Happenings

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.

"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.

Wheatley Institute hosted our 2025 Divinely Inspired Constitutional Principles Law Student Seminar, with law students from universities around the country. Students heard from authorities and officers of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as well as Wheatley Fellows and BYU professors who taught about the principles emphasized in President Dallin H. Oaks's April 2021 General Conference talk on the Constitution.

Religion Initiative Director Paul Lambert spoke in the University Forum speaking on Faith and Flourishing in Your Life and Work.

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.

Wheatley Constitutional Government Fellow Hal R. Boyd gave a BYU Campus Devotional emphasizing the importance of a Christ-centered education and the dangers of drifting away from the faith-focused center of the BYU experience.