Buddhist population. How are the three main branches of Buddhism distributed across Asian countries?

The history of the emergence of Buddhism goes back more than one thousand years. Followers of Buddhism are not defined by ethnicity. Any person, regardless of nationality, race, place of residence, can practice Buddhism.

History of the emergence and spread of Buddhism

First, let's answer the question - how old is Buddhism? Buddhism is an ancient religion that originated in the middle of the first millennium BC. Christianity appeared later by almost five hundred years, and Islam by a thousand. The birthplace of Buddhism is the northeastern part of modern India; ancient states were located on the territory. There are no exact scientific data about what society was like in those days. There are only assumptions about what caused the foundation and were the prerequisites for the development of Buddhism in ancient Indian society. One of the reasons is that at this time an acute cultural, economic and religious crisis was brewing in ancient India, which led to the emergence of new alternative teachings created by wandering philosophers. One of these ascetic philosophers was Siddhartha Gautama; he is considered the founder of Buddhism; the history of the religion of Buddhism is inextricably linked with his name. At the same time, the process of strengthening power and establishing class relations was carried out, which, in turn, required increasing the authority of the supreme rulers and warriors. Buddhism, as an opposition movement to Brahmanism, was chosen as the “royal religion”; the history of the development of Buddhism as a single religion is closely connected with the development of the supreme power.

Briefly about what it is Brahmanism. The basis of the teaching is the rebirth of a person based on karma (for sins or virtues of a past life). According to this teaching, in ancient India it was believed that a virtuous person is reborn as a person who occupies a high position, and sometimes is a celestial being. In Brahmanism, special attention was paid to rituals, ceremonies and sacrifice.

Let's return to the history of Buddhism. Buddha Siddhartha Gautama was born in 560 BC, in the south of modern Nepal. He belonged to the Shakya family and was called Shakyamuni (sage). Buddha lived in his father's luxurious palace, but when faced with the harsh reality, he concluded that in reality there is a lot of suffering and sorrow in life. As a result, the Buddha decided to abandon life in the palace and began to live the life of a wandering hermit-ascetic, trying to understand the truth of existence, engaging, among other things, in the practices of torture and bodily killing. The Buddha met with sages, practiced yoga, applied various techniques and concluded that harsh forms of asceticism do not free one from the suffering associated with birth and death, and he also concluded that some kind of intermediate compromise should be found between sensual pleasures and desire to renounce the blessings of life. Buddha considered meditation and prayer to be the most effective. At the age of thirty-five, during another meditation, Gautama Siddhartha achieved Enlightenment, after which he began to be called Buddha Gautama or simply Buddha, which means “enlightened, awakened.” After this, the Buddha lived for another forty-five years, all the time traveling throughout Central India and teaching his students and followers.

Buddha died, the Teacher's body, according to custom, was cremated. Messengers from different states were sent with a request to give them at least a piece of the remains. However, the remains were divided into eight parts and placed in stupas - special cone-shaped structures located in the capitals of some ancient states. One of the remains was found (in 1898) in an Indian village, where a stupa from the ancient city of Kapilavatthu was discovered. The remains found were placed in the Indian National Museum in New Delhi.

Later, sutras (recordings of the Buddha's words) were placed in such stupas. This is Dharma - a set of norms and rules that are necessary for the “cosmic” order. The word "dharma" literally translates as "that which holds or supports."

The Buddha's followers formed several different schools of early Buddhism over four hundred years, with numerous branches. Schools and movements sometimes differ from each other not significantly, and sometimes they differ on very significant issues. The main goal of Buddhism is to achieve enlightenment, this is the path to nirvana, a state of soul that can be achieved through self-denial and rejection of comfortable living conditions. Buddha preached the opinion that in life one must look for that very “middle” that gives a balance between satiety and asceticism. Buddhism is often called not only a religion, but also a philosophy that guides a person on the path of self-development.

The history of the emergence of Buddhism in Russia

Considering the vast territory and the number of ethnic groups and peoples living in modern Russia, different religions of the West and East are represented in our country. are Christianity, Islam and Buddhism. Buddhism is a complex religion with various schools and movements; almost all denominations of Buddhism are represented in Russia. But the main development is in the traditional religion of Tibet.

Due to geographical reasons and cultural contacts, Buddhism first spread among the Tuvans and Kalmyks in the 16th century. At that time these lands were part of the Mongol state. A hundred years later, the ideas of Buddhism began to penetrate into Buryatia, and immediately compete with the main local religion - shamanism. Due to geography, Buryatia has close ties with Mongolia and further with Tibet. Today, it is in Buryatia that the majority of followers of Buddhism are concentrated. It is in Buryatia that the Sangha of Russia is located - the center of Buddhists in Russia; religious buildings, shrines and the residence of the Spiritual Leader of Buddhists in Russia are also located there.

In the Republic of Tuva, Buddhists profess the same philosophical movement as the Buryats. There is another region where the population professes Buddhism predominates - Kalmykia.

