Index| Group | Where | Number of Adherents |
% of total pop. |
Number of congreg./ churches/ units |
Number of countries |
Year | Source | Quote/ Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buddhism | USA | 92,000 | - | - | - | 1965 | Historical Statistics of the United States: Colonial Times to 1970; Washington, D.C.: U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Bureau of Census (1975); pg. 391. | Table: "Membership of Religious Bodies, 1890 to 1970, & by Major Groups: 1951 to 1970 " |
| Buddhism | USA | 100,000 | - | - | - | 1968 | Historical Statistics of the United States: Colonial Times to 1970; Washington, D.C.: U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Bureau of Census (1975); pg. 391. | Table: "Membership of Religious Bodies, 1890 to 1970, & by Major Groups: 1951 to 1970 " |
| Buddhism | USA | 100,000 | - | - | - | 1969 | Historical Statistics of the United States: Colonial Times to 1970; Washington, D.C.: U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Bureau of Census (1975); pg. 391. | Table: "Membership of Religious Bodies, 1890 to 1970, & by Major Groups: 1951 to 1970 " |
| Buddhism | USA | 200,000 | 0.10% | - | - | 1970 | 1996 Britannica Book of the Year | Table: Non-Christian Religious Adherents in the United States |
| Buddhism | USA | 100,000 | - | - | - | 1970 | Historical Statistics of the United States: Colonial Times to 1970; Washington, D.C.: U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Bureau of Census (1975); pg. 391. | Table: "Membership of Religious Bodies, 1890 to 1970, & by Major Groups: 1951 to 1970 " |
| Buddhism | USA | 200,000 | - | - | - | 1970 | Ash, Russell. The Top 10 of Everything 1999. New York: DK Publishing (1998); pg. 76. | Table: "Top 10 Fastest-Growing Religious Affiliations in the US "; "Based on increases/decreases between 1970 and 1995 "; Rank: #4; 290.0% growth |
| Buddhism | USA | 200,000 | - | - | - | 1970 | Ash, Russell. The Top 10 of Everything, DK Publishing, Inc.: New York (1997); pg. 160-161. | List: "Fastest Growing Religious Affiliations in the US " (Based on increase/decrease in membership between 1970 and 1995). |
| Buddhism | USA | 60,000 | - | - | - | 1979 | Carmody, Denise Lardner & John Tully Carmody. Western Ways to the Center: An Introduction to Western Religions; Belmont, California: Wadsworth Publishing Co. (1983); pg. 122. | Table: "Membership Data on Major American Religious Groups [1979] " |
| Buddhism | USA | 700,000 | 0.30% | - | - | 1990 | 1996 Britannica Book of the Year | Table: Non-Christian Religious Adherents in the United States |
| Buddhism | USA | 401,000 | 0.20% | - | - | 1990 | Kosmin, B. & S. Lachman. One Nation Under God: Religion in Contemporary American Society; Harmony Books: New York (1993); pg. 15-17. | Table 1-2: Self-Described Adherence of U.S. Adult Population 1990. Phone survey w/ 113,000 people; by Graduate School of City U. of New York. |
| Buddhism | USA | - | 0.40% | - | - | 1990 | Kosmin, B. & S. Lachman. One Nation Under God: Religion in Contemporary American Society; Harmony Books: New York (1993); pg. 15-17. | Table 1-2: Self-Described Adherence of U.S. Adult Population 1990. Phone survey w/ 113,000 people; by Graduate School of City U. of New York. [adjusted up from .02% for possible undercount] |
| Buddhism | USA | - | 0.20% | - | - | 1990 | Kosmin, B. & S. Lachman. One Nation Under God: Religion in Contemporary American Society; Harmony Books: New York (1993); pg. 88-93. | Table 3-1: Religious Composition of State Populations, 1990 (%). Self-identification of religious loyalty, phone survey w/ 113,000 people; by City U. of New York. |
