Special Research Reports

Understanding Flourishing: Developing a Global Community of Practice
April 2023
This Special Report envisions the co-creation of a global community of practice to advance our understanding of flourishing as well as provide a roadmap from the first steps to the final mile. This community aims to explore the unique and universal aspects of flourishing across cultures with multiple methods of inquiry, as a complement to the quantitative approach taken by surveys such as the Global Flourishing Study and the Gallup World Poll. Our intention is for this inclusive dialogue to enhance the existing research base in order to support a brighter future for people and societies everywhere.

American Values, Mental Health, and Using Technology in the Age of Trump
September 2017
This study presents preliminary results from The Baylor Religion Survey Wave V, a random sample of 1,501 adults, which was administered by the Gallup Organization in the spring of 2017, during the first months of Trump’s Presidency. We focus on four key areas of interest: 1) the religious, political, and ideological values of Trump voters, 2) mental health and religion in American today, 3) the intersection of technology and religion, and 4) the geography of religion.

Mentoring Children of Prisoners: A Randomized Controlled Trial Study of Amachi Texas
Special Report by Byron R. Johnson, 2014
The Amachi story provides compelling evidence that churches and faith-motivated volunteers can partner with secular organizations like BBBS and P/PV to achieve scale in addressing one of the most pressing problems of our time. Launched in 2000, and in less than a decade, Amachi has been the driving force behind a national movement to mentor a previously overlooked population — children of prisoners.

American Piety in the 21st Century: New Insights to the Depth and Complexity of Religion
in the US
Baylor Survey Wave 1, 2005 (Released 2006)
With funding from the Templeton Foundation, The Baylor Religion Survey is the most extensive and sensitive study of religion ever conducted, linking up with the pioneering surveys conducted by Rodney Stark and Charles Y. Glock in the 1960s. With the Baylor Religion Survey, we were able to dig deeper into American religious attitudes, behaviors and beliefs than previously possible. Preliminary findings related to the measurement of religion, the nature of religious belief, the relationship between religion and moral and political attitudes, and religious spending habits were released in Wave 1 at the National Press Club on September 11, 2006, in this research report.