Religion and Human Flourishing

What did the Founders mean when they wrote "the pursuit of happiness"? What can their intent tell us about improving American well-being today?

Leaders from across the country—spanning academia, politics, faith communities, and civic life— recently gathered in Chicago for an evening dedicated to advancing religious pluralism. The highlight of the night featured an inspiring panel discussion with thought leaders Andy Hanauer from One America Movement, Elder Matthew S. Holland from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Rebecca Russo from Interfaith America, and John Wood Jr. from the Omni American Society. The panel members explored the difference between tolerance and pluralism, discussed the roles of both believers and nonbelievers in protecting religious diversity, and gave practical suggestions for lawmakers and community members trying to encourage bridge-building in a divided America.

"What role, if any, should religion play in the operation of public schools? While this question is legally significant, it is the wrong question for improving educational outcomes and fostering upward mobility and civic engagement for American students, " Wheatley researchers argue. ""By focusing on control... the current debate obscures an urgent matter: how religion can be a resource that enables public schools to expand opportunity and bridge social divides."

Paul Lambert, Wheatley Religion Initiative Director, and Sumreen Ahmad, the Global Change Management Lead at Accenture, sat down for a discussion about religious pluralism, its value in the workplace, and how they both became involved in the field.

In a recent interview, Interfaith America asked Wheatley Religion Initiative Director Paul Lambert to share some of his own faith community's experiences with religious liberty and pluralism.

America is experiencing a "happiness crash". Brad Wilcox and James Lynch from the Institute for Family Studies argue that strengthening the family is the remedy.

Over the past several decades, religion has moved from the center of American public life toward the margins. Most Americans now say religion is losing influence, and participation has declined across much of the developed world. At the same time, many Americans have shifted sources of identity and moral meaning away from religious commitments toward politics, popular culture, science, or some combination of the three. As this shift continues, it invites closer examination of how changes in religious involvement relate to individual well-being— including mental and physical health— as well as to family relationships and broader social life.

Imagine a doctor who doesn't tell her patients about a scientifically proven health factor that leads to longer and healthier lives. "That is roughly where American medicine stands on religion," Wheatley researchers assert.