| Buddhism | USA | 5,000,000 | - | - | - | 1990 | Naisbitt, John & Patricia Aburdene. Megatrends 2000: Ten New Directions for the 1990's. New York: William Morrow and Co. (1990); pg. 276. | "There are at least 600,000 U.S. Buddhists from the two main Japanese sects; thousands more from Southeast Asia. But the total number of Buddhists in North America is between 3 and 5 million, according to the American Buddhist Congress in Los Angeles. Buddhist chaplains are recognized in the U.S. armed forces. " |
| Buddhism | USA | 200,000 | - | - | - | 1992 | Russell, Chandler. Racing Toward 2001; Zondervan Publishing House: Grand Rapids, MI (1992). [Original sources: University of Massachusetts; National Council of Churches; denominational officials; American Jewish Yearbook.]; pg. 189. | Table: "Some Major Religious Groups in the United States " |
| Buddhism | USA | 500,000 | - | - | - | 1993 | Magida, Arthur J. (ed). How to be a Perfect Stranger: A Guide to Etiquette in Other People's Religious Ceremonies. Woodstock, VT: Jewish Lights Publishing (1996); pg. 56. | Chapter on Buddhists: "U.S. temples: Not available; U.S. membership: 500,000 (data from the 1993 Information Please Almanac) " |
| Buddhism | USA | 6,000,000 | - | - | - | 1994 | *LINK* "6,000 Journalists Censure Media's Ethnic Sterotyping " in Hinduism Today International (Oct. 1994) | There are an estimated 3-6 million Buddhists in the US. |
| Buddhism | USA | 6,000,000 | - | - | - | 1994 | *LINK* "Is Buddha Awakening U.S.? " in Hinduism Today International (July 1994) | Taoists, Shintoists and Six Million Buddhists Run 600 Temples And Monasteries, Enriching America's Inner Landscape |
| Buddhism | USA | - | - | - | - | 1994 | Chalfant, H. Paul, et al. Religion in Contemporary Society (3rd Ed.); Itasca, Illinois: F.E. Peacock Publishers (1994); pg. 428. | "As immigrants from Asia are once again welcome in the U.S., Buddhist temples are almost as common as Islamic mosques in some cities. " |
| Buddhism | USA | 500,000 | - | - | - | 1994 | Neusner, Jacob (ed). World Religions in America: An Introduction; Louisville, KY: Westminster/John Knox Press (1994); pg. 217. | "Approximately half a million people in the United States identify themselves formally as Buddhist, and echoes of Buddhist values can be heard in many areas of American cultural life. " |
| Buddhism | USA | - | - | - | - | 1994 | Neusner, Jacob (ed). World Religions in America: An Introduction; Louisville, KY: Westminster/John Knox Press (1994); pg. 2. | "Somewhat less than 1% practice Hinduism, and about the same number practice Buddhism. " [ "Somewhat " is so inprecise I haven't listed the percentage. Other statistics indicate about .4% of Americans are Buddhist.] |
| Buddhism | USA | 780,000 | 0.30% | - | - | 1995 | 1996 Britannica Book of the Year | Table: Non-Christian Religious Adherents in the United States |
| Buddhism | USA | 780,000 | - | - | - | 1995 | Ash, Russell. The Top 10 of Everything 1999. New York: DK Publishing (1998); pg. 76. | Table: "Top 10 Fastest-Growing Religious Affiliations in the US "; "Based on increases/decreases between 1970 and 1995 "; Rank: #4; 290.0% growth |
| Buddhism | USA | 780,000 | - | - | - | 1995 | Ash, Russell. The Top 10 of Everything, DK Publishing, Inc.: New York (1997); pg. 160-161. | List: "Fastest Growing Religious Affiliations in the US " (Based on increase/decrease in membership between 1970 and 1995). |
| Buddhism | USA | 1,880,000 | - | - | - | 1996 | 1997 Britannica Book of the Year; pg. 781-783. | Table: "Religion ": Divided by nations, with 2 columns: "Religious affiliation " & "1996 pop. " [of that religion]. Based on best avail. figures, whether census data, membership figures or estimates by analysts, as % of est. 1996 midyear pop. |
