Listener question: the future

Prompted by a listener who asked us to speculate on the next century of Buddhism in America, this time around we talk about some current trends and social issues that will no doubt have an influence on the direction of Buddhist sanghas. We start, oddly enough, in the past and consider the surprising twists and turns that Buddhism took through the 20th century as a result of immigration, war, and racial discrimination — all of which begs the question: what unforeseen historical events will shape Buddhist communities in the 21st century? There is anecdotal evidence to suggest that Buddhist communities are pretty heterogenous. Will that trend continue? Whereas Buddhists are a minority in this country, Buddhist ideas are pretty diffuse in popular culture. What impact will that have on traditional institutions as self-identified Buddhists stop feeling the need for “going to church”?