

letting go of rage
Correct answer: forgetting the wrong that was done
choosing peace

Additional material

Download additional material