| Buddhism | USA | - | 1.00% | - | - | 1996 | Gallagher, Winifred. Working on God. New York: Random House (1999). [Orig. source: George H. Gallup, Jr. Religion in America (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton Religion Research Center, 1996).]; pg. 147. | "Gallup surveys show that Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism are eeach claimed by about 1 percent of Americans (some perspective: 2% profess Judaism; 1%, Eastern Orthodox Christianity; 2% are Mormons). " |
| Buddhism | USA | 1,864,000 | - | - | - | 1997 | Ash, Russell. The Top 10 of Everything, DK Publishing, Inc.: New York (1997); pg. 160-161. | List: "Top 10 Religious Affiliations in the US "; (Rank: 8) |
| Buddhism | USA | 5,000,000 | - | - | - | 1998 | "The Only Way " in Christianity Today (Jan. 12, 1998); pg. 36. | "Islam will replace Judaism as America's second-largest religion in about 20 years; already 3 to 5 million Buddhists live in America. " |
| Buddhism | USA | 780,000 | - | - | - | 1998 | McCourt, Frank. "God in America " in Life (Dec. 1998); pg. 71. | "Buddhism, with its many Gods, has a burgeoning... in the U.S. (now 780,000). " |
| Buddhism | USA | - | 0.50% | - | - | 1998 | *LINK* Nazarene web site: Nazarene World Mission Society; (major source: Johnstone's Operation World) | Table "Religions " |
| Buddhism | USA | 3,000,000 | - | - | - | 1999 | *LINK* McCaffrey, Raymond (Knight Ridder). "Seeking spiritual meaning in Buddhism " in Deseret News, 2 Oct. 1999 (v. online 3 Oct. 99). | "...David Gardiner, an assistant religion professor at Colorado College... No systematic effort to count the number of practicing Buddhists in this country is in place, says Gardiner, but he's aware of estimates that the number ranges from 1 million to 3 million. " |
| Buddhism | USA | 750,000 | - | - | - | 1999 | Zelizer, Gerald L. "Gideon Bible reflects how hotels have fallen behind the times " in USA Today, 1 July 1999; pg. 15A. | "Buddhism may be the fastest-growing Eastern religion, with an estimated 750,000 American adherents. " |
| Buddhism | USA | 1,070,000 | 0.40% | - | - | 2000 | 1996 Britannica Book of the Year | Table: Non-Christian Religious Adherents in the United States. Year 2000 projection done in 1995. |
| Buddhism | USA - military | - | 0.17% | - | - | 2000 | *LINK* Estrin, Robin (AP). "Religion in the News " on Excite.News.Com (17 Feb 2000) | "Footlockers inside the container hold religious items for the military's three dominant religions: Christianity, Islam and Judaism. There are no immediate plans to include materials for other religions because their numbers in the Army are much smaller; Hindus and Buddhists, for example, make up 0.03 percent and 0.17 percent of soldiers, respectively. " |
| Buddhism | Utah | - | 0.10% | - | - | 1990 | Kosmin, B. & S. Lachman. One Nation Under God: Religion in Contemporary American Society; Harmony Books: New York (1993); pg. 88-93. | Table 3-1: Religious Composition of State Populations, 1990 (%). Self-identification of religious loyalty, phone survey w/ 113,000 people; by City U. of New York. |
| Buddhism | Utah | - | 0.00% | - | - | 2001 | *LINK* Kosmin, Barry A.; Egon Mayer; & Ariela Keysar. "American Religious Identity Survey. " 2001. City University of New York. | ARIS: Nationwide phone survey of 50,000 American adults; open-ended question: 'What is your religion, if any?'; Listed in table: "Buddhist "; Actual % between 0 and 0.5%, so sell was left blank. |
