Telling a Different Story: Hope for Forgiveness and Reconciliation in Northern Ireland

2004 ◽

Vol 40 ◽

pp. 5-28

Author(s):

Christine Trevett

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Northern Ireland ◽

Second Century ◽

First Century ◽

Truth And Reconciliation ◽

South Wales ◽

Fictive Kinship ◽

Twenty First Century ◽

Brothers And Sisters ◽

Forgiveness And Reconciliation

In the close-knit valleys communities of South Wales where I was brought up, some fingers are still pointed at ‘the scab’, the miner who, for whatever reason, did not show solidarity in the strike of 1984-5, cement the definition between ‘them’ and ‘us’. In trouble-torn Palestine of the twenty-first century, or among the paramilitary groups of Northern Ireland today, suspected informers are summarily assassinated. In South Africa, the Truth and Reconciliation Committee continues its work in the post-apartheid era. In second-century Rome and elsewhere, the ‘brothers’ and ‘sisters’ who made up the fictive kinship groups – the churches – in the growing but illicit cult of the Christians were conscious both of their own vulnerability to outside opinion and of their failures in relation to their co-religionists. The questions which they asked, too, were questions about reconciliation and/or (spiritual) death.

Download Full-text

Melting the Icepacks of Enmity: Forgiveness and Reconciliation in Northern Ireland

Studies in Christian Ethics ◽

10.1177/0953946810397444 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 24 (2) ◽

pp. 199-209

Author(s):

Nigel Biggar

Keyword(s):

Northern Ireland ◽

Forgiveness And Reconciliation

Download Full-text

The Shadows of the Past

Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin ◽

10.1177/0146167216689063 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 43 (4) ◽

pp. 538-554 ◽

Cited By ~ 21

Author(s):

Noa Schori-Eyal ◽

Yechiel Klar ◽

Sonia Roccas ◽

Andrew McNeill

Keyword(s):

Experimental Study ◽

Northern Ireland ◽

Group Identity ◽

Attribution Of Responsibility ◽

The Past ◽

Northern Ireland Conflict ◽

Historical Group ◽

Intergroup Conflicts ◽

Forgiveness And Reconciliation

We examined associations between two orientations based on historical group trauma, a form of enduring group victimhood (Perpetual Ingroup Victimhood Orientation [PIVO]) and the belief that one’s group might itself become a victimizer (Fear of Victimizing [FOV]), and attitudes, cognitions, and emotions related to intergroup conflicts. PIVO was positively and FOV was negatively related to aggressive attitudes and emotions toward the outgroup (Studies 1a-1c, Israeli–Palestinian conflict), and to the attribution of responsibility for a series of hostilities to the outgroup (Study 3, Israeli–Palestinian conflict). PIVO was negatively and FOV positively related to support for forgiveness and reconciliation (Study 2, Northern Ireland conflict). In Experimental Study 4, FOV predicted greater accuracy in remembering harm, regardless of victims’ group identity, whereas PIVO was associated with reduced accuracy only when victims were Palestinians (outgroup members). Taken together, these findings indicate that both orientations have a significant impact on intergroup conflicts and their resolution.

Download Full-text