The newly-released Global Flourishing Study stands among the most ambitious and rigorous global research efforts ever undertaken to understand what helps people thrive. The study’s Year 1 insights carry enormous significance, perhaps especially for those serving vulnerable children and families.
At its core, the Global Flourishing Study confirms a vital truth: Human beings are more than the sum of their hardships.
The harms that come from early abuse and neglect are among the deepest causes of human suffering. They often ripple out in chronic distress and dysfunction across years, or even a lifetime, and can even spill into the next generation. Few wounds cut deeper or linger longer than those inflicted by the absence or distortion of human love as God intended.
Still, when seeking to understand what leads to lasting healing, growth and flourishing — especially for those deeply hurt early in life — we must take a wide-angle view.
This means considering the whole person: mind, body, spirit and relationships. It also means acknowledging all of the experiences that shape a life, both the painful and the good. The Global Flourishing Study offers a powerful lens to do just that.
The wide-angle view of flourishing
Rather than focusing only on reducing negative symptoms like depression or measuring well-being by a single marker like happiness, the Global Flourishing Study seeks a more complete picture of what it means to live a whole life, deeply and well.
The study identifies six core domains of human flourishing:
- Happiness and life satisfaction
- Mental and physical health
- Meaning and purpose
- Character and virtue
- Close social relationships
- Financial and material security
Together, these domains reflect a more holistic understanding of human well-being.
Religious participation associated with better outcomes
One of the most striking findings is the strong correlation between religious participation — especially regular attendance at a house of worship — and flourishing.
The data show that individuals who consistently engage with a faith community experience significantly better outcomes in areas such as mental and physical health, life satisfaction, purpose and relational stability. Notably, how often someone attended religious services at age 12 is strongly associated with many positive outcomes in adulthood, including more:
- Readiness to trust others
- Contentment in close relationships
- Prayer as a part of day-to-day life
- Forgiveness of others
- Ability to wisely order life priorities
- Orientation to promote the good of others
- Generosity and helping others
- Volunteering
- Meaning and purpose
- Inner peace
- Optimism
- Contentment with one’s financial position
The Global Flourishing Study affirms a vast body of previous research showing that regular church participation and Christian practices — like prayer, forgiveness, generosity and service — consistently support better mental health and stronger relationships.
These aren’t just acts of obedience. They are tools of healing in a fractured world.
For Christians, this evidence communicates a timely and not-to-be-missed message: The life God calls us to is not only right, it is measurably good for us — for our bodies, minds, families and communities. The work of the Church and the people of God — living as God intends, though always imperfectly — is a primary avenue for promoting healing and health over time.
In fact, given the effects, it should rightly be considered a critical intervention for the struggles young people are facing in mental and relational health.
How can we use these findings to support children and families?
As we walk with children and families who have known deep hurt, here are a few key considerations for Christian leaders and parents in light of the powerful evidence from the Global Flourishing Study:
1. Trauma and adversity need not define our view of any individual, including ourselves.
The human experience includes suffering and the remarkable capacity to flourish amidst the many joys and pains of life. Even those who have suffered greatly often experience flourishing in many respects. In addition to attending to the problems and vulnerabilities of those we love and serve, we can also give our attention to the ways they may already be flourishing or can be supported toward increasing flourishing.
2. We can confidently guide those we love toward growth in all aspects of flourishing, including good character, better physical health or the practice of forgiveness.
Supporting flourishing presumes the possibility of growing in a certain direction — toward fuller life, deeper character and more love for God and others. And most of this positive growth involves small, daily choices that are patiently sustained over time until they become part of who we are and bear fruit in an increasingly flourishing life. Growth is core to flourishing.
3. Helping individuals and families grow as disciples of Jesus and become embedded within a local church is a wise strategy in healing work.
Children and their families benefit immensely from participating in the life of the people of God, being guided to regular church attendance, and being invited into Christian practices like prayer, forgiveness, and service of others in daily life. The flourishing that these commitments support are beneficial for all people, including — and perhaps especially — those who’ve experienced significant adversity.
Human flourishing, and our efforts to promote it in those we care for, will always be incomplete this side of heaven. We should keep this in mind as we pursue healing; this reality applies to all of us.
Still, God intends that we have life and have it in abundance. And He provides practical avenues for all of us to grow more fully into such a life — and, especially, to do it together within families and as the people of God. The Global Flourishing Study powerfully attests to this prospect.
–Rachel Medefind is the Director of the Institute for Family-Centered Healing and Health. Learn more at cafo.org/family-institute. To subscribe to more content like this, join the monthly email list for the Institute here.
