Geoffrey W. Sutton PhD, Psychology and Culture

Most of the world’s major religions value forgiveness. In Christianity, forgiveness is a commandment with a threat. The forgiveness commonly referred to in the Bible is forgiveness of others; however, recently, psychological scientists have studied self-forgiveness.  Self-forgiveness is the unique case in which people are both offenders and victims.   People are often in the case of failing to live up to their moral standards, which results in harm to themselves. They may have felt guilty for abusing drugs or acts they performed against another. They rehearse the events and cannot seem to let them go. In short, they do not seem able to forgive themselves even if they have been forgiven by others or, advised by clergy that God has forgiven them.  This issue of living with unforgiveness is not just a matter of religious beliefs or argument because studies show that forgiveness is related to general and mental health (e.g., see Worthington, 2020 ). Thus, self...

Soon the U.S. Supreme Court will review an abortion case. As an  npr broadcast  informs us, this is the week, 47 years ago, that the court made the Roe v. Wade decision. The Disestablishment of Christianity in America Like others, I think the 1973 decision was the “Wake-up call” for American Evangelicals who could see a trend toward a more secular American society. I suggest the recent beginning of the trend was the 25 June 1962 decision by the Supreme Court that judged a New York prayer as a violation of the establishment clause in the U.S. Constitution ( See Engel v. Vitale ). The next year, 1963, the court ruled against Abington school district’s practice of saying the Lord’s Prayer and reading the Bible ( See Abington School District v. Schempp) . A Tough Yet Sweet Pill to Swallow The small pill that started a revolution. I’m exaggerating of course. But it’s hard to ignore the contribution of the birth control pill to undoing the power of sexual pu...

I’ve been thinking about hope this year. I wrote about hope in Living Well . And I‘ve studied hope based on Charles R. Snyder’s hope theory . I’m writing about hope because I am organizing some thoughts about hope as found in the four themes of advent: hope, peace, love, and joy. Although typically depicted by four candles around a Christ candle in a wreath, I think a diagram makes more sense, though clearly less picturesque. The Christmas story links hope to Mary's child, Jesus. When Jesus arrives, he comes with a message of love, which is linked to joy and peace.  Then, the paradox of hope occurs. When the hoped for person arrives, hope ends.  This is the paradox of hope. Hope disappears when it is fulfilled,  but love, joy, and peace are enduring qualities. Hope is powerful when Snyder’s identified twin components are present: (1) a goal, which is a focused desire that energizes our quest and (2) a pathway to reach that ...

I first learned about a Reverse Advent Calendar from English friends who were collecting items for a local charity. There are several helpful sites online, which offer ideas on how to create your own calendar. The idea is to help children approach Christmas with an attitude of giving rather than getting. Of course, the lesson is important for adults as well. Families can do something as simple as putting a pound or dollar (or more) in a container each day, which will be donated to a local food pantry or other community charity at the end of December. Another approach is to place food items or clothes in baskets for each day leading up to Christmas and donate them to a charity. Another suggestion is to organise four bags or baskets to hold items related to nativity themes as suggested by  https://buildfaith.org/reverse-advent/ . The themes focus on the newborn Jesus and his need for food, warmth, care for the parents and care for the newborn. These themes translate ...

On Remembrance Sunday, I shared a post about Queen Elizabeth II being the only living Commander in Chief who served in World War II. As a young woman she served in a way that women were welcomed in uniform in those days. What amazed me is the number of people who gave my post a like or "love" in a short period of time. At one point, the post got a positive click about every minute, which is much higher than my usual posts. Of course, the group was composed of people of British origin. Still, the question may be asked why is she so popular? And, is there anything leaders may learn from such high levels of public support? Oh, by the way, Queen Elizabeth II and her family are of great interest to many Americans as well so, it's not just the British. Princess Elizabeth WW II service The Queen's popularity ratings run above 80% in various surveys. That's high for a national leader. Most leaders won't be kings or queens or even presidents ...

Respect consists of the ways people treat their leaders and other group members. Core features of respect include social status and likeability ( See Psychology of Respect ). Honesty In a 2014 survey by Kouzes and Posner of over 100,000 people, honesty was the highest quality ( CEO ). Honest communication is often supported by facts that can be checked by others. Honesty promotes trust and credibility. One major lapse in integrity can dash a career. Apologies may help but for many, trust is gone forever. Politicians often get little respect because they fail to deliver on their promises. A CEO will be ousted when a promised result doesn’t happen. But politicians seem to get away with failed promises when they can blame the failure on a competitor, opposition party, or foreign power. Golden Rule Leaders gain or lose respect depending on how people perceive them as following the Golden Rule - Treat others as you would like to be treated. Respect is a relational ...