Buddhism in the USSR

At first there were attempts to combine Buddhism and Marxism (it’s hard to imagine what could have come of this). Then they abandoned this direction, repressions began: temples were closed, high priests were persecuted. This was the case until the “post-war thaw” began. Now in Russia there is a single unifying center - the Buddhist Sangha of Russia, and Buddhism in our country is represented mainly by three regions - Tuva, Kalmykia and Buryatia. In recent years, observers have noticed the spread of the Buddhism religion in other regions of Russia, among young people and intelligentsia. One of the reasons for this can be considered the pan-European passion for the culture and history of the East.

I am publishing a map of the development of Buddhism, everything is quite clear there.

Like Christianity and Islam, Buddhism is one of the most widespread monotheistic religions in terms of the number of followers. But unlike them, Buddhism has different cultural and historical roots and place of development. As a religious and philosophical doctrine, Buddhism ( buddhad- harma() originated in Northern India in the 6th century. BC The founder of the teaching was the prince of one of the Indian principalities in the Ganges Valley, Siddhartha Gautama, who later received the name Buddha Shakyamuni. The doctrine of Buddhism is based on the so-called four noble truths, which are adhered to by all its schools. These principles were formulated by the Buddha himself and can be summarized as follows: there is suffering; there is a cause of suffering - desire; there is a cessation of suffering - nirvana; there is a path leading to the end of suffering.

Estimates of the number of Buddhist followers worldwide vary greatly depending on the method of counting, since in some East Asian countries Buddhism is closely intertwined with local traditional beliefs ( Shinto in Japan) and philosophical teachings ( Taoism, Confucianism - in China and Korea). According to minimal estimates, the number of Buddhists in the world is 500-600 million people, most of whom are ethnic Chinese and Japanese. Countries with a predominant Buddhist population also include Laos (more than 95%), Cambodia (95), Thailand (94), Mongolia (more than 90), Tibet (90), Myanmar (89), Japan (73), Sri Lanka ( 70), Butane (70). Buddhists make up a significant part of the population of Singapore (43), Vietnam, China, South Korea (23), Malaysia (20), Nepal (11%) (Fig. 11.6). In India, the birthplace of Buddhism, currently the proportion of followers of the Buddha's teachings does not exceed 1% (about 12 million people). In Russia, Buddhism is practiced by most ethnic groups. Buryat, Kalmyks And Tuvans.

Rice. 11.6.Share of Buddhists in the total population of countries of the world, 2015,%

Buddhism became the state religion in India in the middle of the 3rd century. BC during the reign of King Ashoka of the Mauryan dynasty. From that time on, Buddhism began to spread beyond India, soon becoming the dominant religion in Bactria 1, Burma, Sri Lanka, and Tokharistan. In the 1st century AD Buddhism penetrated into China in the 4th century. - to Korea, and in the 6th century. - to Japan, in the 7th century. - to Tibet. In Southeast Asia, Buddhism became the dominant religion in the 8th-9th centuries. In the XIV-XVI centuries. on the islands of the Sunda archipelago and the Malacca Peninsula (modern territory of Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei), Buddhism was supplanted by Islam. In India, after the fall of the Gupta dynasty in the 6th century. AD, Buddhism also began to be persecuted and by the end of the 12th century. was completely supplanted by the revived Hinduism and Islam that came from the West. In the XIV century. Buddhism became the dominant religion in Mongolia.

Traditionally, Buddhism is divided into Hinayana (“small vehicle”) and Mahayana (“great vehicle”), and Vajrayana (“diamond vehicle”) is also often distinguished separately from the latter.

Hinayana is a teaching whose followers strive for personal liberation. It is called the “small vehicle” because it can lead to the liberation of only the follower himself. According to modern research, initially Hinayana contained more than 20 different directions (schools), of which to date the largest number of followers has Theravada. According to Hinayana (Theravada) tenets, only Buddhist monks can achieve nirvana. Lay people must improve their karma by performing good actions in order to become a monk in one of their next lives.

Having emerged as a holistic doctrine in the middle of the 3rd century. BC During the reign of Emperor Ashoka, thanks to active missionary work, Hinayana spread widely outside India. Currently, Hinayana is the main school of Buddhism in Sri Lanka and the countries of Southeast Asia (Burma, Thailand, Cambodia and Laos). Theravada is also traditionally practiced by some ethnic minorities of Southwestern China (Yunnan, Guizhou provinces), Vietnam, and the Chinese population of Malaysia and Singapore. There are about 200 million Theravada followers in the modern world.

Mahayana How the direction of Buddhism took shape in the 1st century. BC and, unlike Hinayana, became more widespread in Central and East Asia. The goal of the Mahayana schools, unlike the Hinayana schools, is not the achievement of nirvana, but complete and final enlightenment. The basic principles of Mahayana doctrine are based on the possibility of universal liberation from suffering for all beings. Today, Mahayana Buddhism is most widespread in China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.

Vajrayana is a tantric branch of Buddhism, formed within the Mahayana in the 5th century. AD The main means of achieving enlightenment in Vajrayana are the use of mantras and logical meditation. For Mahayana practitioners, reverence for spiritual mentors (gurus) is of great importance. Currently, Vajrayana is widespread in Nepal, Tibet and partly in Japan. From Tibet, Vajrayana penetrated into Mongolia, and from there into Buryatia, Kalmykia and Tyva.

