Buddhism in England

Historical Population

Year	Pop.	±%
2001	139,046	—
2011	238,626	+71.6%
2021	262,433	+10.0%
Religious Affiliation was not recorded prior to 2001.

Buddhism in England has growing support. 238,626 people in England declared themselves to be Buddhist at the 2011 Census and 34% of them lived in London.

History

Early Buddhist presence could be seen in the 1810s. Adam Sri Munni Ratna, a Buddhist monk from Ceylon (Sri Lanka), travelled to England with his cousin (also a Buddhist monk) while accompanying Sir Alexander Johnston in 1818. They were keen to learn Christianity as they were travelling to England. During their brief stay, the two monks were baptised and returned to Ceylon where they entered government service.

Dhamma hall at Chithurst Buddhist Monastery

Theravada influences grew in England during the early 20th century. A few of the significant events were the foundation of London’s Buddhist Society in 1924 and the Theravada London Buddhist Vihara in Chiswick in 1926. Anagarika Dharmapala (1864-1933), the founder of the Mahā Bodhi Society in 1891, was instrumental in presenting Buddhism as a living monastic tradition to the UK. The return of Ananda Metteyya to England on 23 April 1908 after travels in Ceylon and monk ordination in Burma was another significant milestone in the legacy of British Buddhism. A slow trickle from United Kingdom travelled to Asia for deeper spiritual commitment via monastic ordination, mainly as Theravadin monks, like Ñāṇavīra Thera and Ñāṇamoli Bhikkhu who went to Island Hermitage in Sri Lanka for their Sāmaṇera ordination in 1949. Kapilavaddho Bhikkhu introduced the Dhammakaya tradition to the UK in 1954 in this way and founded the English Sangha Trust in 1955. Several notable Asian monks like Hammalawa Saddhatissa came to live in England.

In 1967, Englishman Sangharakshita (1925-2018), who had spent time in the east as a Theravadin monk, founded the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order (later renamed Triratna Buddhist Community).

The Manjushri Institute, a large Buddhist college at Conishead Priory in Cumbria, was founded under the guidance of the Tibetan Gelugpa monk Thubten Yeshe in 1976. In 1991, it was subsumed by the New Kadampa Tradition, a new religious movement founded by another monk, Kelsang Gyatso.

A Theravada monastic order following the Thai Forest Tradition of Ajahn Chah was established at Chithurst Buddhist Monastery in West Sussex in 1979, giving rise to branch monasteries elsewhere in the country, including the Amaravati Buddhist Monastery in the Chiltern Hills and Aruna Ratanagiri in Northumberland. Quite a number of locals like Ajahn Khemadhammo, Ajahn Sucitto, Ajahn Amaro, Ajahn Brahm and Ajahn Jayasaro were ordained into this monastic order, become serious practitioners and dedicated Dhamma teachers. Ajahn Khemadhammo also began Buddhist prison chaplaincy work in 1977 and established "Angulimala, the Buddhist Prison Chaplaincy" in 1985. A lay meditation tradition of Thai origin is represented by the Samatha Trust, with its headquarters cum retreat centre in Wales. Sōtō Zen has a priory at Throssel Hole Buddhist Abbey in Northumberland.

There are now many Buddhist groups in England. To name a few from the Tibetan Tradition there are Sanghas of: Rigpa, Karma Kagyu, Dechen, Diamond Way Buddhism and Aro gTér

The Dalai Lama visited Aldershot in both 2010 and 2015, on the latter occasion formally opening the Aldershot Buddhist Centre.

Demographics

Geographical Distribution

In 2001 Buddhism constituted 0.3% of the population of England, which increased to 0.5% in 2011 census. According to the 2011 census, there are 238,626 Buddhists in England.

The district with the highest proportion of Buddhists at the 2011 Census was Rushmoor in Hampshire, with 3.3% of respondents identifying as Buddhist: this is mainly due to the area's (specifically Aldershot's) historic ties with the Gurkha regiment.

Buddhists in England by Region

Region	2021		2011		2001
	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
Greater London	77,425	0.9%	82,026	1.0%	54,297	0.8%
South East	54,433	0.6%	43,946	0.5%	22,005	0.3%
East	26,814	0.4%	22,273	0.4%	12,065	0.2%
South West	24,579	0.4%	19,730	0.4%	11,299	0.2%
North West	23,028	0.3%	20,695	0.3%	11,794	0.2%
West Midlands	18,804	0.3%	16,649	0.3%	9,760	0.2%
Yorkshire and the Humber	15,803	0.3%	14,319	0.3%	7,188	0.1%
East Midlands	14,521	0.3%	12,672	0.3%	7,541	0.2%
North East	7,026	0.3%	6,316	0.2%	3,097	0.1%
England	262,433	0.5%	238,626	0.5%	139,046	0.3%

Ethnic group

Buddhists in England by Ethnic group

Ethnic group	2001		2011		2021
	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
Asian	47,082	33.86	144,044	60.36	154,531	58.88
– Chinese	33,394	24.02	47,809	20.04	41,014	15.63
– Indian	1,862	1.34	3,577	1.50	3,504	1.34
– Pakistani	181	0.13	695	0.29	221	0.08
– Bangladeshi	166	0.12	524	0.22	489	0.19
– Other Asian	11,479	8.26	91,439	38.32	109,303	41.65
White	52,664	37.88	78,659	32.96	81,865	31.19
– British	47,218	33.96	67,797	28.41	70,110	26.72
– Irish	1,159	0.83	1,460	0.61	1,682	0.64
– Irish Traveller			397	0.17	328	0.12
– Roma					361	0.14
– Other White	4,287	3.08	9,005	3.77	9,384	3.58
Mixed	4,531	3.26	9,585	4.02	10,589	4.03
– White and Asian	1,801	1.30	5,615	2.35	6,396	2.44
– White and Black Caribbean	500	0.36	992	0.42	1,130	0.43
– White and Black African	457	0.33	443	0.19	521	0.20
– Other Mixed	1,773	1.28	2,535	1.06	2,542	0.97
Black	1,494	1.07	2,775	1.16	2,307	0.88
– Caribbean	970	0.70	1,135	0.48	1,236	0.47
– African	338	0.24	912	0.38	667	0.25
– Other Black	186	0.13	728	0.31	404	0.15
Other	33,275	23.93	3,563	1.46	13,141	5.01
– Arab			388	0.13	125	0.05
– Other Ethnic group	33,275	23.93	3,175	1.33	13,016	4.96
TOTAL	139,046	100.0	238,626	100.0	262,433	100.0

See also

• Buddhism in Scotland
• Buddhism in Wales
• Buddhism in the United Kingdom

People

• Ajahn Amaro
• Ajahn Jayasāro
• Ajahn Khemadhammo
• Ajahn Sucitto
• Ajahn Sumedho
• Hammalawa Saddhatissa
• Ñāṇamoli Bhikkhu
• Ñāṇavīra Thera

Locations

• Amaravati Buddhist Monastery
• Aruna Ratanagiri
• Dhamma Talaka Pagoda
• London Buddhist Centre
• London Fo Guang Shan Temple
• Wat Buddhapadipa

Organisations

• Pali Text Society

Sources

• Bluck, Robert (2006). British Buddhism: Teachings, Practice and Development. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-134-15817-1.