page_title: Religion in Sweden
section_title: Buddhism
hierarchical_section_title: Religion in Sweden / Religions / Buddhism
caption_attribution_description: Svenska: Buddharam Tempel, Buddhistiskt tempel i Torsby, Värmdö kommun.
context_page_description: Religion in Sweden has, over the years, become increasingly diverse. Christianity was the religion of virtually all of the Swedish population from the 12th to the early 20th century, but it has rapidly declined throughout the late 20th and early 21st century.
  Christianity came to Sweden as early as the 9th century mainly as a result of an expansion in trade. The ancient Nordic religions were slowly replaced. Several centuries later all monarchs were Christian and Christianity became the established official religion. The church belonged to the Catholic Church until 1527 when the Swedish state church was established as a Protestant church based on Lutheran principles, following the Protestant Reformation enacted by Martin Luther which converted most of Germanic Europe. The Lutheran Church of Sweden was formed and remained the official religion of the Christian state until the turn of the 21st century.
  In recent years, the Swedish religious landscape has become increasingly diverse, with Christians comprising in 2016 some 67.8% of the total population and rising numbers of people of other religions and people who don't belong to any church.
context_section_description: In 2016, there were 9,055 formal affiliated Buddhists in Sweden, comprising 0.1% of the total population.
caption: Buddharama Temple in Torsby.
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