Hello, dear readers – seekers of knowledge and truth!

Buddhism is so widespread in our time that, probably, in any corner of our planet there is a person who, if not professing it, is at least clearly interested in it. This article will tell you in which countries Buddhism is practiced, and will also tell you about its features depending on its location on the map and national mentality.

Buddhism on the world map

The oldest of the world's religions appeared in the middle of the first millennium BC. During this time, it managed to take root at its origins - in India, weaken due to the emergence of Hinduism there, “spread” throughout Asia and convey its knowledge, like streams, to many states in the world.

Back in the 4th century it reached Korea. By the 6th century it had reached Japan, and in the 7th century it broke into Tibet, where it developed into a special direction of philosophical thought. Buddhism conquered the islands of Southeast Asia gradually - from about the 2nd century, and by the beginning of the second millennium it became widespread.

The “taking” of Mongolia by this religion lasted for many centuries - from the 8th to the 16th centuries, and from there, by the 18th century, it reached the border of Russia in the person of Buryatia and Tuva. In the last two centuries, Buddhist teachings have traveled tens of thousands of kilometers and attracted the interest of people in Europe and America.

Today Buddhism has become the state religion of Thailand, Cambodia, Bhutan and Laos. It touched the lives of people from most Asian countries in many ways. Based on the number of followers, you can rank countries:

1. China
2. Thailand
3. Vietnam
4. Myanmar
5. Tibet
6. Sri Lanka
7. South Korea
8. Taiwan
9. Cambodia
10. Japan
11. India

In addition, there are many followers of Buddha in Bhutan, Singapore, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Indonesia.

What is curious is that in each country Buddhism took its own shape, unlike others, and new forms of this philosophy and directions of thought appeared. This was explained by folk characteristics, previously existing religions, and cultural traditions.

In Europe, Buddhism spread to the largest and most powerful countries. Here at the beginning of the 20th century. The first Buddhist organizations appeared: Germany (1903), Great Britain (1907), France (1929). And today in the United States, in terms of the number of followers, Buddhism can boast of an honorable fourth place, following Christianity, Judaism and atheism.

There is a World Fellowship of Buddhists whose purpose is to spread and support Buddhist thought in the world. It includes 98 centers from 37 countries. Thailand has been chosen as the location for the headquarters of this organization.

Top Buddhist Countries

It is difficult even for scientists to say how many Buddhists live on the planet. Some call “modest” figures of 500 million, while others say that their number ranges from 600 million to 1.3 billion. All these people come from dozens of different countries. It was difficult, but we have compiled a list of the most interesting “Buddhist” countries.

India

India tops this list thanks to its status as the birthplace of Buddhism. Two and a half millennia ago, Prince Siddhartha Gautama appeared in the northeast of this country, and now these places are shrines in themselves. Many Buddhists make pilgrimages here and feel as if they are returning to the past.

Here, in a place called Bodh Gaya with its Mahabodhi Temple, Siddhartha understood what enlightenment was. Here is the city of Sarnath - Buddha preached his first sermon. Further - Kushinagar - and the saint achieved complete nirvana. However, today the share of Buddhists among the believing population of India is less than one percent.

Thailand

Anyone who has been to Thailand knows which religion is most widespread in the country and how much the Thais love it. There are countless Buddhist statues and other paraphernalia in this exotic country.

Buddhism is accepted as the state religion here. According to the Constitution, the king must be a Buddhist.

The Thai direction of this philosophical thought is also called “Southern Buddhism”. The way of life of people is greatly influenced by a strong belief in the laws of karma. Men are required to go through monasticism. Special Buddhist universities have been established in the capital, Bangkok.

Sri Lanka

Legends say that Buddha personally sailed to the former Ceylon to drive out evil spirits. So he gave birth to a new religion here, which is now professed by more than 60% of the population. Even current landmarks and cultural monuments have religious overtones.

Vietnam

Vietnam is ruled by socialism, and formally the main religion in the country is considered to be its absence - atheism. But among religions, Buddhism ranks first: approximately one tenth of the 94 million population one way or another recognizes the teachings of the Mahayana. Supporters are found in the south and number in the tens of thousands.

Taiwan

The main religion of Taiwan is Buddhism, which is practiced by about 90% of the island's population. But this teaching is more like a symbiosis with Taoism. If we talk about strict Buddhism, then 7-15% of people adhere to it. The most interesting feature of the Taiwanese school of thought is its attitude to nutrition, namely vegetarianism.

Cambodia

The history of Buddhism in Cambodia can be called truly tragic. But, looking ahead, we can say that everything ended well.

There were more than three thousand Buddhist temples in the country until the politician Pol Pot came to power and staged a “cultural revolution.” Its result was the inclusion of monks in the lower class and their subsequent repression and destruction. Few of them were destined to escape.

After the Republic of Kampuchea was created, all the forces of the authorities were devoted to restoring Buddhist religious thought among the population. In 1989 it was recognized as the state religion.

China

In China, it is one of the components, along with Confucianism and Taoism, of the so-called San Jiao - “three religions” - on which the religious views of the Chinese are based.

