Litigation Update: Legal Developments Surrounding Tithing and Religious Donations

The 2025 Wheatley Institute Seminar on Religion and Politics provided an excellent opportunity for political science and sociology graduate students from around the country to explore the role of religion in society. The seminar explored the history and current landscape of religious identity, influence, pluralism, and its impact on American politics and culture. Students also explored quantitative and qualitative methods and experiential wisdom in studying religion and politics from leading faculty in the field. Learning areas included how to explore data sources for research on religion, how to classify religious groups for more accurate measurements in surveys, how to measure religious behavior and belief, and how to study specific religious traditions.

Wheatley Institute partnered with the BYU International Center for Law and Religion Studies to host the 2025 Religious Freedom Annual Review. This year's theme was Religion, Peace, and Human Flourishing: Understanding the Whys of Religious Freedom. The Annual Review brought a broad array of perspectives to this issue, with religious, media, academic, legal, and thought leaders. These exerts addressed several questions. What role does religion play in building peace and fostering human flourishing? How does religious freedom’s respect for both individual choice as well as the human dignity of all increasingly matter in a fractious world? Experts on religious freedom and peacemaking explored the interconnections.

Article uses study findings from Date Night Opportunity report

Deseret News executive editor, Hal Boyd, met with a panel of scholars, including Wheatley Institute Distinguished Fellow, Shima Baughman. The group discussed the current state of America and how the deep divisions have affected pluralism. The conversation delves into ways that society can continue to move towards a pluralistic society.

The Washington Times references a Wheatley Institute research in a recent article that discusses how liberals have become increasingly dissatisfied compared to those who lean conservative. They cite Wheatley's study on how a person's happiness is directly tied to family and religion.