Over the past several decades, religion has moved from the center of American public life toward the margins. Most Americans now say religion is losing influence, and participation has declined across much of the developed world. At the same time, many Americans have shifted sources of identity and moral meaning away from religious commitments toward politics, popular culture, science, or some combination of the three. As this shift continues, it invites closer examination of how changes in religious involvement relate to individual well-being— including mental and physical health— as well as to family relationships and broader social life.

As we begin the second quarter of the 21st century, what do the best medical and social science studies tell us about connections between religion and health? The Religion and Human Flourishing series, a three-part research series by Wheatley Institute, answers this question by synthesizing the findings from Koenig, VanderWeele, and Peteet’s Handbook of Religion and Health (3rd ed., 2024)— a collection of hundreds of rigorous and high-quality studies that make up the most comprehensive and methodologically discerning review on religion and health to date. Part one of Religion and Human Flourishing focuses on religion and mental health, while part three focuses on religion and social health.

A surprising number of young adults in real-life romantic relationships are simultaneously maintaining secret romantic interactions with AI chatbot companions.

In May, students, professors, and guests gathered to listen to Bret Stephens— author, Pulitzer Prize winner, and New York Times columnist— speak on the role of the cultural elite in American polarization. The lecture was hosted by Wheatley Institute, the BYU Political Science Department, and the Initiative for Peacemaking, and served as the opening keynote for the 2026 Brigham Young University Peacemaking Conference.

In a collaborative event between Wheatley Institute and BYU's McKay School of Education, leading scholars and educators from across the country discussed the potential for religious faith to help bridge America's widening student learning opportunity gaps.

In honor of America's 250th anniversary, BYU history professor Tyson Reeder, with support from the Wheatley Institute, taught a semester-long history course on the Declaration of Independence. As a culminating learning experience, the entire class, which included several Wheatley Scholars, traveled to key historical sites associated with the Declaration in Virginia, Washington D.C., and Philadelphia.

As America celebrates its 250 year-old legacy, Wheatley Fellow Shima Baughman makes a case for the future: "whether liberty endures will depend on whether we remain a people capable of mercy".

Does the Fourth of July belong to all of us? "Fredrick Douglass today would emphatically answer: Yes, it [does]," Wheatley Fellow Bradley Reberio states. "The better question to ask, then, is whether we are living up to what the Declaration demands of us today."

Can the US Constitution heal a fractured country?


Wheatley Fellows Justin Collings and Thomas Griffith examine the question in their new op-ed, "A republic of neighbors: How moral agency and community can heal our divided nation".