In the early 90s of the last century, there was a conflict between the authorities and Tibetan Buddhism, which they wanted to suppress by taking up the “patriotic education” of the monks. Today, Chinese government agencies strictly control the activities of religious organizations, including Buddhist ones.

Myanmar

The absolute majority, namely 90% of Myanmar residents, consider themselves Buddhists. These are peoples such as the Burmese, Mons, Arakanese, and they can be classified as several Theravada schools.

The Buddhist ideas of the Burmese - followers of these schools - are mixed with the previously existing cult of spirits. Mahayana is supported mainly by the Chinese living in Myanmar.

Tibet

Buddhism came to Tibet from India, and, having absorbed the ideas and traditions of the ancient Tibetan Bon religion, firmly took root here, becoming the main religion of the country. Three main schools - Gelug, Kagyu and Nyingma - are considered the most influential.

In the middle of the 20th century, the country was captured by China, persecution of monks began, many temples and monasteries were destroyed by the occupiers, and the 14th Dalai Lama and his supporters were forced to flee to India.

Nevertheless, Tibetans, both living at home and those who fled from the Chinese authorities abroad, carefully preserve and support Buddhist traditions and way of life.

Japan

Japanese Buddhism covers most of the population, but it is divided into a huge number of directions and movements. Some of them took Buddhist philosophy as a basis, others - reading mantras, and others - meditative practices.

Intertwining with each other, they formed more and more new schools, which were successful among different segments of the population. They can all be divided into two groups: classical schools and neo-Buddhism.

It is Japanese preachers who study Buddhist teachings who most actively bring this knowledge to the “non-Buddhist” world, primarily to Europe and America.

Russia

Even in Russia, the ideas of Buddhism are well known, and in such national republics as Kalmykia, Buryatia, and Tuva, they have almost completely captured the minds of people.

Most belong to the Tibetan Gelug and Karma Kagyu schools. In the largest cities - Moscow, St. Petersburg - Buddhist communities have existed for a long time.

Conclusion

Over the long centuries of its existence, Buddhist teachings have completely changed the consciousness of Eurasian society. And every day this philosophy expands its boundaries, first of all, in the minds of people.

Thank you very much for your attention, dear readers! Join us on social networks, let's search for the truth together.

(7%) and supporters of traditional beliefs.

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Followers of religions in 2010

The table below shows data on the number of followers of the main religions. The data is for 2010 and taken from three sources - the Encyclopedia “Religions of the World” by J. Melton, the Encyclopedia Britannica and the report of the American research center Pew Research Center (English) Russian(PRC).

№	Religion	"Religions of the World"		"Britannica"		PRC
1	Christians	2 292 454 000	33,2 %	2 280 616 000	33,0 %	2 173 180 000	31,5 %
2	Muslims	1 549 444 000	22,4 %	1 553 189 000	22,5 %	1 598 510 000	23,2 %
3	Hindus	948 507 000	13,7 %	942 871 000	13,6 %	1 033 080 000	15,0 %
4	Agnostics	639 852 000	9,3 %	659 781 000	9,6 %	1 126 500 000	16,3 %
5	Buddhists	468 736 000	6,8 %	462 625 000	6,7 %	487 540 000	7,1 %
6	Chinese religion	458 316 000	6,6 %	454 404 000	6,6 %	405 120 000	5,9 %
7	Traditional Beliefs	261 429 000	3,8 %	269 723 000	3,9 %
8	Atheists	138 532 000	2,0 %	137 564 000	2,0 %	see "non-believers"
9	New religions	64 443 000	0,9 %	63 684 000	0,9 %	see "others"
10	Sikhs	24 591 000	0,4 %	23 738 000	0,3 %	see "others"
11	Jews	14 641 000	0,2 %	14 824 000	0,2 %	13 850 000	0,2 %
12	Spiritualists	13 978 000	0,2 %	13 732 000	0,2 %	see "others"
13	Taoists	9 017 000	0,1 %	8 429 000	0,1 %	see "others"
14	Baha'i	7 447 000	0,1 %	7 337 000	0,1 %	see "others"
15	Confucians	6 461 000	0,1 %	6 516 000	0,1 %	see "others"
16	Jains	5 749 000	0,1 %	5 276 000	0,1 %	see "others"
17	Shintoists	2 782 000	0,0 %	2 772 000	0,0 %	see "others"
18	Zoroastrians	181 000	0,0 %	178 580	0,0 %	see "others"
19	other	-	-	1 427 000	0,0 %	58 110 000	0,8 %
-	world, total	6 906 560 000	100 %	6 908 689 000	100 %	6 895 890 000	100 %

Major religions

Christianity

The followers of the world's largest religion have not maintained unity and are breaking up into tens of thousands of denominations. Conventionally, all Christians can be divided into 4 main directions:

Islam

There are no generally accepted classifications of movements in Islam. Reports produced by the Pew Research Center divide Muslims into Sunnis (87-90% of all Muslims in 2009) and Shiites (10-13%). At the same time, the authors of the studies acknowledge that there are other groups in Islam, as well as the general Islamic movement of Sufism. The World Christian Encyclopedia (WCE) divides Islam into the following 3 movements:

• Sunnis(84.4% of all Muslims). According to the source, over half of Sunnis (53%) adhere to the Hanafi right-wing school; supporters of the Shafi'i and Maliki madhhabs account for 24% and 22%, respectively. The smallest madhhab - the Hanbalis - has 2.3 million followers. Among the Sunnis, the source separately identifies representatives of sectarian Sunnism - the Wahhabis (7 million).

