Buddhism in Brunei

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Teng Yun Temple in Pusat Bandar Brunei-Muara 27 July 2023 34.jpg
Teng Yun Temple in Pusat Bandar

Buddhism is the third largest religion in Brunei, after the majority state religion of Islam, and the slightly larger minority religion Christianity. [1] Estimates vary, but some reports place the number of Buddhists in Brunei around 30,000, [1] and the estimated percentage of Buddhists in Brunei around 7-8% of the total population. [1] [2] [3] According to Brunei's official 2016 data, 7% (29,495) of the population practices Buddhism. [3]

Contents

History

Buddhism is thought to have had some presence in Brunei beginning in the 6th Century CE, with Brunei and China have a known trading relationship since this time period. This continued alongside the influence of Hinduism with the Majapahit Empire, between the 13th to 16th Century CE, with this influence decreasing drastically with the spread of Islam into Brunei and into the region. [4] The modern Buddhist population of Brunei is mainly derived from Chinese migrants arriving between the 19th and 20th century, especially following a 1929 Chinese law allowing for dual nationality. [5] [6]

Statistics on Buddhist Population

Historical Population of Bruneian Buddhists
YearPop.±%
197118,373    
198127,063+47.3%
199133,387+23.4%
200128,480−14.7%
201130,814+8.2%
201629,495−4.3%
Source: Bruneian Department of Statistics [7]

A large percentage of the Buddhist population is from the ethnically Chinese population of Brunei, which comprise 10.2% of the total population, [8] and which is about 65% of the Chinese population embraced Buddhism. [6] The percentage of Buddhists has fallen over time since the 1990s, in conjunction with the falling percentage of the ethnically Chinese population. [6] Around one-third of Buddhists in Brunei are citizens, with the rest being permanent or temporary residents. [9] Chinese Mahayana Buddhism is the most common denomination of Buddhism practiced, as this is the most common form of Buddhism practiced in China and surrounding states. [10] Buddhism is commonly practiced alongside other religions or philosophical practices, particularly Taoism and Confucianism. [10]

Distribution of Buddhists by District [9]
Brunei MuaraBelaitTutongTemburong
19,1348,8141,415132

Religious Freedom for Buddhists

Brunei is a sultanate, and has Islam as the official state religion. All other religions in Brunei have limited but guaranteed religious freedom, including Buddhists. Restrictions include limitations in building new places of worship, due to a fatwa discouraging support for the expansion of non-Islamic religions preventing permits from being granted, importation or distribution of non-Islamic religious literature, and strict laws against proselytizing to Muslim or religiously unaffiliated people. [11] One particular case of restriction in relation to Buddhism is the continual limiting of festivities for the Chinese Lunar New Year, which placed a three-day time frame on all related revents, and limited events to venues such as Brunei's sole Chinese Buddhist temple. [11]

Beyond limitations on religious freedom, non-Muslim groups including Buddhists also must adhere to many aspects of Brunei's sharia law, including the Sharia Penal Code introduced in 2013, and expanded upon in 2019. [12] However, following the recent implementation of these laws, Buddhist and other minority religion populations have reported no difference in legal treatment from the state, and the state has put a moratorium on use of the death penalty intended to be implemented under this law. [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brunei</span> Country in Southeast Asia

Brunei, officially Brunei Darussalam and the State of Brunei, is a country in Southeast Asia, situated on the northern coast of the island of Borneo. Apart from its coastline on the South China Sea, it is completely surrounded by the Malaysian state of Sarawak, with its territory bifurcated by the Sarawak district of Limbang. Brunei is the only sovereign state entirely on Borneo; the remainder of the island is divided between its multi-landmass neighbours of Malaysia and Indonesia. As of 2020, the country had a population of 460,345, of whom approximately 100,000 resided in the capital and largest city of Bandar Seri Begawan. Its official language is Malay and Islam is the state religion of the country, although other religions are nominally tolerated. The government of Brunei is an absolute monarchy ruled by the Sultan of Brunei, and it implements a fusion of English common law and jurisprudence inspired by Islam, including sharia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">State religion</span> Religion or creed endorsed by the state

A state religion is a religion or creed officially endorsed by a sovereign state. A state with an official religion, while not a secular state, is not necessarily a theocracy. State religions are official or government-sanctioned establishments of a religion, but the state does not need to be under the control of the clergy, nor is the state-sanctioned religion necessarily under the control of the state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buddhism in Malaysia</span> Overview role of Buddhism in Malaysia

