Bhutan is a Buddhist country by constitution and Buddhism plays a vital role in the country.
The official religion in Bhutan is Buddhism, which is practiced by 84.3%% of the population;[3] the rest of the population is mainly Hindu.
Freedom of religion is guaranteed by the King.
The constitution states that Buddhism is the state’s “spiritual heritage”;[3] It also states that the king must be Buddhist, but must also be the “protector of all religions.”
The Sharchops, descendants of the country's probable original inhabitants, make up most of the eastern population. It is reported that some Sharchops practice Buddhism combined with elements of Bon whereas others practice animism and Hinduism.[3]
In the early 2000s, the Ngalop people, descendants of Tibetan immigrants, comprised the majority of the population in the western and central areas and mostly followed the Drukpa Lineage of Kagyu Vajrayana.[6] The government supported both Kagyu and Nyingma Buddhist monasteries. The royal family practiced a combination of Nyingma and Kagyu Buddhism and many citizens believe in the concept of "Kanyin-Zungdrel," meaning "Kagyupa and Ningmapa as one."
Hindus, mainly in the South, practice Hinduism. There are more 80,000 Hindus mainly of Lhotshampa ethnicity living in Bhutan. They form 11.3% of the country's population, and Hinduism is the second largest religion of the nation. The very first Hindu temple was constructed in Thimphu in 2012 by the Je Khenpo, Chief Abbot of Bhutan, and Hindus practice their religion in small to medium-sized groups.[6]
Hinduism is more common among the Lhotshampa ethnic group, although a fair amount of ethnic Lhotshampa follow Buddhism as well. Since 2015, Hinduism is also considered as the national religion of Bhutan.
Bon, the country's animist and shamanistic belief system, revolves around the worship of nature and predates Buddhism. Bon is portrayed in Buddhist sources as anti-Buddhist and a source of resistance to Buddhism's spread in eighth-century Tibet. Bon priests were considered skilled in black magic and animal sacrifices, needing spiritual conversion to Buddhism. Yet, despite centuries of Buddhist opposition, Bon traditions persist in Bhutan, with annual celebrations and everyday involvement in healing and protective Bon rituals[7]
Although Bön priests often officiate and include Bön rituals in Buddhist festivals, very few citizens adhere exclusively to this religious group.[3]
Christianity was first brought to Bhutan in the late 17th century by Portuguese Jesuits, but the teachings failed to gain much traction among the devout Bhutanese Buddhists. A few Christians living in Assam and Bengal And other States have Bhutanese origins.
Islam
In 2010, the Pew Research Center estimated that 0.1% of the population were Muslims and Islam has no recognition there according to Bhutan constitution.[8][4]
The law provides for freedom of religion; the religious institutions and personalities have a duty "to promote the spiritual heritage of the country while also ensuring that religion remains separate from politics" and that religious institutions and personalities remain "above politics."[9] Reflecting the government's stated purpose of preserving individuals' religious and cultural values, the above prohibitive clauses in the Constitution have been interpreted to apply to proselytism and to prohibit religious personalities from voting, respectively.[10][11]
The Religious Organizations Act of 2007 aims to protect and preserve the spiritual heritage of Bhutan through providing for the registration and administration of religious organizations. To meet those goals, the Act creates the Chhoedey Lhentshog as the regulatory authority on religious organizations. This body regulates, monitors, and keeps records on all religious organizations in Bhutan, which are in turn required to register and maintain specified corporate formalities.[12]
In 2022, Freedom House rated Bhutan’s religious freedom as 2 out of 4,[13] noting that the constitution protects freedom of religion, but local authorities are known to harass non-Buddhists and people have experienced pressure to participate in Buddhist ceremonies and practices.
In the same year, the country was ranked as the 40th worst place in the world to be a Christian.[14]
