Buddhism in Bangladesh
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The Buddhism in Bangladesh is the third largest religion in the country, but well after the Islam (89.7%) and Hinduism (9.2%). The number of followers is estimated at 0.7% of the total population (around one million people). Most of the believers live in the Chittagong Division in the south-east of the country and mostly practice Theravada Buddhism. Historically, Buddhism is the first of the three world religions to gain a foothold in Bangladesh. Many temples still bear witness to the long tradition. Best known are the ruins of the Buddhist Vihara at are Paharpur that the UNESCO - World Heritage of Bangladesh count.
In the past, Buddhists in Bangladesh were more often exposed to religious discrimination and intolerance from the Muslim majority of Bengali . The situation in the Chittagong Hill Tracts east of Chittagong is of particular importance . Mostly Buddhist Tibetan-Burmese tribal peoples live here, so that in addition to the religious contrast Islam ↔ Buddhism there is also an ethnic contrast.
statistics
Followers of Buddhism in the various divisions of Bangladesh:
division | Percent (%) |
---|---|
Barishal | <0.06 |
Chittagong | 12.65 |
Dhaka | 0.03 |
Khulna | <0.08 |
Rajshahi | 0.23 |
Sylhet | 0.2 |
Source: amardesh.com
Web links
- BuddhaNet - Buddhism in Bangladesh (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ BANGLADESH: COUNTRY PROFILE ( Memento of the original from July 6, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ amardesh.com ( Bengali ) amardesh.com. Accessed January 31, 2019.