A new report looks at the reasons for the decline based on qualitative interviews in Tokyo and Seoul. In addition to demographic decline, the erosion of faith between generations, the “pressures of modern life”, the decline in religious practices, and negative views of religion have also played a role. However, many claim to maintain a cultural connection with Buddhism and still feel drawn to its teachings.

Rome (AsiaNews) – The Pew Research Center published a report yesterday based on a qualitative research method – interviews with a mixed and non-representative sample of young and older adults in Tokyo and Seoul – to better understand the underlying reasons for the recent decline of Buddhism in East Asia.

Back in June 2025, the think tank, an authoritative US observatory on global social issues, had already noted that Buddhism was the only major religion with a declining membership between 2010 and 2020, a drop of 5.4 per cent compared to the previous 10 years.

The latest findings depict a multifaceted picture that, in addition to demographic decline, points to various causes for the trend: gradual intergenerational loss of faith, the inevitable “pressures of modern life”, a significant drop in formal and informal religious practices, widespread negative views of religion, and the connection with shamanism.

At the same time, the Pew Research Center notes the persistence of a "cultural connection with Buddhism" that endures despite the changes, with the teachings of this religion still attractive for many.

The causes identified last year were primarily linked to individual freedoms and demographics.

At the same time, uncertainties over the term religion exist in Asia where most Buddhists live, more than 90 per cent in just 10 countries.

The Pew Research Center survey asked, "What is your religion, if any?” but many Buddhists refused to adhere to any formal definition, which is more suited to organised forms of religion such as Christianity.

Freedom and demography, we said. “The decline of Buddhism is especially pronounced in East Asia, including China, South Korea and Japan”, reads the report. Indeed, Buddhism's decline is in line with demographic decline in China or Japan.

Thailand, a Southeast Asian country with the highest number of Buddhists in the world, who represent 94 per cent of the population, is also experiencing a decline due to aging.

Cultural explanations also add to understanding with a rising number of "unaffiliated" people and young people and adults who leave religion behind.

The interviews conducted by the Pew Research Center in Tokyo and Seoul with Japanese and South Korean adults raised in a Buddhist environment come into play.

Despite growing up in religious families, or influenced by Buddhism elsewhere, the interviewees share one common denominator: Few “barely think about religion today.”

The interviews conducted in October 2024 are illustrated with graphs based on survey data, reports, and demographic studies by the same US observatory.

“Often, religious disaffiliation is a gradual process of drifting away from one’s upbringing, rather than a clean break or a deliberate conversion,”reads the article by the Pew Research Center. This process is favoured, for example, by the gradual decline in "family traditions”, especially among those who move to the cities.

"I tend to believe in science more than anything spiritual," said Sunwoo Lee, a university student in Seoul.

There is a gradual withering away of faith from one generation to the next; so in many families, grandparents are the most devout members, their children less so, and grandchildren even less.

This is compounded by a lack of “habits of praying”, as Junichiro Tsujinaka, a bar owner in Tokyo, put it.

“Several other interviewees also said it was difficult to find time for spiritual or religious activities amid their busy careers, schoolwork and daily chores,” the article reads.

This is also facilitated by the fact that going to a temple is not “customary” in Buddhism, unlike Islam, Christianity, and Judaism, which place great importance on regular worship.         

Jeongnam Oh, a retired shop owner in Seoul, mentioned “the pressures of modern life”. Raised in a Buddhist family, she no longer identifies as Buddhist after she began caring for her children, a reflection of a wider trend in religious participation across East Asia.

In fact, "formal practices" such as visiting temples and praying are declining. "I don't remember going to temple with my kids," Jeongnam Oh said.

Informal practices, such as caring for the home altar, called butsudan, are also declining.

“Atsushi Oda, a Japanese book editor, says that after his mother passed away, his father assumed the task of maintaining the butsudan. But Oda does not expect to take over this duty from his father.” Instead, he thinks he will adapt it so that it does not demand too much work.

Then there are the widespread “negative views” about religion in general, which may also have influenced attitudes towards Buddhism.        

“Rogeon Hong, a studio technician in Seoul, associates religion with superstition and shamanism. He says his father identifies as Buddhist but engages in shamanistic practices, such as carrying amulets for good luck.”

The idea of ​​religion has also been “tarnished by violence,” especially in Japan.

Masami Sato, a Tokyo journalist, recalls the 1995 sarin nerve attack in the Tokyo subway, carried out by the Aum Shinrikyo group, which had Buddhist influences. The incident, in which 13 people were killed, was "one of his first impressions of religion”.               

Lastly, despite the low rates of "Buddhist self-identification and participation” among young people, several participants in the Pew Research Center survey "still feel a cultural connection to Buddhism and are attracted to some of its teachings.”

Some surveys found “that around a third of religiously unaffiliated people in Japan, and four-in-ten in South Korea, feel an affinity for Buddhist ways.”

One of them is Oh, from Seoul, who continues to rely on her beliefs "for comfort”. "I guess it's what I grew up with it, and it's still there with me," she said.

• east asia
• per research center
• survey
• buddhism
• decline