The Individual in Relation to the Sangha in American Buddhism: An Examination of ''Privatized Religion''

Abstract

In his celebrated book Bowling Alone (2000), Robert Putnam noted the increased level in the phenomenon of ‘‘privatized religion’’ within the previous thirty-five years. Many of the Baby Boomer generation left churches in the late 1960s and the 1970s. Some sought out new religious movements and religious therapies, but most simply ‘‘dropped out’’ of organized religion altogether. He cites Wade Clark Roof and William McKinney, specialists in American religion, who describe the outcome of this trend in American religious behavior: ‘‘[The consequence was a] tendency toward highly individualized religious psychology without the benefits of strong supportive attachments to believing communities. A major impetus in this direction in the post-1960s was the thrust toward greater personal fulfillment and quest for the ideal self. . . . In this climate of expressive individualism, religion tends to become ‘‘privatized,’’ or anchored in the personal realms.’’1 Putnam observes that although privatized religion may be ‘‘morally compelling and psychologically fulfilling,’’ it involves less social capital than environments in which individuals are connected to other individuals in shared faith commitment. Interestingly, American Buddhism may be one of the beneficiaries of this trend, for the recent growth of Buddhism in the United States is partly attributable to the climate of ‘‘privatized’’ religion. Nowhere is this symbolized more than by the so-called Nightstand Buddhists. 2 The Nightstand Buddhists derive their name from their practice of placing a Buddhist meditation book on the nightstand after reading it before they go to sleep. They get up the next morning and practice to the best of their ability the meditation they had read about the night before. Further, they may frequently attend lectures at the local university and visit a Buddhist center’s webpage or participate in an online Buddhist discussion group. And if we were to visit them, we might find their homes decorated with Buddhist artifacts. But these Nightstand Buddhists do not show up in any statistics on the