寬恕和寬容兩個概念均來自早期西方的基督教世界。南非在1994年廢除種族隔離之后,運用了宗教概念的政治世俗化,充分發揮了"寬恕"這一概念在化解種族沖突,實現民族和解中的作用。然而真正的和解是一個長期的心路歷程;在和平轉型后的今天,面臨民主化建設與社會轉型的新南非,如何發掘并運用新的精神價值資源去完成后沖突社會的人心和解,追求社會的轉型正義,成為當下人們普遍關注的問題。本文試圖在"轉型正義"的話語背景下重新探討"寬恕"與"寬容"兩個概念的區別,以及其在實現民族和解與社會轉型正義過程中的作用和意義。

The concepts of "forgiveness" and "tolerance" have both been derived from the early Western Christianity. In South Africa, "forgiveness" has been translated into a politically secularized notion, which has been given a full play in settling racial conflicts and promoting ethnic reconciliation since the abolishment of Apartheid in 1994. However, the actual reconciliation is a journey yet to be completed in people’s hearts. After its peaceful political transformation, South Africa has been tasked with the mission of achieving democratization and social transition. How to exploit and utilize various new spiritual values to complete the reconciliation journey in people’s hearts and pursue social transitional justice has become a significant challenge to today’s South Africa, which has also attracted the attention of the world. Drawing on the transitional justice theory, this paper attempts to re-discuss the differences between "forgiveness" and "tolerance", and analyze their roles and significance in pursuing ethnic reconciliation and social transitional justice in South Africa.