Hinduism

Modern Hinduism is divided into 5 main directions:

• Shaktism in 2000 united 3% of the world's Hindus.

The majority of Hindus (814 million) live in Asia, where they make up 22.6% of the population. In Oceania, Hindus (439 thousand) make up 1.5% of the population. The share of Hindus in the population of other parts of the world does not exceed 1%. There are 2.5 million Hindus in Africa, 1.8 million in North America, 871 thousand in Europe, and 747 thousand in Latin America.

Buddhism

Buddhism is not a single religion and is divided into hundreds of schools. It is customary to distinguish 3 main directions in Buddhism:

• Mahayana is the largest branch of Buddhism in terms of the number of believers. In 2000, 56% of the world's Buddhists were adherents of the Great Vehicle.
• Theravada represents the oldest branch of Buddhism. In 2000, 38% of the world's Buddhists belonged to one of the Theravada schools.
• Tibetan Buddhism 6% are Buddhists.

The majority of Buddhists (87% or 408 million) live in Asia. Outside this part of the world, significant numbers of Buddhists can be found in North America (3.7 million) and Europe (1.7 million). In other parts of the world, the number of Buddhists is small: in Latin America there are 672 thousand, in Oceania - 448 thousand, in Africa - 247 thousand.

Judaism

• Ashkenazim- 11 million
• Mizrahim- 2.4 million
• Sephardi- 1 million
• Karaites- 24 thousand
• Samaritans- 0.5 thousand

The majority of Jewish believers live in two countries - Israel (5.3 million) and the USA (5.22 million). Accordingly, Asia (5.97 million) and North America (5.67 million) lead in the number of Jews among parts of the world. There are many Jews in Europe - 1.9 million. In Latin America, 907 thousand inhabitants profess Judaism; in Africa - 125 thousand, in Oceania - 101 thousand.

Other religions

Throughout the 20th century, the share of followers traditional religions and beliefs fell steadily. However, at the end of the 20th century, traditional beliefs attracted attention with the revival of European paganism (neopaganism). Obviously, this group includes thousands of different religious traditions, very loosely related to each other. However, sometimes believers of traditional religions are divided into two main groups: animists (95%) and shamanists (5%).

Most followers of ethnic religions live in Asia (133.7 million) and Africa (92 million); Moreover, in Africa they make up more than 10% of the continent's population. In Latin America, supporters of these religions number 3.3 million followers, in North America - 1.6 million, in Europe - 1.2 million and in Oceania - 293 thousand.

Among traditional beliefs, supporters stand out separately Chinese folk religion. The majority of believers of this religion live in China (435 million). In other Asian countries, the number of believers of the Chinese religion is 32 million. With the spread of the Chinese diaspora throughout the world, the number of supporters of the Chinese religion is growing on other continents; in North America there are 762 thousand, in Europe - 345 thousand, in Latin America - 167 thousand, in Oceania - 85 thousand and in Africa - 61 thousand.

It should be distinguished from traditional folk beliefs new religious movements(NSD) and syncretic sects, despite the fact that most of them have an ethnic basis (thus, there are American, European, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese NRMs, syncretic cults of Indians and blacks of America, etc.). The classification of new religions, as well as the question of their boundaries, remain highly controversial. Asia is the continent where the majority (58 million) of adherents of new religions live. There are quite a few of them in both Americas; in the North - 1.69 million, in Latin - 1.46 million. On other continents their numbers are small: 353 thousand in Europe, 107 thousand in Africa and 85 thousand in Oceania.

Despite its small number, Baha'i are one of the most dispersed religions in the world. The Asian Baha'i community has 3 million followers, the African - 1.7 million. On other continents, the number of Baha'is is insignificant: North America - 786 thousand, Latin America - 527 thousand, Europe - 134 thousand, Oceania - 87 thousand.

Spread of religions

Modern religions vary in the extent of their spread. The only religion represented in all countries of the world is Christianity. It is believed that non-religious people (agnostics) can be found in almost all countries of the world, with the exception of the theocratic state of the Vatican. In more than 100 countries around the world you can meet Baha'is, Muslims, Buddhists, Jews, Hindus, supporters of traditional beliefs, Chinese religion and new religious movements.

The table below shows religions by the number of countries they are present in. Data for 2000 are taken from the World Christian Encyclopedia, data for 2004 are from Robert Ellwood's Encyclopedia of World Religions, and data for 2010 are from Encyclopedia Britannica.