Buddhism is the second largest religion in Malaysia, after Islam, with 18.7% of Malaysia's population being Buddhist, although some estimates put that figure at 21.6% when combining estimates of numbers of Buddhists with figures for adherents of Chinese religions which incorporate elements of Buddhism. Buddhism in Malaysia is mainly practised by the ethnic Malaysian Chinese, but there are also Malaysian Siamese, Malaysian Sri Lankans and Burmese in Malaysia that practice Buddhism such as Ananda Krishnan and K. Sri Dhammananda and a sizeable population of Malaysian Indians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buddhism by country</span>

This list of Buddhism by country shows the distribution of the Buddhist religion, practiced by about 535 million people as of the 2010s, representing 7% to 8% of the world's total population. It also includes other entities such as some territories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Culture of Brunei</span>

The culture of Brunei is strongly influenced by Malay culture and Islam. The culture is also influenced by the demographic makeup of the country: more than two-thirds of the population are Malay, and the remainder consists of Chinese, Indians and indigenous groups such as Muruts, Bisaya Brunei, Brunei Dusun and Kedayans. While Standard Malay is the official language of Brunei, languages such as Brunei Malay and English are more commonly spoken.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Islam in Brunei</span> Religion in Brunei

Islam is Brunei's official religion, 82.70 percent of the population is Muslim, mostly Sunnis of Malay, Arab and Indian origin who follow the Shafi'i school (76%) Hanafi and Maliki school (6%) of jurisprudence. Most of the other Muslim groups are Malay Kedayans, local Chinese and Dayak Iban converts. Islam was introduced to Brunei by traders arriving from Persia, Arabia, China and the Indian subcontinent. Therefore, other religions can be practiced freely.

Religion in Nepal encompasses a wide diversity of groups and beliefs. Nepal is a secular nation and secularism in Nepal under the Interim constitution is defined as "Religious and cultural freedom along with the protection of religion and culture handed down from time immemorial." That is, "The state government is bound for protecting and fostering Hindu religion while maintaining "Religious" and "Cultural" freedom throughout the nation as fundamental rights.

Asia is the largest and most populous continent and the birthplace of many religions including Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, Judaism, Shinto, Sikhism, Taoism, and Zoroastrianism. All major religious traditions are practiced in the region and new forms are constantly emerging. Asia is noted for its diversity of culture. Islam and Hinduisms are the largest religion in Asia with approximately 1.2-1.3 billion adherents each.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Religion in Jordan</span>

Sunni Islam is the dominant religion in Jordan. Muslims make up about 97.2% of the country's population. A few of them are Shiites. Many Shia in Jordan are refugees from Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Religion in Malaysia</span>

Islam is the state religion of Malaysia, as per Article 3 of the Constitution. Meanwhile, other religions can be practised by non-Malay citizens of the country. In addition, per Article 160, one must be Muslim to be considered Malay. As of the 2020 Population and Housing Census, 63.5 percent of the population practices Islam; 18.7 percent Buddhism; 9.1 percent Christianity; 6.1 percent Hinduism; and 2.7 percent other religion or gave no information. The remainder is accounted for by other faiths, including Animism, Folk religion, Sikhism, Baháʼí Faith and other belief systems. The states of Sarawak and Penang and the federal territory of Kuala Lumpur have non-Muslim majorities. Numbers of self-described atheists in Malaysia are few as renouncing Islam is prohibited for Muslims in Malaysia. As such, the actual number of atheists or converts in the country is hard to ascertain out of fear from being ostracised or prosecution. The state has come under criticism from human rights organisations for the government's discrimination against atheists, with some cabinet members saying that "the freedom of religion is not the freedom from religion".

Myanmar (Burma) is a Buddhist majority country with a significant minority of Christians and other groups residing in the country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christianity in Brunei</span>

Christianity in Brunei is the second largest religion practiced by about 8.7% of the population as of 2022. Other reports suggest that this number may be as high as 12%.

The constitution of Brunei states that while the official religion is the Shafi'i school of Sunni Islam, all other religions may be practiced "in peace and harmony." Apostasy and blasphemy are legally punishable by corporal and capital punishment, including stoning to death, amputation of hands or feet, or caning. Only caning has been used since 1957.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Freedom of religion in Cambodia</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Freedom of religion in Thailand</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Religion in Brunei</span>

Among religions in Brunei, Sunni Islam is predominant. In 2021, the government census showed that 82.1% of Brunei's population is Muslim. However, other religions also have a considerable foothold in Brunei: 8.7% of the population is Christian and another 7.8% is Buddhist. The remaining 5% subscribe to various religions, including indigenous religions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Religion in Mauritius</span>

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The status of religious freedom in Asia varies from country to country. States can differ based on whether or not they guarantee equal treatment under law for followers of different religions, whether they establish a state religion, the extent to which religious organizations operating within the country are policed, and the extent to which religious law is used as a basis for the country's legal code.

References

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