Buddhism in Australia

This roundtable presents recent and ongoing research on Buddhism in the land that is now known as Australia. It will consider: historical and contemporary complexities of racial and religious diversity; cultural norms regarding religion and spirituality in Australia; the multicultural governance of diversity in Australia; the impact of Australia’s geographical positioning; and transnational flows of religion and culture in shaping Buddhism in Australia. The presentations examine 1) preliminary findings from the first nationwide study of Buddhism in Australia; 2) the use of digital media by Buddhist youth to negotiate religious belonging, visibility and identity; 3) triangulated flows of religion and culture among Indigenous, White-Australian and Asian immigrants in the Far North of Australia; and 4) the influence of Buddhism on deathcare practices in Australia. In doing so, we identify emerging insights about Buddhism in this overlooked region, and bring these into conversation with scholarship on Buddhism in the West.