№	Religion	2000	2004	2010
-	World, total countries	238		232
1	Christians	238	238	232
2	Non-believers	236	237	231
3	Baha'i	218	218	221
4	Atheists	161	219	220
5	Muslims	204	206	209
6	Buddhists	126	130	150
7	Traditional Beliefs	142	144	145
8	Jews	134	134	139
9	Hindus	114	116	125
10	Chinese religion	89	94	119
11	New religions	60	107	119
12	Spiritualists	55	56	57
13	Sikhs	34	34	55
14	Zoroastrians	24	23	27
15	Jains	10	11	19
16	Confucians	15	16	16
17	Shintoists	8	8	8
18	Taoists	5	5	6
-	other	76	78	79

Population dynamics in the 20th century

The dynamics of the number of modern religions over the past century is of particular interest. Christianity remained the fastest growing religion in the 20th century (in absolute numbers). However, the increase in the number of Christians in the 20th century was equal to the average world population increase, so the total share of Christians in the Earth's population remained practically unchanged.

Throughout the 20th century, the growth of Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs exceeded the world average; The share of adherents of these religions in the global population has steadily increased. On the contrary, the share of Buddhists, Jews, supporters of traditional beliefs and Chinese religions decreased in the 20th century.

The dynamics of the number of non-believers and atheists underwent significant changes throughout the 20th century. B O For the better part of a century, the proportion of people without religion rose rapidly, reaching a peak by 1970. However, by the end of the 20th century, the proportion of irreligious people on the planet had noticeably decreased.

The table below shows the dynamics of the number of major religions in the twentieth century. Data for 1900 are taken from the World Christian Encyclopedia; data for 1970 and 2000 taken from the Encyclopedia of Religions of the World by J. Melton and Martin Bauman (German) Russian(first and second edition).

№	Religion	1900		1970		2000
1	Christians	558 132 000	34,5 %	1 234 969 000	33,4 %	1 999 564 000	33,0 %
2	Muslims	199 941 000	12,3 %	579 875 000	15,7 %	1 188 243 000	19,6 %
3	Hindus	203 003 000	12,5 %	458 845 000	12,4 %	811 336 000	13,4 %
4	Non-believers	3 024 000	0,2 %	542 318 000	14,7 %	768 159 000	12,7 %
5	Buddhists	127 077 000	7,8 %	234 028 000	6,3 %	359 982 000	5,9 %
6	Chinese religion	380 006 000	23,5 %	231 814 000	6,3 %	384 807 000	6,4 %
7	Traditional Beliefs	117 558 000	7,3 %	165 687 000	4,5 %	228 367 000	3,8 %
8	Atheists	226 000	0,0 %	165 301 000	4,5 %	150 090 000	2,5 %
9	New religions	5 910 000	0,4 %	39 332 000	1,1 %	102 356 000	1,7 %
10	Sikhs	2 962 000	0,2 %	10 677 000	0,3 %	23 258 000	0,4 %
11	Jews	12 292 000	0,8 %	15 100 000	0,4 %	14 434 000	0,2 %
12	Spiritualists	269 000	0,0 %	4 657 000	0,1 %	12 334 000	0,2 %
13	Taoists	375 000	0,0 %	1 734 000	0,1 %	2 655 000	0,0 %
14	Baha'i	10 000	0,0 %	2 657 000	0,1 %	7 106 000	0,1 %
15	Confucians	640 000	0,0 %	4 759 000	0,1 %	6 299 000	0,1 %
16	Jains	1 323 000	0,1 %	2 629 000	0,1 %	4 218 000	0,1 %
17	Shintoists	6 720 000	0,4 %	4 175 000	0,1 %	2 762 000	0,0 %
18	Zoroastrians	108 000	0,0 %	125 000	0,0 %	-	0,0 %
19	other	49 000	0,0 %	-	0,0 %	1 067 000	0,0 %
-	world, total	1 619 626 000	100 %	3 698 683 000	100 %	6 055 049 000	100 %

Forecasts

Various studies attempt to predict the future numbers of adherents of major religions. Such projections take into account demographic trends and missionary efforts. The table below shows projections for 2050 from three sources:

№	Religion in 2050	"Religions of the World"		W.C.E.		PRC
1	Christians	3 220 348 000	35,0 %	3 051 564 000	34,3 %	2 918 070 000	31,4 %
2	Muslims	2 494 229 000	27,1 %	2 229 282 000	25,0 %	2 761 480 000	29,7 %
3	Hindus	1 241 133 000	13,5 %	1 175 298 000	13,2 %	1 384 360 000	14,9 %
4	Non-believers	556 416 000	6,1 %	887 995 000	10,0 %	1 230 340 000	13,2 %
5	Buddhists	570 283 000	6,2 %	424 607 000	4,8 %	486 270 000	5,2 %
6	Chinese religion	525 183 000	5,7 %	454 333 000	5,1 %	449 140 000	4,8 %
7	Traditional Beliefs	272 450 000	3,0 %	303 599 000	3,4 %
8	Atheists	132 671 000	1,4 %	169 150 000	1,9 %	see "non-believers"
9	New religions	63 657 000	0,7 %	118 845 000	1,3 %	see "others"
10	Sikhs	34 258 000	0,4 %	37 059 000	0,4 %	see "others"
11	Jews	16 973 000	0,2 %	16 695 000	0,2 %	16 090 000	0,2 %
12	Spiritualists	17 080 000	0,2 %	20 709 000	0,2 %	see "others"
13	Taoists	15 018 000	0,2 %	3 272 000	0,0 %	see "others"
14	Baha'i	15 113 000	0,2 %	18 000 000	0,2 %	see "others"
15	Confucians	6 014 000	0,1 %	6 953 000	0,1 %	see "others"
16	Jains	7 943 000	0,1 %	6 733 000	0,1 %	see "others"
17	Shintoists	2 355 000	0,0 %	1 655 000	0,0 %	see "others"
18	Zoroastrians	170 000	0,0 %	-	-	see "others"
19	other	-	-	-	-	61 450 000	0,7 %
-	world, total	9 191 294 000	100 %	8 909 095 000	100 %	9 307 190 000	100 %

