page_title: Religion in Singapore
section_title: Buddhism
hierarchical_section_title: Religion in Singapore / Buddhism
caption_attribution_description: English: Main Shrine Hall of Singapore Buddhist Lodge
context_page_description: Religion in Singapore is characterised by a wide variety of religious beliefs and practices due to its diverse ethnic mix of peoples originating from various countries. This means that Singapore is commonly termed as a "melting pot" of various religious practices originating from different religious denominations around the world. Most practised religious denominations are present in Singapore, with the Inter-Religious Organisation, Singapore recognising 10 major religions in the city state. A 2014 analysis by the Pew Research Center found Singapore to be the world's most religiously diverse nation.
  The most followed religion in Singapore is Buddhism, with 33.2% of the resident population declaring themselves as adherents at the most recent census. A large majority of Buddhists in Singapore are Chinese, with 42.29% of the ethnic Chinese population in Singapore declaring themselves as Buddhists at the most recent census. However, there are also sizeable numbers of non-Chinese ethnic groups in Singapore that practice Buddhism, such as the Sinhalese, Burmese and Thais.
context_section_description: A large plurality of Singaporeans declare themselves as Buddhists, with 33.3% of the Singaporean population being Buddhists in 2010 census. 
  Most missionaries can hail from China, Tibet,  perhaps Taiwan), Thailand, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Japan.
  There are Buddhist monasteries and centres from the three major traditions of Buddhism in Singapore: Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana. Most Buddhists in Singapore are Chinese and many of them adhered to Mahayana tradition. 
  Whilst a majority of Buddhists in Singapore are traditionally ethnic Chinese, there is a significant number of Buddhists in Singapore that come from other ethnic groups such as the Thai, Sinhalese and Burmese. Due to the presence of these Buddhists from these ethnic groups, there are Buddhist centres and temples that serves these communities, such as Wat Ananda Metyarama Thai Buddhist Temple, Sri Lankaramaya Buddhist Temple and Burmese Buddhist Temple. 
  Buddhism of every tradition is well represented in Singapore, such as Tibetan Buddhism, Thai Buddhism and Chinese Mahayana Buddhism. They were brought together over years of immigration to Singapore, brought by many foreign Buddhist monks. Due to the melting pot of Buddhist traditions here in Singapore, it is not uncommon to see Thai Buddhist Temples and Tibetan Buddhist Centres, besides the numerous Chinese Buddhist Temples. 
  The sight of such temples gives Buddhists in Singapore a warm feeling in their hearts, as these are places where they spend their times with their loved ones the most, such as going to temples to offer incense and attend meditation and chanting services.
  Occasionally, Buddhist monks from the west such as Ajahn Brahm, who resided in  Australia, is invited to Singapore to give Buddhist Talks to the public. Additionally, there are also Buddhist societies set up in Singapore tertiary institutions such as NUS Buddhist Society, Ngee Ann Polytechnic Buddhist Society, Singapore Polytechnic Buddhist Society and SMU Dhamma Circle have encouraged youths in Singapore gain a better insight into Buddhism. 
  Recently, there are many Buddhist temples in Singapore that are undergoing major renovations, to have a fresh new building facade and to cater to the younger crowd. Singapore Buddhist Lodge has recently renovated their Main Shrine Hall and since it has open its doors to the public, it has been drawing hundreds of people from all over Singapore to visit. 
  In addition, Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery has also opened the Buddhist College of Singapore to provide a centre for Buddhist education to Singaporeans. 
  Such additions and renovations to these temples have improved their visitor count greatly. 
  As time goes by, a sizeable number of Buddhist temples in Singapore have decided to use English over Mandarin as their main language of communication during their temple services to cater to the growing English-Speaking Buddhist congregation. 
  Indirectly, many young Chinese Singaporeans are now spending time with their family to rediscover their Buddhist roots.
  Population of resident ethnic group registered as Buddhist 2015.
caption: Main Shrine Hall of Singapore Buddhist Lodge
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