http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/14/world/asia/14japan.html?_r=1&scp=4&sq=buddhism&st=cse&oref=slogin
When I think of major religions of the world, one that comes to my mind is Buddhism, but according to New York Times writer Norimitsu Onishi the religion is dying out. Many Japanese Buddhists are pretty relaxed in their studies of the religion, and Onishi states that the only really major Buddhist tradition still left around is the burial ceremony. It's mainly becoming less popular because people find that they focus more on the dead than the living. Also, Buddhist priests are becoming afraid that no one will be there to replace them when they stop preaching. Low birth rates in the heavily Buddhist rural areas are also contributing to the decreasing popularity of this religion. A question one could raise from this article is what religion would replace Buddhism in Japan? If Christianity were to take over, that would lead to a more centralized world, and would probably create an even better relation between the U.S. and Japan.
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This is a very interesting topic because of how the structure and practice of Buddhism has been changing so much recently, that the religion has actually seen a decrease in formal practice. After reading a similar article, I think that the numbers presented can actually be rather misleading. Although formal and completely devoted practice of Buddhism has dwindled, there are scores of people who have taken different aspects of the religion into their daily lives. Buddhist meditation is one example that has become prevalent even in our western society.
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