Mapping the Human Condition
For decades, a quest has animated Byron Johnson’s life’s work. It’s a journey that led him from the Ivy League to Baylor University, and taken him from halls of power in Washington, DC, to community-based organizations across the nation. It’s led him to break bread with faith leaders, scholars, policymakers and even inmates on death row.
What does it mean to truly flourish and live well? Which factors support individuals and communities in their efforts to thrive?
These questions have animated Johnson’s work in Baylor’s Institute for Studies of Religion, and his scholarship has made him a nationally recognized leader in human flourishing research—all of which serves as prologue to the most comprehensive study ever undertaken to uncover the roots of human flourishing.
Johnson serves as co-leader of the Global Flourishing Study (GFS), a massive undertaking in partnership with Harvard University, Gallup and the Center for Open Science. Over a five-year period, GFS researchers are in annual contact with more than 200,000 people across over 20 geographically and culturally diverse countries. The participants speak 45 different languages and represent the spectrum of age groups, income levels, religions and more. As a longitudinal study, GFS does more than uncover correlations in human flourishing—it is designed to illuminate the roots of flourishing, both individually and societally, and to highlight their participants as holistic individuals navigating numerous realms of life—physical, emotional, spiritual, vocational, relational and more—as they seek to live well.
In April, the First Wave of insights were released at Gallup headquarters in Washington, DC, with additional waves following in the years ahead. Just as Washington was a fitting location to release information of national significance, Baylor University is a natural home to research that demonstrates love of neighbor around the globe.
“It’s a topic that’s overwhelmingly important. If we can help figure out what makes people flourish or what hinders them from flourishing, maybe we’ll become more thoughtful as a society,” Johnson says. “That’s where this gets really exciting. There’s no better place than Baylor to lead a project that will can touch so many different aspects of our lives.”
ADDITIONAL LINKS
-Discover Byron Johnson’s work and global flourishing research at Baylor.