List of Buddhist members of the United States Congress

This is a list of Buddhist members of the United States Congress .

As of 2025 ^[update] , four Buddhists have been elected to Congress, the first being both Mazie Hirono and Hank Johnson in 2007. As of the 119th Congress, three Buddhists currently serve in Congress, two in the House of Representatives and one in the Senate. All being members of the Democratic Party. ^[1]

Senate

Further information: Religious affiliation in the United States Senate

Senator		Party		State	Term			Notes
					Start	End	Length of service
	Mazie Hirono		Democratic	Hawaii	January 3, 2013	Incumbent	12 years, 58 days	First Buddhist senator [2] [3]

House of Representatives

Further information: Religious affiliation in the United States House of Representatives

Representative		Party		District	Term			Notes
					Start	End	Length of service
	Mazie Hirono		Democratic	HI-02	January 3, 2007	January 3, 2013	6 years, 0 days	One of the first two Buddhists in Congress. Retired to run successfully for U.S. Senator from Hawaii. [2] [3]
	Hank Johnson		Democratic	GA-04	January 3, 2007	Incumbent	18 years, 58 days	One of the first two Buddhists in Congress [4]
	Colleen Hanabusa		Democratic	HI-01	January 3, 2011	January 3, 2015	4 years, 0 days	Retired to run unsuccessfully for U.S. Senator from Hawaii. [5]
					November 14, 2016	January 3, 2019	2 years, 50 days	Elected in special election to succeed Mark Takai, who died in office Retired to run unsuccessfully for governor of Hawaii
	Derek Tran		Democratic	CA-45	January 3, 2025	Incumbent	58 days	[6]

See also

• List of Hindu members of the United States Congress
• List of Jewish members of the United States Congress
• List of Mormon members of the United States Congress
• List of Muslim members of the United States Congress
• List of Quaker members of the United States Congress
• List of Asian Americans and Pacific Islands Americans in the United States Congress

References

2. "Buddhists Get the Vote". Manitoba Buddhist Temple. November 5, 2010. Archived from the original on July 12, 2013. Retrieved August 12, 2012.
3. Camire, Dennis (January 5, 2007). "What happened to ... religious tolerance". Honolulu Advertiser. Gannett Company. Retrieved August 9, 2011.
4. Tilove, Jonathan. "New Congress Brings with It Religious Firsts". Newhouse News Service. Archived from the original on December 19, 2006.
5. "Faith on the Hill: The Religious Composition of the 114th Congress". Pew Research Center. January 5, 2015. Retrieved September 13, 2016. The number of Buddhists in Congress fell from three to two, as Rep. Colleen Hanabusa, D-Hawaii, lost her bid for a Senate seat.
6. Dioamant, Jeff (January 2, 2025). "Faith on the Hill". Pew Research Center . Retrieved January 3, 2025.