Latest news with #ChristianSmith
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Why studying spirituality is harder than you think
Sociologist Christian Smith studies American religion, but his research doesn't take him to many churches these days. Instead, he's been to a vampire ball in Chicago and a paranormal convention in Milwaukee. He's visited esoteric shops near his home in Michigan and spent a weekend at a pagan retreat in southern Indiana. Smith, a professor at the University of Notre Dame, is on a mission to understand what he calls the culture of re-enchantment, a loosely connected web of conventions, shops, content creators and community groups that promote some form of spirituality, but not religion. Smith believes studying this spiritual landscape is key to offering a fuller explanation for organized religion's recent decline and grasping where the country is headed. And he's not alone. Recent studies showing that young people are just as spiritual as older adults despite being less religious have prompted many scholars to give spirituality a deeper look. Spirituality 'is not like a denomination. It's a language people use to describe themselves and the practices of others. It includes a lot of internal ambiguity and diversity.' Christian Smith But these scholars are staring down a big challenge: Spirituality is a broad concept that's not easily quantified. To find the answers they're seeking, researchers will have to come up with new questions — and maybe attend a few vampire balls. 'If we take our old frameworks, our old lenses and impose them on re-enchanted culture, it will reveal some things but blind us to a whole lot of other things. We need a new toolkit to properly understand,' Smith said. Smith's current work on re-enchantment grew out of his recently released book on organized religion. Going into that book project, he knew spirituality would be part of the story, since most people of faith hold both spiritual and religious beliefs. But he didn't plan on stumbling onto so many spiritual practices that are separate from religion, let alone concluding that spirituality, when broadly defined, is a significant cultural force on its own. 'I had to change my mind and understanding of what it was and what was going on,' he said. In the past, Smith didn't put much stock into someone calling themself a spiritual person. He figured they thought it sounded good or preferred saying spiritual instead of religious. Now, he sees the label as an entry point into a conversation about finding meaning in spiritual activities like energy healing or manifesting, which are often associated with the 1960s but are newly relevant today. 'For some people, the term 'spiritual' is pretty superficial. It doesn't mean much at all. But not for everybody,' Smith said. 'For some, it's the source of relationships and communities.' Penny Edgell, a sociologist at the University of Minnesota, made a similar point during a Feb. 19 press briefing on Pew Research Center's latest Religious Landscape Study. After noting that nearly 9 in 10 U.S. adults believe people have a soul or spirit in addition to a physical body, Edgell criticized those who insist that high rates of spirituality 'don't mean anything.' 'I have colleagues who say that without a commitment to a religious institution, spiritual commitments will decline. I think that's the wrong take,' she said. 'There are plenty of places now where spiritual practices are being maintained outside of religious institutions, and that should be studied on its own terms.' As Edgell predicted during the press briefing, Pew's Religious Landscape Study sparked debates over spirituality's role in American life. The study showed that support for spiritual concepts has remained high and even grown amid a broad-based decline in religious engagement. Today, 83% of U.S. adults believe in God or a universal spirit, and 79% say there's something spiritual beyond the natural world, Pew found. A smaller share of Americans — 64% — say religion is 'somewhat' or 'very' important in their lives, and just 33% go to church at least monthly. Half of U.S. adults say they're both spiritual and religious, but an additional 21% say they're only spiritual. (By comparison, just 5% of U.S. adults describe themselves as religious but not spiritual.) Those figures and others from Pew's report led some religion experts to suggest that churches should start pitching themselves as spiritual centers in addition to religious institutions to draw in spiritual seekers. But others essentially scoffed at the spirituality data, dismissing the idea that spiritual practices can be a source of meaning outside of religion, as Smith once did. A key issue for the skeptics, according to Smith, was that Pew's survey involved general, rather than specific, questions. If it's not controversial to say you believe in souls or a spiritual world, then how much do you actually learn from people saying yes? Smith agrees that more specific questions are needed, but he sympathizes with Pew and other research firms. Spirituality has multiple meanings and expressions — and they don't all overlap. 'It's not like a denomination. It's a language people use to describe themselves and the practices of others. It includes a lot of internal ambiguity and diversity,' he said. Moving forward, researchers will have to experiment with more specific questions about spirituality, including about practices (Do you collect crystals? Do you read tarot cards?) and social groups (Do you belong to a spiritual club?). They'll continue exploring what it means to be spiritual but not religious and what types of spiritual institutions are comparable to more familiar religious ones. 