From the earliest days of Buddhism in Britain, individuals and communities have sought out buildings to provide locations where they might practise and teach Buddhism. In this paper, we focus on this neglected area of the study of minority faith traditions in Britain. Our research, which was commissioned by Historic England, examines how Buddhist communities have used buildings and what this tells us about how a minority tradition is initially established and how it subsequently changes and develops. In this context, we suggest that buildings are more than bricks and mortar and provide a richly rewarding analytical lens to tell stories about migration, socio-economic status, religious diversity and integration and the complexity of processes around secularisation and religious change, as well shifting policy agendas in the UK that have begun to take faith seriously. This contributes to deepening the picture of the migration and adaptation of Buddhism and Buddhist practice across the globe.
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ABSTRACT 326 Introduction 326 Heritage, buildings and Buddhism: the rationale for the research 328 Research questions and methods 331 Findings and discussion 332 Where are Buddhist buildings in England located and how many are there? 332 Theravāda (58 buildings in total) 334 Tibetan (69 buildings in total) 337 East Asian (29 buildings in total) 338 Non-sectarian (33 buildings in total) 340 What do Buddhist communities in England use buildings for? 340 What kind of buildings do they choose and why? 341 What is the value of these buildings to the communities and individuals? 347 Conclusion 350 Disclosure statement 353 Funding 353 Notes on contributors 353 ORCiD 354
