The A-Z of Believing: R is for Repentance

Ed Kessler, head of the Woolf Institute, presents the 18th part in a series on belief and scepticism

True repentance ends with a life change which must be based upon a real transformation rather than a flimsy but eloquent, public apology (Shutterstock/agsandrew)

To err is human and to forgive is divine
– Alexander Pope

Repentance seems to be out of fashion, particularly among political leaders. President Trump, for example, doesn’t ask God for forgiveness for his sins because apparently he doesn’t have much to apologise for. In an interview shortly before the US election he said: “I have a great relationship with God ... I like to be good. I don’t like to have to ask for forgiveness. And I am good. I don’t do a lot of things that are bad.” Of course, there are also examples of politicians expressing contrition, perhaps one of the most striking in recent years being David Cameron’s apology for the killing of 13 unarmed civilians by British soldiers on Bloody Sunday in 1972, the most controversial incident of the 30-year-long Northern Ireland Troubles.

Proclamations of remorse serve not only to apologise to the offended party but are also offered in the hope that the life of the penitent can return to normality as quickly as possible. But, does saying “sorry” guarantee a passport to normality? Is a statement of remorse equivalent to being repentant? In sum, what is repentance?