Competition between Christianity and Islam

The dynamics of the numbers of Christians and Muslims in the future is of increased interest. Considering that at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries, the growth of Muslims in percentage terms outpaced the growth of Christians, various futurists made statements about the future numerical superiority of Muslims over Christians and the transformation of Islam into the largest world religion.

Thus, the world-famous sociologist Samuel Huntington, in his work The Clash of Civilizations (1993), predicted that Islam would become the largest religion in the world in the first decade of the 21st century; According to this source, by 2025 the share of Muslims in the total population of the planet should reach 30%, and the share of Christians should fall to 25%. The first part of this forecast can already be considered refuted; Huntington’s forecast for 2025 is also refuted by most well-known studies. It is believed that Christianity will remain the dominant religion in 2050.

Opinions differ regarding longer-term forecasts. According to the PRC report, the numbers of Muslims and Christians will be equal by 2070, with each religion accounting for 32% of the world's population. According to the source, by 2100 Islam will become the largest world religion in terms of the number of followers (35% of the population), and Christianity will move to second place (34%). In their study, PRC analysts focused on demographic data.

However, there are also opposing opinions. Back in 1995, the Encyclopedia of the Future indicated that Christianity would remain the dominant religion in 2200. At the same time, the authors considered three possible scenarios (the general scenario, the “Islamic revival” scenario and the “increasing irreligion” scenario), but in all cases, by 2200, Christianity was ahead of Islam by more than 1.5 billion believers. The dominance of Christianity up to 2200 is also mentioned in the World Christian Encyclopedia. David Barrett and Todd Johnson, exploring four possible scenarios, also conclude that Christianity will dominate in both 2100 and 2200 in their World Christian Trends.

Calculation methodology

When determining the number of believers of a particular denomination, five main methods are used in combination:

• Reports from religious organizations. When using such sources, it is taken into account that a number of organizations deliberately overestimate (less often, underestimate) the number of their supporters. It is also taken into account that different religious groups define membership in them differently: in order to become a member of some faiths, it is necessary to go through a long initiation process (sometimes accessible only at a conscious age).

• Census. Often, a question on religious preference is included in the census. This source is recognized as a reliable way to determine religious self-identification. However, a significant number of countries do not conduct censuses or do not include a question on religion; In addition, censuses are conducted infrequently, and their data can become significantly outdated. Some governments have been accused of falsifying census data, including data on religious identification.

• Polls. The accuracy of such a source of information largely depends on the quality of the research, primarily on its representativeness. Survey data is rarely able to reveal the exact number of believers in small religious groups. In some countries, representatives of religious minorities may avoid answering or give incorrect answers during surveys.

• Ratings based on indirect data. Adherents of some tribal religions are sometimes counted by counting tribe members; it is understood that all members of the tribe adhere to the same religion. Some Orthodox churches use a similar method. Such estimates can be quite unreliable.

• Field research often used to determine the size of small religious groups. This is often the only way to determine the size of small organizations, especially semi-closed sects.

See also

Notes

1. , p. lix.
2. Darrell J. Turner. . Worldwide Adherents of All Religions(English) . Encyclopedia Britannica (2011). Retrieved July 2, 2015.

Hello, dear readers!

Today we will find out what peoples profess and where they live. This religion is one of the oldest in the world. Originating in India, over more than 2,500 years of its existence it has spread to neighboring countries and further around the world.

How many Buddhists are there in the world

At the beginning of this millennium, the world population reached almost 7 billion people. Of these, 7% of believers profess Buddhism. According to forecasts from various sources, by the middle of the 21st century the number of Buddhists in the world will be approximately 500 million people.

There is no unity in the Buddhist movement; it consists of hundreds of schools. Three main directions can be distinguished:

• – The Great Vehicle (which includes the Vajrayana – Diamond Vehicle)
• – Small vehicle (sometimes called Hinayana, but its followers are opposed to this name)
• (lamaism)

The first direction is the most numerous. At the beginning of our century, 56% of Buddhists were adherents of the Great Vehicle.

The Buddhist religion originated from the second direction. His disciples include 38% of the world's Buddhists.

Tibetan Buddhism is practiced by 6% of believers.

