Skip to main content

Religion and Human Flourishing

Research, reports, and lectures from Wheatley Institute
"Religion is the basis of civil society, and the source of all good and of all comfort"
- Edmund Burke
data-content-type="event"

Peace, Non-Violence, and Human Rights

7:00 PM
Thursday, March 13
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= overrideTextAlignment=text-left overrideCardHideSection= overrideCardHideByline= overrideCardHideDescription=true overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= overrideTextAlignment=text-left
data-content-type="article"

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.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= overrideTextAlignment=text-left overrideCardHideSection= overrideCardHideByline= overrideCardHideDescription=true overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= overrideTextAlignment=text-left
data-content-type="article"

Mercy at the Margins

January 22, 2025 01:51 PM
Distinguished Wheatley Fellow Shima Baughman was featured on the Faith Matters podcast, sharing both her current research on the positive impact of faith communities on criminal justice and the powerful story of what led to her passion for justice and mercy.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= overrideTextAlignment=text-left overrideCardHideSection= overrideCardHideByline= overrideCardHideDescription=true overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= overrideTextAlignment=text-left
data-content-type="article"

Be Ye Therefore a Perfectionist?

January 22, 2025 01:18 PM
"It's not really necessarily about having high goals, it's not necessarily even about not meeting those high goals—it's about how I feel about myself when I don't meet those goals. If I'm imperfect at something, how do I feel about myself?"
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= overrideTextAlignment=text-left overrideCardHideSection= overrideCardHideByline= overrideCardHideDescription=true overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= overrideTextAlignment=text-left
data-content-type="article"

Why I Returned to Teach at BYU

January 13, 2025 04:50 PM
Distinguished Wheatley Fellow Shima Baughman wrote an article for the Deseret News about returning to teach at BYU after 10 years at the University of Utah.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= overrideTextAlignment=text-left overrideCardHideSection= overrideCardHideByline= overrideCardHideDescription=true overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= overrideTextAlignment=text-left
data-content-type="article"

The Tides of Religion

November 19, 2024 06:00 AM
While 84% of the world’s population still affiliates with a faith of some sort, there are clear indicators that people in the United States and elsewhere are abandoning religion. This shift toward secularization may have significant social and psychological consequences, because religion is often linked to better mental health, stronger social ties, and increased rates of marriage and childbearing. This report examines who and how many are leaving religion, which faiths are most affected by disaffiliation, individual and social consequences of a decline in religiosity, and factors increasing the likelihood of returning to faith.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= overrideTextAlignment=text-left overrideCardHideSection= overrideCardHideByline= overrideCardHideDescription=true overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= overrideTextAlignment=text-left
data-content-type="article"

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.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= overrideTextAlignment=text-left overrideCardHideSection= overrideCardHideByline= overrideCardHideDescription=true overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= overrideTextAlignment=text-left
data-content-type="article"

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.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= overrideTextAlignment=text-left overrideCardHideSection= overrideCardHideByline= overrideCardHideDescription=true overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= overrideTextAlignment=text-left
data-content-type="article"

Mental Health and the Positive Impact of Temple Attendance

October 24, 2024 03:27 PM
Wheatley Institute fellow Justin Dyer was interviewed on the Church News podcast about a recent study on mental health for Latter-Day Saint youth.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= overrideTextAlignment=text-left overrideCardHideSection= overrideCardHideByline= overrideCardHideDescription=true overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= overrideTextAlignment=text-left
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= overrideTextAlignment=text-left overrideCardHideSection= overrideCardHideByline= overrideCardHideDescription=true overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText=