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Article History

Received: 22 December 2025

Accepted: 9 July 2026

First Online: 22 August 2026

Declarations

Ethics approval and consent to participate: Ethical approval was granted by the institutional review boards at Baylor University (IRB Reference #: 1841317) and Gallup (IRB Reference #: 2021–11-02). Gallup is a multi-national corporation, and its IRB covers all countries included in the GFS. The research conformed to the principles of the Helsinki Declaration. Informed consent to participate was obtained following ethical approval, and during the respondent recruitment stage of fieldwork, and was obtained at the start of the survey data collection, which spanned March 2022 to January 2024, except in mainland China (March/April of 2024), and with exact dates varying by country. The exact wording varies across countries depending on the local laws and regulations governing data protection. Subsequent surveys include a consent statement that reminds respondents that participation in the survey is optional and their personal information will not be shared by anyone outside of Gallup.

Consent for publication: Informed consent also covered, as standard, data being used for empirical analyses that would be published.

Competing interests: Representatives of the funders that supported this work (Heather Dill Templeton, Mohammed Mohammed, and Tyler Norris) are members of the Global Flourishing Study’s advisory board. Their role has been to provide input on dissemination and future funding opportunities. The funders had no role in the conceptualization, design, data collection, analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript beyond the customary involvement in the design of the study through the grant peer review process. Tyler J. VanderWeele reports consulting fees from Flourishing Solutions International, along with shared revenue received by Harvard University in its license agreement with Gloo Inc. according to the University IP policy, and prior similar arrangements with Flerish and Flourishing Metrics Inc. Tyler J. VanderWeele also declares prior consulting fees from Aetna Inc. and the Analysis group, and non-academic honoraria and fees 2016-2026 from Statistical Horizons, the Veritas Forum, Institute for Family Studies, Made to Flourish, Psychology Today, WBUR CitySpace Forum, New York Times, Abigail Adams Institute, Order of Malta, and Montrose School LifeCompass Speaker Series. Byron Johnson is a senior fellow at the Religious Freedom Institute and receives no compensation for this courtesy appointment. Johnson is a senior fellow at the Sagamore Institute and receives a stipend for this appointment. Byron Johnson also received non-academic lecture honoraria 2016-2026 from Citygate Network, Relational Values Alliance, National Religious Broadcasters, and Christian Alliance for Orphans. Tim Lomas declares past consulting fees from Oxford Policy Management, The Task Force for Global Health, and Wellbeing for Planet Earth. James L. Ritchie-Dunham reports consulting fees 2021-2026 from Bounce Beyond, Social Impact Exchange, and Social Value Institute, and non-academic lecture honoraria 2021-2026 from the Teton Leadership Center. Ritchie-Dunham is president of the Institute for Strategic Clarity, for which he receives no compensation. Caleb A. Chung reports non-academic speaker honoraria in 2023 from Barna Group. August H. Nilsson reports consulting fees from the company Bazzum, of which he is also a board member, and a non-academic lecture honorarium (2026) from EOS Basketball Association. Brendan W. Case reports non-academic honoraria and fees in the period 2021-2026 from the Dow Jones Corporation, NBC News, the Institute for Family Studies, the Relational Values Alliance, the New York Times, Made to Flourish, the Institute for Religion and Public Life, Compact, and the Murdock Foundation. Christos A. Makridis has professional affiliations with the Heritage Foundation, Reason Foundation, Brookings Institution, Institute of Humane Studies, The Gallup Organization, and is scientific adviser for AgentCombine, and nonprofit and service affiliations with Living Opera Music, Living Opera Foundation, Dainamic, CM Culture Management, and the United States Preventive Services Task Force. He has also received honoraria from the International Input-output Association. Matthew T. Lee has served without compensation 2021-2026 as an advisor, board member, or fellow of the Abigail Adams Institute, the Center for Compassionate Leadership, the Entrepreneurial Learning Initiative, the Humanistic Leadership Academy, the Inner Development Goals, the Institute for Research on Unlimited Love, and the Institute for Strategic Clarity. Matthew T. Lee declares prior consulting fees 2021-2026 from Aetheon, Inc., the Fetzer Institute, the Institute for Strategic Clarity, the Presencing Institute, and the Sacred Design Lab, as well as non-academic lecture honoraria from Cardus and Positive Prime. R. Noah Padgett, Richard G. Cowden, Ying Chen, and Chris Felton have no disclosures to report.