"The data is clear: religion has a powerful impact on increasing a sense of meaning in life, helping to protect against loneliness and mental or emotional challenges, and increasing levels of flourishing. Thus, a key component of your efforts in developing a protection from loneliness and finding meaning in life, for yourself and others, is your commitment to living your faith and creating an environment of religious pluralism where others are encouraged to live theirs."

Marriage and fertility rates have reached all-time lows in the U.S. in recent years, as fewer people marry or have children. These trends are likely to continue in the future. In 2023, only 72% of 18-year-old women in the U.S. said they were likely to have children, down from 85% in the late 2000s.

Wheatley Religion Initiative Director Paul Lambert joined religious inclusion expert Sumreed Ahmad for a discussion on the power of pluralism in the workplace, sharing ways their religious backgrounds have shaped the way they work and collaborate.

A recent article in The New Yorker investigated various AI companion websites, citing a Wheatley Institute report on how dangerous and widespread the use of romantic chatbot services is.

"There are many reasons people choose not to have children or not to get married, but false messages about happiness should not be one of them. The articles I read long ago were right that parenting (and marriage) can often be exhausting. But they ignored the sense of meaning that comes from parenthood and the connection of physical touch at the core of family life."

Magnify the Podcast featured Wheatley Family Fellow Jenet Erickson discussing findings from a recent Pew Research study on women of faith. Latter-Day Saint women were found to have very high rates of happiness and spiritual well-being, in sharp contrast to negative pop culture depictions. Pew Research concluded: "“It may be the confluence of the religious values and practices, reinforced by social ties and norms, that give religious communities their powerful effects on so many aspects of human flourishing.”