Places of residence

If we study the geography of the spread of Buddhism, we will see that the majority of Buddhists live in Asia - 408 million, which is 87% of their total world number. In the ratio “how many millions of Buddhists live in a given country - the percentage of Buddhists in it” it looks like this:

• Japan - 72 million (58%)
• Thailand - 52 million (93%)
• Myanmar - 37 million (88%)
• Vietnam - 35 million (52%)
• China - 34 million (3%)
• Sri Lanka - 12 million (70%)
• South Korea - 12 million (28%)
• Cambodia - 7 million (87%)
• India - 6 million (0.7%)
• Laos - 2.4 million (59%)
• Nepal - 1.3 million (7%)
• Malaysia - 1.2 million (7%)
• Bangladesh - 0.7 million (0.6%)
• Mongolia - 0.6 million (26%)
• Butane - 0.4 million (70%)
• DPRK - 0.4 million (2%)

North American and European Buddhist communities are large, with 3.7 and 1.7 million people respectively. There are not so many of them in other parts of the world. In Latin America - 672 thousand, in Oceania - 448 thousand believers, and in Africa - 247.

Among Africans, Buddhism took root in:

• Burkina Faso
• Cameroon
• Ivory Coast
• Kenya
• Senegal
• Tanzania
• Zambia
• Zimbabwe
• Republic of the Congo

According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, Buddhists can be found in 150 countries around the world.

How are the number of Buddhists calculated?

Curious readers may wonder how the number of adherents of a particular religion is determined, and why these numbers differ in different sources. To do this, a combined combination of several methods is used to avoid inaccuracy:

• Traditionally, they use data from religious reports, taking into account that many organizations deliberately overestimate the number of their adherents.
• Select information about religious self-determination from the list of census results. It should be taken into account that the census is carried out rarely and not in all countries.
• They conduct surveys among believers, which does not always guarantee a truthful answer, especially among religious minorities.
• They estimate indirect data, for example, the number of members of an organization, implying that they adhere to the same religion.
• Conduct field research when other methods cannot be applied, for example, in closed sects.

After analyzing these methods, we can come to the conclusion that the processed information will not always be reliable. Therefore, let us take the data on the number of Buddhists as a relative number.

Russian Buddhism

On the territory of modern Russia, Buddhism originated in the 7th century. The ancient Bohai people who lived in Primorye and along the Amur professed Mahayana.

In the 17th century, Kalmyks joined the Russian state and brought Buddhist teachings here. At the same time, the Buryats adopted Tibetan Buddhism under the influence of neighboring countries.

And in the middle of the 18th century, Empress Elizabeth I issued a document that indirectly recognized this religious trend in our country.

A few decades later, she founded the post of Pandito Hambo Lama, which can be translated as “learned chief monk,” to designate the position of Buddhist leader of Transbaikalia and Eastern Siberia. Such an act was already official recognition. For her patronage, she was revered by local Buddhists as the embodiment of the Bodhisattva White Tara.

And since the beginning of the last century, the Republic of Tyva, where Buddhist traditions existed 700 years ago, also became part of Russia. Tuva is the only Buddhist European country in Eurasia.

Buddhist teachings, which successfully developed until the 30s of the last century, then experienced a period of severe repression until the end of the Great Patriotic War.

After the war, the Ivolginsky Temple was built on the territory of Buryatia, which later became the seat of the Soviet head of Buddhists.

Now there are many Buddhist organizations in our country, but so far there is no single center that would unite them all.

Buddhism in Western countries

The trends of Buddhist teachings did not reach the Western world for a long time and became widespread only in the 20th century for a number of reasons.

Initially, a theoretical basis for the spread of Buddhism was created in Western countries. Scientists from many countries translated ancient texts, which helped society become familiar with the authentic sources of Buddhism. There were three schools of researchers:

• English-German, specializing in working with Pali texts
• Franco-Belgian, who studied texts in Sanskrit, Tibetan and Chinese
• Russian who studied Indian Buddhism

Then the creative intelligentsia “tried on” Buddhist ideas. The German philosopher A. Schopenhauer is considered a famous preacher of Buddhism, whose own philosophical ideas coincided with the doctrine of Buddhism even before he became familiar with it.

His works subsequently influenced the worldview of many famous people, as a result of which they converted to Buddhism.

When the Chinese, Koreans, Vietnamese and Japanese began to move en masse to the United States, European countries, the American continent, and Australia, they brought their culture and religion with them.

The Theosophical Society in Japan, which opened the occult to the general public, contributed to increased interest in Buddhist teachings in many of the countries listed. The theosophical movement of Blavatsky and Olcott achieved the same results among their Anglo-American followers.

At the beginning of the last century, Theravada communities were founded in Western society.

In the second half of the 20th century, Tibet was occupied by China, which led to the emergence of a large number of refugees from there. Tibetan schools began to actively operate and received public recognition both in the USA and in Germany, Switzerland, and Italy.

Conclusion

Now in the West there are almost all Buddhist movements. They have their own schools, communities, religious institutions, meditation centers, where millions of adherents of all nationalities come.

Every year the number of followers of the Buddha's teachings throughout the world increases. According to some data, their growth occurs annually by approximately 1.5%. The ranks of Buddhist adherents are replenished by those people who like to think differently from what other dogmatic religions prescribe.

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