| Buddhism | Vermont | - | 0.00% | - | - | 1990 | Kosmin, B. & S. Lachman. One Nation Under God: Religion in Contemporary American Society; Harmony Books: New York (1993); pg. 88-93. | Table 3-1: Religious Composition of State Populations, 1990 (%). Self-identification of religious loyalty, phone survey w/ 113,000 people; by City U. of New York. |
| Buddhism | Vermont | - | 0.00% | - | - | 2001 | *LINK* Kosmin, Barry A.; Egon Mayer; & Ariela Keysar. "American Religious Identity Survey. " 2001. City University of New York. | ARIS: Nationwide phone survey of 50,000 American adults; open-ended question: 'What is your religion, if any?'; Listed in table: "Buddhist "; Actual % between 0 and 0.5%, so sell was left blank. |
| Buddhism | Vietnam | - | 55.00% | - | - | 1992 | Goring, Rosemary (ed). Larousse Dictionary of Beliefs & Religions (Larousse: 1994); pg. 581-584. | Table: "Population Distribution of Major Beliefs "; "Figures have been compiled from the most accurate recent available information and are in most cases correct to the nearest 1% " |
| Buddhism | Vietnam | - | - | - | - | 1994 | Bratvold, Gretchen (ed). Vietnam ...in Pictures (Visual Geography Series). Minneapolis, Minnesota: Lerner Publications Co. (1994); pg. 44-45. | "The religion of Buddhism spread to Vietnam from China and India as early as the second century A.D. The Chinese form, called Mahayana Buddhism, dominated northern Vietnam. The Indian style, Theravada Buddhism, influenced central and southern Vietnam... " |
| Buddhism | Vietnam | 50,760,000 | - | - | - | 1996 | 1997 Britannica Book of the Year; pg. 781-783. | Table: "Religion ": Divided by nations, with 2 columns: "Religious affiliation " & "1996 pop. " [of that religion]. Based on best avail. figures, whether census data, membership figures or estimates by analysts, as % of est. 1996 midyear pop. |
| Buddhism | Vietnam | 49,690,000 | - | - | - | 1997 | Ash, Russell. The Top 10 of Everything, DK Publishing, Inc.: New York (1997); pg. 160-161. | List: "Top 10 Largest Buddhist Populations in the World "; (Rank: 4) |
| Buddhism | Vietnam | 42,843,480 | - | - | - | 1998 | Ash, Russell. The Top 10 of Everything 1999. New York: DK Publishing (1998); pg. 76. | Table: "Top 10 Largest Buddhist Populations in the World "; Rank: #4 |
| Buddhism | Vietnam | - | 52.00% | - | - | 1998 | *LINK* Nazarene web site: Nazarene World Mission Society; (major source: Johnstone's Operation World) | Table "Religions " |
| Buddhism | Vietnam - South | - | 93.00% | - | - | 1963 | Dareff, Hal. The Story of Vietnam: A Background Book for Young People; New York: Parents' Magazine Press (1966); pg. 205-206. | "crisis of 1963 erupted... Of the 15 million people in South Vietnam, a little more than a million were Catholic. The rest, mainly Buddhist, resented the favoritism shown Catholics. " |
| Buddhism | Virginia | - | 0.40% | - | - | 1990 | Kosmin, B. & S. Lachman. One Nation Under God: Religion in Contemporary American Society; Harmony Books: New York (1993); pg. 88-93. | Table 3-1: Religious Composition of State Populations, 1990 (%). Self-identification of religious loyalty, phone survey w/ 113,000 people; by City U. of New York. |
| Buddhism | Virginia | - | 0.00% | - | - | 2001 | *LINK* Kosmin, Barry A.; Egon Mayer; & Ariela Keysar. "American Religious Identity Survey. " 2001. City University of New York. | ARIS: Nationwide phone survey of 50,000 American adults; open-ended question: 'What is your religion, if any?'; Listed in table: "Buddhist "; Actual % between 0 and 0.5%, so sell was left blank. |
