Peter Smith

Stay informed with Peter Smith’s coverage and analysis for Fortune.

social epidemic

25 years after a Harvard professor told America it was ‘bowling alone,’ the loneliness epidemic is starker than ever

By Peter Smith and The Associated Press

Pittsburgh

‘This was a targeted attack on this building’: Car rams Pittsburgh FBI building, driver throws American flag over the gate

By Peter Smith and The Associated Press

Tom Parker

Alabama Supreme Court judge who helped strike down IVF cites ‘the wrath of a holy God’ in concurring opinion

By Peter Smith, Tiffany Stanley, and others

Church

Your pastor is burned out from the pandemic, too. Over half are thinking about leaving, survey says

By Peter Smith and The Associated Press

A woman shares Jehovah’s Witnesses’ literature with a passerby in downtown Pittsburgh on Monday, Nov. 13, 2023. Jehovah’s Witnesses regularly distribute literature in public places and do door-to-door evangelism, but for the first time in more than a century, their congregations will not be regularly tracking their hours in ministry. (AP Photo/Peter Smith)

The Jehovah’s Witnesses turned preaching into a metrics game that broke up marriages and made careers, but they just changed their door-to-door strategy for the first time since 1920

By Peter Smith and The Associated Press

Mike Dulak sits for a portrait in his mandolin workshop in Rocheport, Mo., Friday, Sept. 8, 2023. Dulak does not associate with any religious group and self-identifies as “nothing in particular” when asked about his beliefs. He is part of the largest growing group of nonbelievers in the United States today, as nearly one in six adults claim the label “nothing in particular” according to the Associated Press- NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)

A dislike of organized religion is behind the now 30% of Americans who claim no religious affiliation: ‘I can’t buy into that’

By Peter Smith and The Associated Press