Buddhist Federation of Norway
Contact Details:
Grønlandsleiret 31
0135 Oslo
Norway
+47-22177019
kontor@buddhistforbundet.no
http://www.buddhistforbundet.no

History of Buddhist Federation of Norway (BFN)

Although archaeological evidence shows that Vikings brought a statue of the Buddha to Scandinavia around the 9th century, nothing suggests that Buddhism had any impact in this part of the world until the late 19th century when it became known to people in Europe through the writings of western scholars and philosophers.

During the 20th century various eastern-inspired spiritual movements lead to an interest in Buddhism among a number of Norwegians. Their fascination with the east, particularly with Tibet, also contributed to their attraction to Buddhism.

However, the first steps in organizing Buddhist groups and associations, did not take place until the early 1970s. The interest in Zen and Tibetan Buddhism led to the establishment of organizations devoted to these forms of Buddhism in 1972 and 1975 respectively. The establishment of the Buddhist Federation of Norway (BFN) in 1979 was the result of a joint initiative by these two organizations.

The law on religion encouraged Norwegian Buddhists to register as a religious community in order to receive the support of the state, as the “Act relating to religious communities”, passed by the Norwegian parliament in 1969, provided for regular government funding of registered religious communities of all faiths, based on the principle of equal per capita support to that given to the established Church of Norway.

The origin of Zen in Norway was mainly due to local interest inspired by writings by scholars such as the D.T.Suzuki from Japan. The development of Tibetan Buddhism was encouraged by visits to Norway of Tibetan lamas, such as the 16th Gyalwa Karmapa and the 14th Dalai Lama.

In addition, various other Buddhist traditions have found Norwegian followers who have set up organisations devoted to these traditions of Buddhism. Many of them have joined the BFN as member associations.

Vietnamese refugees began to arrive in Norway in the late seventies. The Buddhists from this community formed a member association of the BFN in 1982. The arrival of Thai Buddhists in Norway, beginning in the 1980s, was mainly due to intermarriages between Thais and Norwegians. Today there is a community of more than 20.000 Thai Buddhists and more Thai Buddhist associations have joined the BFN.

The Sri Lankan Buddhist community in Norway consists to a large extent of regular immigrants who have settled in this country over the years. In 1993 they formed their association as a member of the BFN. A Burmese Buddhist Association, consisting mainly of refugees from that country, has also joined the BFN as has also a Cambodian Buddhist association as well as the Foguangshan movement of Chinese Mahayana Buddhism.

Doctrinal foundation and purpose of BFN

The BFN is based on the common foundation of all Buddhist traditions such as the Three Jewels, The Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path and is devoted to the welfare of all beings. The purpose of the BFN is to establish a common faith community according to Norwegian law and administer rights and duties connected with that position. In addition, the BFN organizes common celebrations of Buddhist festivals, informs the public about Buddhism, and expresses Buddhist points of view on current issues.

Organization of BFN

The BFN is a registered faith community according to Norwegian law. It is governed by a board whose members are appointed by the member associations of the BFN. The BFN has appointed a secretary general to manage the affairs of the organisation under the direction of the board.

Individual members of the member association are registered in the BFN and the size of the annual grants from the government is based on the documented total number of registered individual members of the BFN. The money received from the government is allocated to the member associations according to their share of the membership of the BFN. The BFN has its own office in the capital city of Oslo headed by the secretary general and a staff of consultants.

Membership of BFN

The BFN currently has 16 associations with more than 16.000 individual members registered in the BFN. More than 600 individual members of the BFN are not connected with any of its member organizations. Around 85 % of the members of the BFN are of Asian ethnic background.

Activities of BFN

In accordance with the “Communities of Faith Act” (2021) the BFN keeps a register of Buddhists who have joined the organization as individual members. Every year the BFN requests the government to provide funding to the BFN relative to the number of members registered. This funding is distributed among the member associations of the BFN according to their relative share of its membership.

Another activity of the BFN is the celebration of Buddhist festivals. Although the larger member associations celebrate Buddhist festivals according to their respective traditions, the BFN organizes common celebrations every year of Vesak, as well as the enlightenment day of the Buddha according to the Japanese Buddhist calendar.

The BFN speaks on behalf of the whole Buddhist community in Norway to the government, to other faith communities as well as to the society in general. In this connection the BFN has participated in several inter-religious dialogues.

In 1996 the BFN co-founded “The Council for Religious and Life Stance Communities in Norway” (STL). This institution is the main forum for dialogue between people of religions or convictions in Norway.

Through this institution the BFN was also instrumental in establishing “The Oslo Coalition on Freedom of Religion or Belief” in 1998. This organisation promotes freedom of religion internationally through dialogue between governments, scholars, and religious leaders. In this context the BFN has participated in dialogue with Buddhists in the People’s Republic of China and other countries. As part of its international engagement the BFN was also active in dialogue with Sri Lankan Buddhists on the ethnic conflict in that country. In 2013 the BFN initiated a two-year project on religious minorities in Buddhist majority states with financial support from a government agency (NORAD).

After the Tsunami disaster in South Asia in 2004 the BFN engaged in various humanitarian activities in Sri Lanka and has also continued such activities in other countries.

The BFN also provides information about Buddhism to the public through various means such as the internet as well as the publication of books. The BFN also take part in interreligious dialogue through a project with leading theologians from the Church of Norway. The BFN is also involved in international Buddhist collaboration through organisations such as “The World Fellowship of Buddhists” and the “European Buddhist Union”.

Number of Buddhists in Norway

In 2023 there were 22.212 individuals listed as members of Buddhist faith communities registered with the government.

However, according to the official statistics on immigration Norway had by 01.01.23 a population from Myanmar (4.473), Cambodia (681), Thailand (23.590), Vietnam 24.119), and China (12.206). Based on the percentage of Buddhists in these countries and other neighbouring countries with Buddhist populations, we can give an estimate of more than 40.000 Buddhists with immigrant background in Norway.

With an added 2.500 Buddhists with Norwegian ethnic background (registered in faith communities) a conservative estimate suggests around 42.000 Buddhists living in Norway.