List of former Buddhists
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The following is a list of former Buddhists who no longer identify as such, organized by their current religious affiliation or ideology.
Atheism
| Name | Nationality | Notes | Refs. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adam Carolla | American | Radio, TV, and podcast personality, raised as a Buddhist, now identifies as non-religious and an atheist. | [1] |
Christianity
| Name | Nationality | Notes | Refs. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mitsuo Fuchida | Japanese | Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service captain noted for involvement in the attack on Pearl Harbor who later became an evangelist | [2][3] |
| Kari Lake | American | politician and former television news anchor, converted from Buddhism to evangelical Christianity | [4][5][6] |
| Zack Lee | Indonesian | actor and boxer | [7] |
| Jaruvan Maintaka | Thai | former Auditor-General of Thailand | [8] |
| Chieko N. Okazaki | American | Relief Society leader, converted from Buddhism to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints | [9] |
| Talduwe Somarama | Sri Lankan | former Buddhist monk and assassin | [10] |
| Charlie Soong | Chinese | businessman and missionary | [11] |
| Janice Vidal | Hong Konger | singer | [12][13] |
| Paul Williams | British | professor in Indian religions at the University of Bristol | [14] |
| Ben Weasel | American | singer and guitarist for the punk rock band Screeching Weasel, converted from Buddhism to Catholicism | [15] |
| Vanness Wu | Taiwan | actor and singer | [16] |
| Yu Tian | Taiwan | singer-politician | [17] |
Hinduism
- Mihirakula – Huna ruler[18]
- Rajasinghe I – Sri Lankan king who conquered Kandy[19]
- Rishabhadatta – Satrap viceroy[20]
- Rudradaman I – Satrap ruler and conqueror of the Satavahanas[21]
Islam
- The Barmakid family – originally the guardians of the great Buddhist shrine near Balkh, upon conversion they became "the greatest family" in the early Abbasid caliphate[22]
- Muhammad ibn Suri – king of the Ghurid dynasty from the 10th-century to 1011
- Mahmud Ghazan – seventh ruler of the Ilkhanate[23]
- Korguz – was a Uyghur governor of Khorasan[24] during the reign of the Mongol ruler Ogedei Khan[25]
- Muhammad Khodabandeh – eighth Ilkhaid dynasty ruler in Iran from 1304 to 1316[26]
- Mubarak Shah – head of the ulus of the Chagatai Khanate (1252–1260, March–September 1266)[27]
- Donei Kalaminjaa – king of the Maldives[28]
- Tarmashirin – Khan of the Chagatai Khanate following Duwa Timur[29]
- Hussein Ye – Islamic scholar of Chinese Malaysian descent whose lectures are frequently aired on Peace TV[30]