Buddhism, like most religions, is losing members at an alarming pace (I saw a commercial on TV the other day advertising the Catholic Church…they have to make TV ads now?). Unlike the Catholic Church, however, they are getting with the 21st century and have opened a Buddhist bar complete with alcohol and rap music:
Whatever works, I say. I wonder if the monks serve as bartenders and wear their robes while throwing shakers around like Tom Cruise in Cocktail? Because that would make a great Youtube video.
Yeah, I've seen the signs outside of Catholic churches here in Cincy: "Interested in being Catholic? Come on in!" But I don't think that that means religion itself is going away, just attracting itself to different markets. Yeah, there's not really a market for 19th Century services. But if you want fundamentalist lite (all the tradition, none of the guilt), which seems to work cross-faith, then there are mega-churches… or Chabad Jewish Centers, like the one I go to. (Hmmm…)