It is rather difficult to get an accurate picture of the number of practising Buddhists in the United States. In 1975, Barrett estimated 190,000 persons, or approximately 0.1% of the population and one would expect this figure to be mainly composed of descendants of Chinese and Japanese immigrants affiliated to the Jodo shinshu inspired Buddhist Churches of America with some Nichiren shoshu of ...

Constitutions tend to regulate the relationship between religious and state authorities. Before rise of modern state, it was difficult make proper distinctions law, religion morality. With emergence Western liberalism, concept democracy secularism gained newfound attention, becoming ingrained in tune with constitutional frameworks. Establishing is a thorny issue for constitution-makers. Opponen...

Abstract Globalising “Buddhism” beyond its pre-colonial homelands was a complex practical challenge. Actors seeking to bring Buddhism new audiences in very different cultures met with failure far more often than success until recent decades. Modern-era Buddhist missionaries Europe had experiment, selecting elements of Asian that could theoretically be transmitted – ordinations, preaching, textu...