Is There Ever an Obligation to Forgive?

So often people exhort others not to force others to forgive.  The current advice so often seen in print is this: Forgiveness is the choice of the forgiver, not the demand of the one who acted unjustly.  Yet an article published in Acta Analytica on February 10, 2026, by Sam Ridge, entitled “The Right to Forgiveness,” challenges the current norms.  He makes the interesting claim that if a person promises to forgive, then this becomes an expectation.  As an analogy, if Harold promises to mow a neighbor’s lawn by Saturday and then does not follow through, there remains an expectation that the lawn will be mowed by Harold.  It is similar with forgiveness.  For example, if a father asks his daughter, “Why were you out so late last night?  It is ok to tell me.  If I do not like your answer, I will forgive you.”  The promise creates the expectation that it will be kept.  The challenge, then, is this: Forgiveness is not solely in the hands of the forgiver; it can become an obligation to the other person if a promise is attached to the forgiving.

The article can be read here: