List of converts to Buddhism from Christianity

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This is a list of notable converts to Buddhism from Christianity.

NameFormer denominationNationalityNotesRefs.
Nyanatiloka Mahathera (Anton Walther Florus Gueth) Catholic Church Germanone of the earliest western Buddhist monks and founder of Island Hermitage [1]
Anthony Lee Baptist Americanactor and activist [2]
Ananda Metteya (Charles Henry Allan Bennett) Catholic Church Britishone of the earliest western Buddhist monk and established the first Buddhist Mission in the United Kingdom [3]
Thomas William Rhys Davids Congregationalism Britishscholar of the Pāli language and founder of Pali Text Society [4]
Colonel Henry Steel Olcott Presbyterianism Americanmilitary officer, lawyer and first well-known American to make a formal conversion to Buddhism [5]
Lokanatha (Salvatore Cioffi) Catholic Church ItalianTheravadin Buddhist missionary monk [6]
Roberto Baggio Catholic Church Italianfootballer [7] [8]
Kotahene Soma Maha Thera Catholic Church Sri LankanTheravadin Buddhist monk, translator and missionary [9]
Aliana Lohan Catholic Church Americanactress, singer and fashion model [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]
Solomon Bandaranaike Anglicanism Sri Lankanformer Prime Minister of Sri Lanka and founder of Sri Lanka Freedom Party [15]
Dewi Lestari Catholic Church Indonesianwriter, singer, and songwriter [16]
Prince Esper Esperovich Ukhtomsky Russian Orthodox Church Russianpoet, publisher and Oriental enthusiast [17]
Helena Blavatsky Russian Orthodox Church Russianphilosopher, occultist, founder of the Theosophical Society [18]
Richard Tiffany Gere Methodism AmericanFamous actor and producer, co-founder of Tibet House US [19]
Jimmy Barnes Protestantism AustralianSinger and rapper [20]
Orlando Bloom Church of England EnglishFamous actor and leading man in Hollywood films [21] [22]
Ajahn Sumedho (Robert Karr Jackman) Episcopal Church (United States) Americanthe one who introduced Thai Forest Tradition to the West and most senior western disciple of Ajahn Chah [23]
Ajahn Viradhammo (Vitauts Akers) Lutheranism Canadiansenior western disciple of Ajahn Chah, founder & abbot of Tisarana Buddhist Monastery [24]
Ajahn Brahm Not specificEnglishsenior western disciple of Ajahn Chah and abbot of Bodhinyana Monastery [25]
Ajahn Candasiri Not specificScottish Theravada Buddhist nun of Thai Forest Tradition and one of the senior monastics in western Buddhist circle [26] [27]
Ayya Nirodha (Elizabeth Gorski) Catholic Church Austrian, later Australian Theravada Buddhist nun of Thai Forest Tradition, former Abbess of Santi Forest Monastery [28]
Tara Brach Unitarianism Americanpsychologist and founder of the Insight Meditation Community of Washington, D.C. (IMCW) [29]
Belinda Carlisle Southern Baptist Convention Americansinger (the Go-Go's), songwriter [30] [31]
Houn Jiyu-Kennett Church of England EnglishSoto Zen rōshi and founder of Shasta Abbey [32]
John Daido Loori Catholic Church AmericanZen Buddhist rōshi, abbot of Zen Mountain Monastery [33]
Ananda Claude Dalenberg Dutch Reformed Church AmericanZen priest ordained by Shunryū Suzuki [34]
Michael D. ("Mugaku") Zimmerman Episcopal Church (United States) Americanprominent attorney and former justice of the Utah Supreme Court [35]
William Oliver Stone Episcopal Church (United States) Americanfilm director, producer, and screenwriter [36]
Pema Chödrön Catholic Church American Tibetan Buddhist nun [37]
Fabian Fucan Catholic Church (Society of Jesus)Japanesewriter of tracts, at first supporting Christianity and then criticizing it [38]
Ko Ye Lwin Not specificBurmeseprominent musician, guitarist and peace activist [39]
Alfred Bloom Evangelicalism Americanprofessor and dean of the Institute of Buddhist Studies [40]
Seungsahn Haengwon Presbyterianism Korean Seon master and the founder of Kwan Um School of Zen [41]
Junius Richard Jayewardene Not specificSri Lankanfirst President of Sri Lanka and former Prime minister [42]
Steve Jobs Lutheranism Americanco-founder of Apple Computer, Inc. [43] [44]
Charles R. Johnson African Methodist Episcopal Church Americanpolitical cartoonist, novelist and Buddhist writer [45]
Dewi Lestari Pentecostalism Indonesiansinger and writer [46] [47]
Tsai Chih Chung Catholic Church Taiwanesefamous cartoonist, well-known in both Taiwan and mainland China [48]
Leung Man-tao Catholic Church Chinesewriter, critic and host [49]
Christine Rankin Catholic Church New Zealanderpolitician and former civil servant who served as head of the Ministry of Social Development [50]
Seta Manoukian Armenian Apostolic Church ArmenianArmenian painter [51]
Tina Turner Baptist Swisssinger and actress [52]
Herman Vetterling Swedenborgianism Americanmystic but he retained elements of Swedenborg thought after his conversion [53] [54]
Michael Imperioli Catholicism Americanactor, writer, director, and musician. [55] [56]
Sam Lao Church of the East ChineseRishi, Dalit Buddhist and New Age Scientist. [57] [58]

See also

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References

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  3. ↑ "Bennett, (Charles Henry) Allan (1872-1923)". Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  4. ↑ "Buddhist India, by T.W. Rhys Davids". Fsnow.com. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
  5. ↑ Janet Kerschner, The Olcott Family Archived 2008-12-18 at the Wayback Machine
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  9. ↑ The Path Of Freedom (Vimuttimagga) of Arahant Upatissa Translated from the Chinese by Rev. N. R. M. Ehara, Soma Thera, Kheminda Thera. Buddhist Publication Society. Kandy, Ceylon, page IX
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  14. ↑ "Ali Lohan". TV Guide . Archived from the original on December 8, 2015. Retrieved November 8, 2015.
  15. ↑ Melkonian, Neery. "Lebanon in the Armenian Imaginary: So Close with a Distance". Seismopolite: Journal of Art and Politics. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  16. ↑ CINEMA 21. "CINEMA 21 - We Are The Largest Cinema Chain In Indonesia". CINEMA 21. Retrieved 2024-04-11.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
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  20. ↑ McCarthy, Danielle. "Why Jimmy Barnes abandoned son David Campbell as a baby OverSixty". Oversixty.com.au. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
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  29. ↑ ""Allow life to be as it is"" (PDF). Retrieved 2020-10-31.
  30. ↑ "Allez-allez - a Go-Go decides to turn French". The Sydney Morning Herald. March 5, 2007.
  31. ↑ Carlisle, Belinda (2011). Lips Unsealed: A Memoir. Crown Publishing Group. p. 222. ISBN   978-0-307-46350-0.
  32. ↑ Kay, David N. (2007). Tibetan and Zen Buddhism in Britain: Transplantation, Development and Adaptation. Routledge. pp. 120–121.
  33. ↑ Magida, Arthur J. (2006). Opening the Doors of Wonder: Reflections on Religious Rites of Passage. University of California Press. p. 203. ISBN   0520245458.
  34. ↑ "Ananda Claude Dalenberg Biographical Notes". Cuke.com. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
  35. ↑ Jarvik, Elaine (December 16, 2006). "Utah justice now Zen teacher". Deseret News.
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  39. ↑ Zon Pann Pwint (20 July 2018). "Ko Ye Lwin: a great musician and a late Buddhist samaritan". The Myanmar Times . Retrieved 26 November 2020.
  40. ↑ Gee, Pat (2017-08-29). "Former UH professor shared compassion of Shin Buddhism". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Retrieved 2020-11-25.
  41. ↑ Ford, James Ishmael (2006). Zen Master Who?. Wisdom Publications. pp.  99, 100, 101. ISBN   0-86171-509-8.
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  43. ↑ What do Steve Jobs’s final words mean?
  44. ↑ The spiritual side of Steve Jobs
  45. ↑ Charles R. Johnson interview at Monsters&Critics Archived 2007-11-08 at the Wayback Machine : "Buddhism has been my refuge (as it was intended to be for practitioners) since I was 14-years-old, and first sat in formal meditation."
  46. ↑ Dewi 'Dee' Lestari: Love, spirituality and ecology [ permanent dead link ]
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  49. ↑ 凤凰网：梁文道在佛教中寻找人生方向 (in Chinese)
  50. ↑ Claire Harvey (2005-12-31). "Free-range soul searching replacing organised religion in NZ". New Zealand Herald.
  51. ↑ New York Times
  52. ↑ Orth, Maureen (2004). "Proud Tina: Tina Turner". The Importance of Being Famous . Henry Holt and Company. p.  42. ISBN   9780805075458 . Retrieved July 21, 2012. buddhist.
  53. ↑ The Dharma of Emanuel Swedenborg: A Buddhist Perspective
  54. ↑ Imagining Tibet : Perceptions, Projections, and Fantasies by Thierry Dodin
  55. ↑ "Buddhist Channel | Personality".
  56. ↑ "Inside the Zen Mind of Michael Imperioli". 3 September 2020.
  57. ↑ The Dharma of Emanuel Swedenborg: A Buddhist Perspective
  58. ↑ Imagining Tibet : Perceptions, Projections, and Fantasies by Thierry Dodin
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