Request for Proposals: Family Perspectives on Divine Forgiveness

Submit a Letter of Intent by November 1, 2022

Florida State University, with the support of the John Templeton Foundation, seeks to advance the scientific understanding of psychological constructs related to perceptions and experiences of being forgiven by God or the divine.

Research grants totaling $2.1 million are available for conceptual, quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods research on psychological perspectives on divine forgiveness.

The goal is to advance understanding of the role of divine forgiveness in human behavior by promoting systematic research on the pursuit, perception, experience, and proximal consequences of divine forgiveness and to illuminate how it interfaces with the two earthly forms of forgiveness, interpersonal forgiveness, and self-forgiveness.

Family Scientists are encouraged to apply. Family Science is an area specifically mentioned in the Request for Proposals (RFP) and is essential in trying to understand the source of an individual’s ideas about divine forgiveness. A question of interest listed in the RFP is, “How does the desire for, and understanding of, divine forgiveness develop and in what ways does it change over the lifespan?”

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Frank D. Fincham, Ph.D.

Two recent conceptual papers by NCFR Fellow Frank D. Fincham, Ph.D., highlight opportunities for research on the perception and experience of divine forgiveness. One offers a review and critique of existing research in the service of suggesting new avenues for research (Fincham, 2020; doi.org/10.1037/rel0000323); the second offers a theoretical model of the “moving parts” in perceiving divine forgiveness (Fincham & May, 2021; doi.org/10.1037/rel0000426).

Applicants may find these papers to be useful resources in developing their applications. In particular, the second paper may provide a fruitful source of testable hypotheses or be a useful starting point for developing new hypotheses that have been overlooked thus far.

Proposals will be considered over two stages. To apply for funding, applicants must first submit a Letter of Intent (LOI) by November 1, 2022. First-stage decisions will be communicated to applicants by November 29, 2022, and successful first-stage applicants will be invited to submit a full proposal due by February 7, 2023. Award decisions will be issued by April 1, 2023, for research activities to begin no later than September 29, 2023.

For more information and to apply, please visit www.divine-forgiveness.org