Woah. That’s a fancy headline. I’m not even sure I know what it means, but it sounds mighty impressive. The words are not mine (but I kinda wish they were because, even though I don’t know what they mean, I could kid everyone that I’m brilliant). They belong to Harvard University. Of course they do. That explains everything.
‘Mapping the Mystery of Humanity’ is the title of a report undertaken by social scientists at Harvard. The project is called the Global Flourishing Study and is a deep-dive into the lives of “200,000 participants in 22 geographically and culturally diverse countries, spanning all six populated continents, with nationally representative sampling, and intended five years of annual data collection” in order “to assess numerous aspects of flourishing and their possible determinants.” Got that? Stay with me.
Basically, who in the world is flourishing and why? And, while, we’re at it, what actually is flourishing?
Now, it goes without saying that Harvard was not setting out to prove the central claims and worldview of Jesus of Nazareth. Nonetheless, what they discovered makes me very glad I’m a follower of his. He really did have life sorted, and Harvard social scientists have proved it. Here’s what they found:
- Rich countries tend to be flourishing less than poorer ones. GDP per capita is negatively correlated with meaning and purpose in life. When you take happiness, health, meaning, character, relationships, and financial security and put them all in a pot, wealthy nations struggle compared to places that have a simpler material lifestyle.
- Across all countries people who attend religious services regularly report considerably higher flourishing. For example, Israel (with a high rate of religious service attendance) is one of the few high-income countries that also reports a high level of flourishing, and Japan (with the lowest level of attendance of all the 22 countries studied) reports the lowest level of flourishing. Further, childhood attendance of religious services is a strong predictor of subsequent adult flourishing. The researchers conclude ‘religious community may be an important pathway to flourishing.’
One feature of this research I find especially interesting is that the results do not necessarily imply that religious belief on its own leads to general human flourishing. No, merely believing is not enough. ‘Faith without works is dead’. It is BELONGING to a religious community, where personal faith can be shared and exercised with others that helps people thrive. It has to be connected to other people.
If you think I’m going to end with a corny statement like, “Come to Church! Doing your own thing in spiritual isolation won’t get you the life you’re looking for. Love, support, serve, in a true Christian community, and Feel the Flourish!” then you’re right. I will. In fact, I just did.