| Buddhism | Washington | - | 0.50% | - | - | 1990 | Kosmin, B. & S. Lachman. One Nation Under God: Religion in Contemporary American Society; Harmony Books: New York (1993); pg. 88-93. | Table 3-1: Religious Composition of State Populations, 1990 (%). Self-identification of religious loyalty, phone survey w/ 113,000 people; by City U. of New York. |
| Buddhism | Washington | - | 1.00% | - | - | 2001 | *LINK* Kosmin, Barry A.; Egon Mayer; & Ariela Keysar. "American Religious Identity Survey. " 2001. City University of New York. | ARIS: Nationwide phone survey of 50,000 American adults; open-ended question: 'What is your religion, if any?'; Listed in table: "Buddhist " |
| Buddhism | Washington, D.C. | - | 0.30% | - | - | 1990 | Kosmin, B. & S. Lachman. One Nation Under God: Religion in Contemporary American Society; Harmony Books: New York (1993); pg. 88-93. | Table 3-1: Religious Composition of State Populations, 1990 (%). Self-identification of religious loyalty, phone survey w/ 113,000 people; by City U. of New York. [Geographic region in this table is listed as "District of Columbia ", not "Washington, D.C. "] |
| Buddhism | Washington, D.C. | - | 4.00% | - | - | 2001 | *LINK* Kosmin, Barry A.; Egon Mayer; & Ariela Keysar. "American Religious Identity Survey. " 2001. City University of New York. | ARIS: Nationwide phone survey of 50,000 American adults; open-ended question: 'What is your religion, if any?'; Listed in table: "Buddhist " |
| Buddhism | West Virginia | - | 0.10% | - | - | 1990 | Kosmin, B. & S. Lachman. One Nation Under God: Religion in Contemporary American Society; Harmony Books: New York (1993); pg. 88-93. | Table 3-1: Religious Composition of State Populations, 1990 (%). Self-identification of religious loyalty, phone survey w/ 113,000 people; by City U. of New York. |
| Buddhism | West Virginia | - | 0.00% | - | - | 2001 | *LINK* Kosmin, Barry A.; Egon Mayer; & Ariela Keysar. "American Religious Identity Survey. " 2001. City University of New York. | ARIS: Nationwide phone survey of 50,000 American adults; open-ended question: 'What is your religion, if any?'; Listed in table: "Buddhist "; Actual % between 0 and 0.5%, so sell was left blank. |
| Buddhism | Wisconsin | - | 0.30% | - | - | 1990 | Kosmin, B. & S. Lachman. One Nation Under God: Religion in Contemporary American Society; Harmony Books: New York (1993); pg. 88-93. | Table 3-1: Religious Composition of State Populations, 1990 (%). Self-identification of religious loyalty, phone survey w/ 113,000 people; by City U. of New York. |
| Buddhism | Wisconsin | - | 0.00% | - | - | 2001 | *LINK* Kosmin, Barry A.; Egon Mayer; & Ariela Keysar. "American Religious Identity Survey. " 2001. City University of New York. | ARIS: Nationwide phone survey of 50,000 American adults; open-ended question: 'What is your religion, if any?'; Listed in table: "Buddhist "; Actual % between 0 and 0.5%, so sell was left blank. |
| Buddhism | world | - | - | - | - | -17 B.C.E. | Oxtoby, Willard G. The Meaning of Other Faiths. Philadelphia: The Westminster Press (1983); pg. 69. | "Buddhism is the world's third great missionary religion. Its missionary spread from India so southeast Asia and to China two thousand years ago led to Buddhism's survival, since within India itself it was absorbed into the medieval Indian tradition. " |
| Buddhism | world | 127,000,000 | 7.94% | - | - | 1900 | Marty, Martin E. & R. Scott Appleby. The Glory and the Power: The Fundamentalist Challenge to the Modern World; Boston: Beacon Press (1992); pg. 12. | "The 'World Christian Encyclopedia' estimates that in 1900 there were 1.6 billion people on earth, 560 million of whom were Christian, 200 million Muslim, 200 million Hindu, 127 million Buddhist, and 106 million 'tribal religionists.' " |
