Wheatley Institute

With AI romance on the rise, roughly 20 to 30% of young adults have at least experimented with AI romantic companions. But many haven't considered the impact it could have on their real-life relationships.

Read the full report at: https://wheatley.byu.edu/secret-soulmates-ai-romantic-companions-and-real-life-relationships

In honor of America's 250th anniversary, BYU history professor Tyson Reeder, with support from the Wheatley Institute, taught a semester-long history course on the Declaration of Independence. As a culminating learning experience, the entire class, which included several Wheatley Scholars, traveled to key historical sites associated with the Declaration in Virginia, Washington D.C., and Philadelphia.

Students toured Monticello, saw the original Declaration of Independence, visited Independence Hall, and learned more about the deep and complex history behind the Declaration and how each historical site presents in American public memory.

Leading up to the experience, students studied the intellectual, political and historical background of the Declaration, researching how places, events, and figures influenced the American founding, and how that legacy affects life down to the present day.

"I’ve come to feel strongly that these founding principles cannot be treated as something static. In this being 'America’s' document, that also makes it 'our' document, and it is up to us what we do with it and how we choose to uphold it now. As disciples of Jesus Christ, I feel it is our honor to do that now more than ever, to stand steadfast in the liberty in which Christ has made all of us free, and to seek to pursue the happiness that is inherent in the gospel."
-Madison Curtis, 2026 Wheatley Scholar

There was standing room only in the Wheatley office as Tyson Reeder, Wheatley Affiliated Scholar and assistant professor of history at Brigham Young University, presented on his award-winning book, "Serpent in Eden: Foreign Meddling and Partisan Politics in James Madison’s America”.

Reeder’s extensive archival research in Europe and America shows how the foreign meddling in the newly independent United States motivated the Founders to abandon the Articles of Confederation in favor of a more cohesive central government, and then, ironically, how that same king of foreign interference through shadow diplomacy and misinformation, bled into the hyper-partisanship of the early American republic.

Reeder connected his historical analysis with the present day, concluding with the importance of having faith over fear and his confidence in the strength of the American constitution. Reeder’s remarks are now available at www.wheatley.byu.edu

There was standing room only in the Wheatley office as Tyson Reeder, Wheatley Affiliated Scholar and assistant professor of history at Brigham Young University, presented on his award-winning book, "Serpent in Eden: Foreign Meddling and Partisan Politics in James Madison’s America”.

Reeder’s extensive archival research in Europe and America shows how foreign meddling in the newly independent United States motivated the Founders to abandon the Articles of Confederation in favor of a more cohesive central government; ironically, that same kind of foreign interference also bled into the hyper-partisanship of the early American republic through shadow diplomacy and misinformation.

Reeder ended his remarks with commentary on America's current political climate, the importance of faith over fear, and his confidence in the strength of the American constitution. His presentation is now available at www.wheatley.byu.edu

The Religion and the American Founding conference, held on BYU campus on March 11th and 12th, brought historians, archivists, and researchers together to explore how various faith traditions played a role in the American founding.

The conference featured a virtual introduction by Utah Governor Spencer Cox, a keynote by historian Dr. Thomas Kidd, and many accomplished panelists who shared their research and professional insights. Recordings of the keynote and presentations can be found at americanreligion250.org.

The Faith in Educational Renewal report was highlighted at Harvard's annual Burton and Inglis Lecture. The report, which explores how religion can support student performance and outcomes within public schools, is the result of a collaboration between Wheatley Institute and the Harvard Graduate School of Education's Leadership Initiative for Faith and Education.

A panel of speakers, including Wheatley Institute Religion Director Paul Lambert, shared insights on a "third way" for engagement between religion and public schools that neither endorses nor excludes faith in public schools, allowing students and teachers to access resources that faith can offer in meeting student outcomes and performance.

Although more research is still needed at the intersection of faith and education, the findings so far are highly promising. These reports are a vital starting point to ignite critical conversations among parents, educators, and policymakers on the untapped educational resources in their own communities.

Learn more and read the reports at wheatley.byu.edu