Buddhism in Denmark: Institutionalized Religion, Mindfulness and Cool Branding

In 1921, Christian Frederik Melbye established the first Buddhist group in Denmark as primarily a one-man project. Through books and journals he attempted to convey to the Danes the depths of this scientific religion, already studied and translated by Danish scholars at universities in the 19th century. The literary approach to Buddhism for a small elite was challenged in the late 1960s and early 1970s with hippies traveling East to learn practicing the spiritual path. After meeting Tibetan lamas, Ole and Hannah Nydahl returned with insights and aspirations to start a Buddhist community, which later became a stepping stone for also other kinds of ‘convert Buddhism’. With the arrival of Vietnamese refugees, a new phase of Danish Buddhism began. Thai women marrying Danish men further contributed to the growth of practiced Buddhism with monks and temples showing the presence of a lived religion in the country. Although Buddhists constitute only about half a percent of the Danish population, Buddhism has thrived as a minority religion among approximately 36,000 Danish convert and migrant Buddhists, also reaching out to the general populace as a powerful narrative. This chapter describes the history, demography and diversity of ‘Danish dharma’ and Buddhism in Denmark.