| Buddhism | world | 127,000,000 | 7.80% | - | - | 1900 | *LINK* web page: "Buddhism: Numbers and Distribution "; web site: "Supporting Materials: Culture " (Slippery Rock Univ., PA). (viewed 31 Aug. 1999). Last Revised: 10-25-95 | "Buddhism... 1900 -- 127 million (7.8% of world); 1993 -- 334 million (6.0% of world); Overwhelmingly concentrated in Asia. " |
| Buddhism | world | 127,000,000 | 7.80% | - | - | 1900 | *LINK* web page: "Major Religions of the World "; web site: "Supporting Materials: Culture " (Slippery Rock Univ., PA). (viewed 31 Aug. 1999). Last revised 23 June 1999. | "Buddhism... Numbered 127 million in 1900 (7.8% of world) and 353 million in 1997 (6.0% of world). " |
| Buddhism | world | - | - | - | - | 1956 | Welles, Sam. The World's Great Religions, New York: Time Incorporated (1957); pg. 4. | "The 1954-56 conference in Rangoon--a world council of Buddhists to which representatives went from Eurpe and the West as well as from the East--beneath its announced preoccupation with the cannon of Buddhist scriptures was in reality largely an effort to give all the expressions of Buddhism a sense of unity in faith, and to fire them to a new surge of missionary endeavor. " |
| Buddhism | world | 500,000,000 | - | - | - | 1957 | Welles, Sam. The World's Great Religions, New York: Time Incorporated (1957); pg. 41. | "From the island of Ceylon to the islands of Japan, and throughout large sections of the Asian mainland, hundreds of millions of people--perhaps as many as 500 million--believe in... Buddhism. " |
| Buddhism | world | 500,000,000 | - | - | - | 1958 | Welles, Sam. The World's Great Religions, New York: Western Publishing Co. (1972). [11th printing; original edition: 1958]; pg. 37. | "From the island of Ceylon to the islands of Japan, and throughout large sections of the Asian mainland, hundreds of millions of people--perhaps as many as 500 million--believe in a a gentle and peaceable religion called Buddhism. " |
| Buddhism | world | 400,000,000 | - | - | - | 1969 | Hutchinson, John A. Paths of Faith; New York: McGraw-Hill (1969); pg. 107-108. | "...Buddhism claims between 300 million and 400 million followers. " |
| Buddhism | world | - | - | - | - | 1970 | Cavendish, Richard (ed.). Man, Myth & Magic: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Supernatural (vol. 3). New York: Marshall Cavendish Corp. (1970); pg. 354. | "Arising in India five centuries before the birth of Christ, Buddhism dominated its native land for 15 centuries, and in due course prevailed in Central Asia, the Far East and Southeast Asia. It has exhibited astonishing power to propogate itself, and less ability to hold its gains. No other religion has prevailed, as Buddhism did in China, in a major civilization other than its native one, and in recent decades Buddhism has even achieved a modest foothold in the West. " |
| Buddhism | world | 250,000,000 | - | - | - | 1975 | Wallechinsky, David & Irving Wallace; The People's Almanac; Garden City, NY: Doubleday (1975); pg. 1264. | List of "Major World Religions ": "Today there are almost 250 million Buddhists in the world, almost all of whom live in Asia. " |
| Buddhism | world | - | - | - | - | 1981 | Crim, Keith (ed.). The Perennial Dictionary of World Religions. San Francisco: Harper Collins (1989). Reprint; originally pub. as Abingdon Dictionary of Living Religions, 1981; pg. 136. | "[Buddhism] is still the living faith of the people of Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, Taiwan, Korea, and Japan. " |
