Resouces for Further Inquiry: Research Articles

Cadge, Wendy. "Refelctions of Habits, Buddhism in America, and religious individualism." Sociology of Religion 68 (2007): 201-05.

This research article, taken from the Sociology of Religion Journal written by Wendy Cage, describes the changes she has seen in Buddhism over the years as a sociologist. Cadge describes how Buddhism has “put down deep roots” in America. She explains how Buddhist organizations, teachers, meditation are being taught everywhere, from gyms to churches. She provides some statistics that show how far reached Buddhism is. She centers her research and observation on the Cambridge Insight Meditation Center (CIMC) a Buddhist center in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She talks about her book entitles Heartwood: The First Generation of Theravada Buddhism in America and relates it to another book called Habits of the Heart a book that she says has had a great impact on the sociology of religion. She introduces a concept called “communities of memory” and explains that this is what religious organizations really are, communities of memory. Wendy Cadge’s insight on the development and impact of Buddhism in America is extremely valuable to this topic. She combines a perfect balance of scholarly observation and personal passion and experience to explain some of the more complex ideals behind the evolution of Buddhism in America.

Peter, Gregory N. "Describing the elephant: Buddhism in America." Religion and American Culture 11 (2001): 233-63.

This research article taken from the Religion and American Culture Journal describe the changes of Buddhism in America. It explains both how American culture has changed to better suit Buddhism and how Buddhism has changed to better suit the American people. It then gives a brief history on the evolution of religion in America and this helps explain why Buddhism is growing so rapidly in the modern era. The journal also attempts to explain who “Buddhists” are and shows how complex this label can be. The journal points out the growth of books and literature related to Buddhism in America and describe many of the more popular ones. The author describes a concept called Americanization and explains how this phenomenon is changing Buddhism. This article is attempting to show the difference between the two types of Buddhism the author sees in America. The first is the Asian-American and immigrant Buddhism who were raised in the tradition and the second are the white convert Buddhism that is growing rapidly throughout America. This is one of the only articles I found that separates and analyzes the two as different types of Buddhism. I found these concepts very important and significant to this topic.