Everett L. Worthington Jr.

Everett L. Worthington Jr., Ph.D., is a pioneering forgiveness researcher and Commonwealth Professor Emeritus at Virginia Commonwealth University, where he conducted over 35 years of scientific study on forgiveness before retiring in 2017. A clinical psychologist and committed Christian, Worthington developed the REACH Forgiveness method (with colleagues Michael McCullough and Steve Sandage), which has been tested in over 22 randomized clinical trials globally and is one of the two most-studied approaches to promoting forgiveness.

Worthing's personal faith deepened in 1996 when his mother was murdered, an experience that shaped his conviction that forgiveness and reconciliation must flow from Christian spirituality. His work integrates psychological rigor with theological depth, particularly in his revised book Forgiving and Reconciling: Bridges to Wholeness and Hope, which demonstrates how Christian theology undergirds the science of forgiveness, making him an essential voice for evangelicals seeking to understand reconciliation.