Buddhism in Estonia

Buddhism in Estonia is a small minority religion, held by about 0.2% of the population. However, between 2000 and 2021, the number of Buddhists in Estonia tripled.

History
Karl Tõnisson in Thailand (1912–1914)

The emergence of Buddhism in Estonia is attributed to the early 20th century and associated with the names of Karl Tõnisson and his disciple Friedrich Lustig. Tõnisson was appointed the 13th Dalai Lama of Tibet as the first Buddhist Archbishop of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. He died in 1962 in Thailand after which he was declared a bodhisattva.[1][2]

Another important figure who contributed to the development of Estonian Buddhism was the scholar and religious philosopher Uku Masing. He wrote a book about Buddhism and became the founder of the Estonian Oriental Society. Under his influence, the Estonian buddhologist Linnart Mäll was formed. He translated many sacred texts into Estonian, because although Buddhism, like other religions, was not welcomed by the authorities during Soviet Estonia, scientific research in this field was allowed.[1][2]

Statistics

According to Statistics Estonia, the Estonian government agency responsible for producing official statistics, in 2021, there were 1,880 Buddhists in Estonia (0.2 %). Of these, 1,05 are male and 820 female. 1,280 are classified as city inhabitants, 100 as town inhabitants, and 500 as rural inhabitants.

Religious affiliations in Estonia, census 2000–2021*[3]
Religion 2000 2011 2021
Number  % Number  % Number  %
Christianity319,77028.5310,48128.4298,41026.8
Islam1,3870.11,5080.15,8000.5
Estonian Neopaganism1,0580.12,9720.35,6300.5
Buddhism6220.11,1450.11,8800.2
Other religions**4,9950.44,7270.49,6300.9
No religion450,45840.2592,58854.1650,90058.4
Not stated***343,29230.6181,10416.5141,78012.7
Total population*1,121,5821,094,5641,114,030
*The censuses of Estonia count the religious affiliations of the population older than 15 years of age.[3]
**Mostly other modern Paganisms, with a smaller number of other Eastern religions and Theosophical movements.[3]
***Comprises the categories "cannot define", "refuse to answer" and "religious affiliation unknown".[3]

See also

References
  1. Metsma, Kadri (9 November 2016). "Buddhism in Estonia: a brief history". Estonian World. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
  2. Belka, Lubos (June 1999). "Buddhism in Estonia". Religion, State and Society. 27 (2): 245–248. doi:10.1080/096374999106656.
  3. Official census data from Statistics Estonia:
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.