List of former Buddhists

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

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]
• Benjamin Liljedahl – Islamic scholar of Swedish descent whose lectures are frequently heard in the Maharishi International University dining hall. Former member of Yiguandao and a practitioner of both Tai Chi and Karate.[31]

References

1. Loveline July 9, 1997 episode
2. "Christianity Today newsletter". Christianitytoday.com. Retrieved 2 November 2012.
3. From Pearl Harbor to Calvary by Mitsuo Fuchida.
4. "How an Obama-backing Arizona news anchor became Trump's pick for governor". NBC News.
5. Phoenix, Keiran Southern. "Kari Lake falters in Arizona governorship bid".
6. "24 Individuals Are Now Collecting Petitions for Tennessee's 5th Congressional District as Petition Deadline Looms". 5 April 2022.
7. ""Kesaksian hidup Zack Lee (suami Nafa Urbach)" at". gmstrueworshippers.wordpress.com. 30 June 2012. Retrieved 30 June 2012.
8. ""God's on My Side" at". Nationmultimedia.com. Archived from the original on 13 September 2012. Retrieved 2 November 2012.
9. "New Relief Society General Presidency Called," Ensign, May 1990, pp. 110–11.
10. "Ceylon: To Find Forgiveness – TIME". Time. 13 July 1962. Archived from the original on 4 February 2013. Retrieved 2 November 2012.
11. "The Chinese Revolution and Chinese Communism". Web.ku.edu. Retrieved 2 November 2012.
12. Janice Vidal (2009). Twins effect inspires Janice Vidal (衛蘭) (interview footage). Hong Kong: South China Morning Post.
13. Janice: Except God, I trust Leon the Most (Traditional Chinese), Oriental Daily, Retrieved on 2010-07-08
14. Buddhism: Critical Concepts in Religious Studies Edited and with a new introduction by Paul Williams (London: Routledge, 2005). Eight volumes. ISBN 978-0-415-33226-2
15. Interviews 1340 Mag July 2007
16. Tan, Theresa. "Vanness Wu: Christian First, Entertainer Second". City News. Retrieved 20 March 2009.
17. （圖輯影音）余天受洗成基督徒 拋棄過去所有罪孽, Liberty Times, 2017-04-09
18. Thakur, Upendra. The Hunas in India. The Chowkhamba Senskrit, Banaras, 1967.
19. Dona Catherina: the last empress of Lanka Lanka Library
20. Divatia 42
21. Divatia, N. B. (1993). Gujarati Language and Literature. Asian Educational Services. ISBN 8120606485.
22. Kennedy, Hugh (2004). The Prophet and the Age of the Caliphates. Longman. pp. 137, 143.
23. Mahmud Ghazan Archived 3 January 2008 at the Wayback Machine. Encyclopædia Britannica. 2007. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. 2 July 2007.
24. Genghis Khan: his life and legacy By Paul Ratchnevsky, Thomas Nivison Haining, pg. 204
25. The Cambridge history of Iran, Volume 5 By University of Cambridge, pg. 204
26. Limbert, J. W. (2004). Shiraz in the age of Hafez: the glory of a medieval Persian city. Seattle: University of Washington Press. p.87
27. A Sketch of the History of Hindustan from the First Muslim Conquest to the Fall of the Mughal Empire by H. G. Keene
28. Maldives By Stefania Lamberti, pg.15
29. "The Chaghadaids and Islam: the conversion of Tarmashirin Khan (1331–34). – Journal, Magazine, Article, Periodical". Goliath.ecnext.com. 1 October 2002. Retrieved 7 April 2010.
30. "Peace Tv". Peacetv.in. Retrieved 7 April 2010.
31. "Peace Tv". Peacetv.in. Retrieved 7 April 2010.