I hope that these small steps for each of us individually, will move us forward to a different kind of politics, where we can live out our commitments across deep and genuine differences, and rediscover the common ground that makes so much of life possible, and sometimes even beautiful.

Wheatley Institute hosted a special screening of the National Museum of American Religion's second film in the "Religious Thought During Times of National Crisis" series: We Are Not Afraid. This film explored religion's role in Americans' response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks, with a focus on New York City.

Wheatley Distinguished Fellow Shima Baughman contributed an op-ed to Newsweek examining the decline of American trust in marriage, a trend now increasingly reflected in popular media. Baughman cites studies showing marriage rates at historic lows and an increasing public sentiment viewing marriage as old-fashioned or restrictive. But despite shifting public attitudes, marriage continues to be research-proven way to provide happiness for parents and stability for children.

Wheatley Institute Constitutional Government Director, James Phillips, wrote a blog post today for The Federalist Society regarding the Supreme Court yesterday denying a petition for certiorari in Apache Stronghold v United States. Justice Gorsuch argued in his dissent from the denial, joined by Justice Thomas, that allowing the lower court’s ruling to stand poses a threat to religious liberty.

Wheatley Religion Fellow Samuel Wilkinson co-authored an article for the Deseret News on the history of the relationship between psychiatry and religion. Despite longstanding negative assumptions from early psychiatry, many modern studies have found strong links between religious attendance and lowered risks of depression and anxiety.