Monasticism today

Amid a widespread sense that Western Christianity is in crisis, it is difficult to assess the current state of monasticism in the West. At monasteries around the world, the number of retreatants is increasing but the number of postulants is not. In a shift away from activism, many Western monastics prefer introverted pursuits such as spiritual mentoring, icon making, and publication of contemplative books. Monastics have exploited the Internet to launch tens of thousands of Web sites, which disseminate information about monasteries in unprecedented abundance. There are few Christian monasteries or orders anywhere that do not maintain one or more Web sites.

Although in some Christian orders and in some regions (e.g., India), the number of vocations is steady or even increasing, in most it is sharply declining. In some male orders, members eschew the priesthood so as to avoid commitments (e.g., parish work) outside the cloister. Schools formerly staffed by Benedictines or Dominicans now employ mainly lay teachers. The burden of supporting aging brothers and sisters afflicts orders in Europe and North America with particular severity. Even as Western Christian monasticism fascinates ever more spiritual seekers, its number of recruits is diminishing.

In the territories of the former Soviet Union, however, monasticism is experiencing a revival. Since 1989 hundreds of monasteries have been restored to worship, and many now house young novices. There is a flourishing study, particularly by archaeologists, of Russian, Ukrainian, and other Slavic monasticisms, partly because Eastern Orthodox Christians respect monastics as the personification of both religious and national tradition. Some Russian and Ukrainian monasteries, however, remain tainted by their earlier association with the Soviet secret police.

In the early 21st century, Buddhist male monasticism still pervades daily life in Theravadin countries such as Sri Lanka, Myanmar, and Thailand. It remains customary there for adolescent males to spend a few months or a few years in a monastery. The nuns’ orders, however, have disappeared in most Asian countries (other than Taiwan and Korea). In Japan and South Korea numerous Buddhist organizations preserve their traditions and are supported by pilgrims and seekers. Yet, in the communist countries of Asia, the persecution of the 20th century took such a heavy toll that monasticism in those countries had not recovered in the early 21st century. In China thousands of monasteries were closed or allowed to decline before a measure of toleration was granted in the mid-1980s. In Vietnam monasteries were denied new vocations, and in Tibet hundreds of monasteries were dismantled, thousands of monks were executed or imprisoned, and tens of thousands were forced into exile. Their diaspora stimulated Western Buddhism immeasurably through the foundation of teaching centres and the promotion of Christian-Buddhist dialogue in the late 20th and the early 21st century.

As an intensification of an overarching religion—whether Eastern Christianity, Western Christianity, Buddhism, or, to a lesser extent, Hinduism—monasticism has never before been so widely studied by non-monastics or so eagerly pursued by outsiders through pilgrimage and retreat. A vowed life, lived in community under a rule yet within the embrace of a major religion, exerts a fascination on seekers and scholars alike. However long this interest may continue, it is clear that the well-being of monasticism—both financial and demographic—lies in large measure in the hands of its lay supporters.