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Constitution

Research, reports, and lectures from Wheatley Institute
"[The Constitution] must be maintained, for it is the only safeguard of our liberties."
-Abraham Lincoln
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Christian Renewal and the Future of American Democracy

January 24, 2025 05:07 PM
Loneliness and isolation are up; church attendance is down. America is becoming a post-Christian nation, while politics becomes ever more divided and vitriolic. What if these trends are related—and what do they portend? In this groundbreaking, richly illustrated lecture, journalist, author, and lifelong atheist Jonathan Rauch explains why Christianity’s contemporary crisis is making America ungovernable. Drawing on philosophy, history, scripture, and today’s headlines, his inspirational talk reveals what Jesus and James Madison have in common and how, together, their teachings can help to heal our politics—and maybe Christianity, too.
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Utah Interfaith Fireside: Giving Hope to the Nation

January 06, 2025 04:30 PM
Wheatley Fellow Judge Griffiths spoke at an interfaith event in Salt Lake City promoting bipartisan understanding and respect.
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Disciple Scholars and the Constitution

December 18, 2024 02:52 PM
Distinguished Wheatley Fellow Kevin J. Worthen gave a devotional address at BYU-Idaho about disciple-scholars and their unique responsibility to uphold the Constitution.
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The Pursuit of Happiness

November 13, 2024 04:00 PM
Wheatley Institute and the David M. Kennedy Center for International Studies welcomed Jeff Rosen to BYU campus on Nov 13, 2025 as he spoke on his recent book, "The Pursuit of Happiness: How Classical Writers on Virtue Inspired the Lives of the Founders and Defined America," a New York Times bestseller and an enriching examination of what “the pursuit of happiness” meant to our nation’s Founders and how that famous phrase defined their lives and became the foundation of our democracy.
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Becoming Disciple-Citizens

November 04, 2024 05:13 PM
Wheatley Institute Director Paul Edwards gave a devotional at Ensign College about becoming Disciple-Citizens. He emphasized the importance of active civic participation for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and the ways that responsible citizens can support American democracy.
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The Great Idea of America: Lessons from a Mixed-Politics Marriage

October 29, 2024 02:43 PM
Wheatley Institute fellow Dr. Loren Marks wrote an article for Public Square Magazine about the importance of mutual understanding and empathy in relationships, particularly across religious or political divides.
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Why America Went Crazy and How You Can Stay Sane

October 03, 2024 03:35 PM
Wheatley Institute helped to host David French, author and columnist for the New York Times, as a speaker at Brigham Young University's campus forum, where he addressed increased political division and hatred in the United States.
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Can the Constitution Unify Americans?

11:05 AM
Tuesday, February 25
BYU Forum by Dr. Yuval Levin, director of Social, Cultural, and Constitutional Studies at the American Enterprise Institute
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George Washington, the Jews, and the Future of Faith in America

September 27, 2024 11:20 AM
We were pleased to hear from Rabbi Meir Soloveichik as he discussed Jewish influences on the American founding. When the United States was founded, there were very few Jews in America; nevertheless, George Washington had a remarkable series of written interactions with them. A careful study of this story reveals the way in which Washington himself saw America, what Jewish hopes were for this new nation, and what this tale can teach us about the future of faith in America.
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