East Asia’s Buddhist Decline

Pew Research finds Buddhism is the only major world religion with a net drop in adherents between 2010 and 2020, and the fall is concentrated in East Asia where large shares of people raised Buddhist now say they are unaffiliated. Interviews in Tokyo and Seoul point to generational secularization, urban migration and greater trust in science as drivers of this drift. — A shrinking Buddhist population in China, Japan and South Korea could reshape cultural practices, political identity, and social institutions that have long been linked to Buddhist structures and rituals.