Buddhism Is High‑Turnover in U.S.

Pew estimates show nearly half of current U.S. Buddhist adults were not raised Buddhist (48%), while a majority of those raised Buddhist have left the religion (55%). Those rates indicate Buddhism in the U.S. is characterized more by fluid personal identification than stable intergenerational continuity. — High turnover in a minority religion changes how scholars and policymakers should treat religious communities when discussing integration, institutional support, and identity politics.

Sources

5 facts about Buddhists in the United States

Beshay 2026.03.11 100% relevant

Pew Research Center datasets cited in the article (2023–24 Religious Landscape Study and 2022–23 Survey of Asian Americans) and the headline statistics: 48% converts; 55% of those raised Buddhist no longer identify.

Buddhism’s Recent Decline in East Asia

Shannon Greenwood 2026.03.11 65% relevant

Both pieces document rapid affiliation change among people raised Buddhist; this article extends that pattern to East Asia with Pew’s 2010–2020 estimates and survey figures (e.g., 40% of Japanese adults raised Buddhist are now unaffiliated; 42% in South Korea), showing turnover is not just a U.S. phenomenon but involves core Buddhist societies too.