Buddhism in Italy is represented by two major associations. The Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana schools of Buddhism are represented by the Italian Buddhist Union (Unione Buddhista Italiana: UBI), which is a member of the European Buddhist Union

European Buddhist Union

The European Buddhist Union is an umbrella organization of Buddhist communities and organizations in Europe founded in 1975. It is open to Buddhist organizations of all schools and traditions....

. The UBI was founded in Milan in 1985 and received recognition by the President of the Italian Republic in 1991. Nichiren Buddhism

Nichiren Buddhism

Nichiren Buddhism is a branch of Mahāyāna Buddhism based on the teachings of the 13th century Japanese monk Nichiren...

 is represented by the Italian Buddhist Institute Soka Gakkai (Istituto Buddista Italiano Soka Gakkai, SGI-ITALIA), which was founded in 1998 and recognized by the President of the Italian Republic and the Prime Minister of Italy in 2000.

The UBI estimates that there are around 60,000 practicing Buddhists in Italy (about 0.1% of the population), including about 10,000 adherents to the religion among immigrants from outside the European Union

European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

; a further 10,000 or so attend Buddhist centres intermittently and follow courses in the religion.

External links

• Unione Buddhista Italiana
• Istituto Buddista Italiano Soka Gakkai
• The Unione Buddhista Italiana page on the Coalizione per le Intese religiose website.
• Buddhist Directory of Italy
• Homepage della Nichiren Shu in Italia, La sede italiana della scuola tradizionale fondata da Nichiren Shonin