Forum: buddhism.stackexchange.com
Tags: <modern-world><demographics>
Title: Is Buddhism in a worldwide decline?
Question: I was listening to a  podcast  a while ago and it stated that Buddhism worldwide is in decline. I found that surprising. Is that true? Does anyone have any references or better still statistics to prove or disprove that.

Answers:
sents: text: I found several interesting Wiki pages: This one gives a basic idea about the growth as a comparison between 1910 and 2010.
text: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Growth_of_religion
text: This is the List of religious population.
text: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_religious_populations
text: This one gives the population groth rates http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Population_growth_rate By briefly analysing all of the above
text: , I feel like Buddhism is decline according to the statistics.
text: Further found this article which gives a projections for the Next 200 Years : http://www.wnrf.org/cms/print_next200.shtml
text: According to it from 1900 to 2025 Buddhist world wide % changed ( and will be change) from 7.8% to 5.7%.
text: Although it sound like depressing, please think as a Buddhists this is quite expected and all align with Buddhist teaching.
text: Going forward, It is quite clear that world is not going be a better place than today.
text: As people moving more towards to materialism, consumerism they tends to distract from the reality.
text: So be mindful and practice the Dhamma.
answer_details: author: buddhism.stackexchange.com/users/29/samnish
score: 7
sents: text: According to the commentaries, Buddha Sasana will last 5000 years.
text: That means about another 2400+ years.
text: In the 1st millennium, there were Arahaths with special Jhanic powers.
text: In the 2nd millennium, there were Arahaths with no specials powers.
text: In the 3rd millennium, i.e. at present, it's said that there are only Anagami Sangha at most.
text: In the 4th millennium, there will be Sakadagami Sangha at most.
text: In the 5th, there will be Sothapanna Sangha at most.
text: At the end, monks won't even be wearing robes.
text: They will wear ordinary clothes and will just use a yellow string to indicate that they are monks.
answer_details: author: buddhism.stackexchange.com/users/111/Sankha Kulathantille
score: 6
sents: text: In addition to the other answers, I believe there is a global decline in many major religions as you can see in this Google trends graph .
text: I would argue that especially in the western countries choice and interest of religion is subject to change, e.g., due to trends and/or major events.
answer_details: author: buddhism.stackexchange.com/users/354/kero
score: 5
sents: text: Main aspect leading to Buddhist decline or growth as per
text: The Dharma-ending Age : the admission of women into the monastic community; the lack of respect toward various elements of the Buddhist tradition; the lack of diligence in meditation practice; carelessness in the transmission of the teachings; the emergence of divisions within the Sangha; the emergence of false or “counterfeit” Dharma; and excessive association with secular society.
text: Later texts also mention external causes of the religion’s decline of which there are two: the invasion of India by foreign, non-Buddhist powers; and excessive state control.
text: Out of these we already see many elements today.
text: So naturally Buddhism is in the decline.
text: The way to get over this decline can be as follows: Every Buddhist should operative the 4 frame of mindfulness diligently to attack 3
text: Should teach this diligently and sharing Dhamma realized empirically to attack 2 Should try to source as much from the Suttas strengthened though empirical understanding to attack 4 and 6 Be mindful of the Vinaya and how the Sangha is organised without trying to bring variations 5, 7 and 2 Look at the Dhamma as it is without a mixing personal or cultural beliefs to attack 2 and 7
answer_details: author: buddhism.stackexchange.com/users/295/Suminda Sirinath S. Dharmasena
score: 4
sents: text: In the modern age of world-wide education & science, all religions that have superstitious beliefs will inevitably fall into decline (statistically).
text: Asian cultural 'Buddhism' is no different to Western Christianity or Judaism.
text: Many Asian cultural Buddhists will stop believing in unknowable superstitious ideas (such as 'reincarnation-rebirth' & external 'heavens & hells') & thus reject (what they believe)
text: Buddhism (to be).
text: The Buddhist scriptures (such as MN 95 ) report the Buddha criticised religions that adhere to blind faith yet, since that time, Buddhism has become the same.
text: For example, today, there are famous teachers that will insist you cannot be a Buddhist if you do not believe in post-mortem-rebirth.
text: "Master Gotama, with regard to the ancient hymns of the brahmans — passed down through oral transmission & included in their canon —
text: the brahmans have come to the definite conclusion that "...this is true...
text: " What does Master Gotama have to say to this?
text: "
text: "Tell me, Bharadvaja, is there among the brahmans even one brahman who says, '
text: This I know; this I see...this is true..'" "No, Master Gotama."
text: the Dhamma... is deep, hard to see, hard to realize, tranquil, refined, beyond the scope of conjecture, subtle, to-be-experienced by the wise..
text: I speculate Buddhism only historically grew as a cultural religion due to a change of emphasis towards 'rebirth-reincarnation' (which was also the primary reason why Buddhism became extinct in India due to it becoming undifferentiatable from Hinduism).
text: Therefore, it is inevitable cultural Buddhism declines for the same reason that it grew; in that it was never ever True Buddhism.
text: In conclusion, (in ordinary circumstances) the True Dhamma will not decline since those that comprehend Ultimate Knowable Truth do not change their convictions.
answer_details: author: buddhism.stackexchange.com/users/8157/Dhammadhatu
score: 2
sents: text: I don't have statistics for you
text: but I do want to point a few things out to give you hope against the dire (skillful means) predictions of a Dharma Ending Age: Statistics lie.
text: There must be a huge amount of "unnanounced Buddhists" who practice meditation with the quest for Awakening (freedom from suffering).
text: This to me qualifies as Buddhist, especially because some of these "untracked" people spend far more hours in the day practicing the essence of Buddhism than those affiliated to a softcore branch of Buddhism
text: ..
text: I myself am one of those people who announces themselves as multiple religions/none.
text: Buddhism is more of a spiritual lifestyle than a '-ism'.
text: Therefore anyone of any religion can practice it in the cover of their communal Abrahamic (or otherwise) religion.
text: Buddhism can never die.
text: The quest for freedom and happiness will never end and due to the information age, the Buddhist teachings/suttas are forever preserved even if a major portion of humanity is decimated.
text: So long as you yourself are interested in Buddhism for its life-benefitting knowledge, you can be sure many others are, too.
answer_details: author: buddhism.stackexchange.com/users/2265/Ahmed
score: 1

Summary of the answers:
According to it from 1900 to 2025 Buddhist world wide % changed ( and will be change) from 7.8% to 5.7%.   In the modern age of world-wide education & science, all religions that have superstitious beliefs will inevitably fall into decline (statistically).  Many Asian cultural Buddhists will stop believing in unknowable superstitious ideas (such as 'reincarnation-rebirth' & external 'heavens & hells') & thus reject (what they believe). The invasion of India by non-Buddhist powers is also believed to have had an effect.
According to a study, the percentage of Buddhists worldwide will change from 7.8% in 1900 to 5.7% in 2025. Trends and major events in the Western world have an effect on religious practices. Religions with superstitions beliefs  will inevitably decline as a result of world-wide education and science. External causes for this decline include the invasion of India by foreign, non-Buddhist powers and excessive state control. However, those that comprehend the Ultimate Knowable Truth will not change their convictions.