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Does God Want You to be Happy?

July 5th, 2023 | 11 min read

By Alex Fogleman

Happiness is big business today. Governments don’t just measure GDP; they measure GNH—Gross National Happiness. Businesses don’t just need a CEO; they need a CHO—a Chief Happiness Officer. Neuroscientists can strap tubes on your head to measure neurons in your brain that say where you fall on a scale between “miserable” and “ecstatic.” Matthieu Ricard, biologist-turned-Buddhist-monk, measured off the charts in one such study and has enjoyed the title “happiest man in the world” ever since.

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Alex Fogleman

Alex Fogleman (PhD, Baylor University) is Assistant Research Professor of Theology at the Institute for Studies of Religion at Baylor University, where he also serves as the Project Manager for the Global Flourishing Study. He is the author of the Knowledge, Faith, and Early Christian Initiation (Cambridge University Press, 2023) and the founding director of the Catechesis Institute in Waco, TX.