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60 EASTERN HORIZON | NEWS

BOOK REVIEWS

Belgium Set to Become

Third EU Nation to Officially

Recognize Buddhism

By Craig C Lewis | March 20, 2023

Buddhism’s official recognition in Belgium as a non-
denominational worldview comes after the Council
of Ministers approved a bill that was drafted by
Federal Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne.
The approved draft law must now be submitted to
the Council of State and discussed in the consultation
committee before being validated by parliament.

“They deserve this recognition that they have been
waiting for for a long time,” Van Quickenborne said in a
statement on 17 March. (VRT News)

Photo credit: brusselstimes.com The Belgian-French Buddhist, explorer, and author
Alexandra David-Néel introduced the Maha Bodhi
Society to the Congress of Free Thinkers in Brussels as
In a decision that will clear the way for federal funding early as 1910. (Brosse) Between the two world wars,
and dedicated school classes, Belgium is poised to a group of people interested in Buddhism reportedly
become the third nation in the European Union to held meetings in Brussels. The first Buddhist centers in
recognize Buddhism as an official religion, after the Belgium were established in the 1960s. The Buddhist
federal government approved a draft law on 17 March. Union of Belgium, founded in 1997, now represents
most active Buddhist organizations in the country.
The news comes 17 years after the Buddhist Union of Currently, the union has 35 affiliated organizations.
Belgium first petitioned the government for official
recognition in March 2006. Belgium is now set to join According to data for 2019, 0.3 per cent of Belgium’s
Austria and Italy as the only other EU countries to make population of 11.6 million people identify as Buddhists.
Buddhism a state-recognized spiritual tradition. This compares with Christian traditions (60 per
cent), Islam (five per cent), Judaism (0.3 per cent),
Buddhism was officially recognized under Austrian other religions (four per cent), and no stated religious
law in 1983. In 2007, the Italian Buddhist Union affiliation (31 per cent).
(Unione Buddhista Italiana) founded in 1985, signed an
Source: www.buddhistdoor.net EH
agreement with the Italian government, which became
law in 2012