'We've become really good at measuring traditional religion, but spirituality is relatively new. We have to figure out what it means and what kinds of questions to ask. How people out in the world think about it,' Smith said. Just this week, Pew released a new report on spirituality around the world, sharing what researchers learned when they took questions on spiritual beliefs and practices from past projects in the U.S. and Asia and fielded them in other regions for the first time. 'Finding the right questions to ask was a complicated and lengthy process, and it took a lot of care,' said Jonathan Evans, a senior researcher at Pew and the lead author of the new report. 'We wanted to give people a chance to say what they do and what they believe.' With questions about life after death, animal spirits, the spiritual energy of nature and other topics, Pew showed that, at least for some, embracing spiritual concepts has little or nothing to do with religion. 'While there is no clear and widely accepted dividing line between religion and spirituality, these questions show that even in countries where comparatively few people view religion as very important, many do hold beliefs in spirits and/or life after death,' researchers wrote. Like the Religious Landscape Study, the new survey also found that the age gap in religious engagement doesn't show up with spirituality-focused questions. 'Previous research has shown pretty consistently that older adults tend to be more religious than younger adults. ... But when we get to newer questions, the youngest adults are sometimes as likely and in a few cases more likely than older adults' to agree with spiritual claims, Evans said. Evans confirmed that his team hopes to field the same questions about spirituality and religion in a few years in order to start identifying trend lines. 'The future is fun to think about,' he said.
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Atlassian (NasdaqGS:TEAM) Falls 13% Amid Q2 Revenue Rise To US$1,286 Million
Atlassian has recently been in the spotlight after announcing its Q2 2025 earnings, showcasing a revenue increase to USD 1,286 million but still reporting a net loss of USD 38 million, albeit improved from the previous year. The tech company's stock recorded a 12.55% decline over the last quarter amid these mixed financial results and broader market turbulence. The company's ongoing share buyback program, with 368,000 shares repurchased, did not significantly buoy its stock performance. Meanwhile, tech-heavy Nasdaq experienced three consecutive weeks of declines, pressured by macroeconomic concerns and lackluster job reports, contributing to the pressure on Atlassian's share price. Despite these challenges, the appointment of Christian Smith to the board could signal strategic realignments. Although CEO Jay Parikh's exit might have stirred some investor uncertainty, Atlassian's operational endurance continues to catch analytical interest against a backdrop of volatile market conditions. Take a closer look at Atlassian's potential here. The last five years have seen Atlassian achieve a commendable total return of 86.70%, combining share price appreciation and dividends. Despite its unprofitability, Atlassian has shown resilience with a consistent revenue increase, such as the Q4 FY 2024 report announcing full year revenue at US$4.36 billion, up from US$3.53 billion. This growth trajectory aligns with its revenue forecast to outpace the broader US market. However, the company appears expensive based on its Price-To-Sales Ratio compared to industry averages, which might concern potential investors. Noteworthy events that could have contributed to the performance include Atlassian's multi-year collaboration with Amazon Web Services announced in December 2024, aiming to advance cloud migration for enterprise customers. The extensive share buyback program, with 4.64 million shares repurchased, underscores efforts to enhance shareholder value, even as executive changes such as the appointment of Brian Duffy as Chief Revenue Officer indicate a focus on refining revenue strategies. These elements combined may explain the substantial long-term shareholder returns. Learn how Atlassian's intrinsic value compares to its market price with our detailed valuation report. Gain insight into the risks facing Atlassian and how they might influence its performance—click here to read more. Got skin in the game with Atlassian? Elevate how you manage them by using Simply Wall St's portfolio, where intuitive tools await to help optimize your investment outcomes. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Companies discussed in this article include NasdaqGS:TEAM. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@
Yahoo
07-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Charlotte man is the first to win $1 million with this lottery ticket
CHARLOTTE (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — A Charlotte man won big with a new type of lottery ticket, according to the North Carolina Education Lottery. Christian Smith bought the lucky $10 scratch-off at the Sam's Mart on Johnston Road in Charlotte. He is the first to win the $1 million playing the 50X The Cash. Taylorsville woman wins $5 million scratch-off lottery prize Smith was given the option to receive an annuity of $50,000 for 20 years or a $600,000 lump sum. He chose the lump sum and took home $430,503 after taxes. The 50X The Cash began this week with six $1 million top prizes. Five prizes have yet to be claimed. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
