Hinduism in Switzerland

Hinduism was present in Switzerland from the early 20th century through Yoga, Hindu philosophy and movements such as ISKCON, the Divine Light Centre in Winterthur etc. In the 1980s, Sri Lankan Tamil refugees came and they established Hindu temples and associations across the country.

History

Swami Vivekananda visited and toured Switzerland in the 1896 and is credited for popularisation of Yoga and Vedanta philosophy. The Ramakrishna mission built first Hindu temple in Switzerland in 1930s, however its visitors were limited to academic intellectuals.

In the following years Yogu schools were founded by Indian gurus in Switzerland. In 1966, Indian monk Swami Omkarananda founded the Divine Light Centre. In 1972, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi made Seelisberg in Central Switzerland as headquarters for his Transcendental Meditation movement (which was later changed in 1983). ISKCON arrived in 1972. Its founder Srila Prabhupada visit the country multiple times in 1970s. Iskcon attracted local converts and built its first temple in 1980. In 1980s, many Srilankan Tamils migrated to Switzerland facing persecution in Sri Lankan civil war. Majority of them (87 %) were Hindus. They didn't have any consecrated temples so they attended the ISKCON temples. Between 1990s and 2000s, they established about 20 temples.

Since 2007, the Saivanerikoodam temple in Bern has initiated women and non-Brahmin Hindus as priests.

2 more chapters are free with a Lably account.

Demographics

In earlier reports by Federal Statistical Office, Hinduism was counted under the "other churches and communities" category. In the 2001 census there were 27,839 Hindus in Switzerland constituting 0.38% of the country's population. Most of them were Sri Lankan Tamils (81.2%) and formed 1.11% in Bern, 1% in Zurich, 0.27% in Geneva.

In the 2014 statistics report, Hinduism constituted 0.5 % of the country's population. It grew slightly to 0.6% in 2018. This value has remained stable in reports of 2019, 2022 and the recent 2024. The 2024 statistics report showed the country's population to be 9.05 million, so 0.6% corresponds to about 54,300 Hindus.

By Canton

The Cantons in Switzerland counts the religious statistics separately. Hindu population being small is often calculated under 'other religions' category. However some cantons have counted Hindu population. In the Canton of Berne, there were 6879 Hindus forming 2.85% in 2024, the Canton of Basel-Landschaft had 2044 Hindus forming 0.85% in 2019 the Canton of Lucerne had less than 2000 Hindus in 2021 and the Caton of Zurich had 10,000 to 11,000 Hindus in 2017.

The population data as per the 2000 census by Canton:

Other estimates

According to the Swiss umbrella organization for Hinduism, there are 50,000 Hindus in Switzerland. There is also an ISKCON community in Switzerland with about 400 members and a circle of about 2000 friends and sympathizers.

According to other estimates, there are about 42,000 Sri Lankan Tamil Hindus, about 8,000 Indian Hindus and about 4,000 to 6,000 sympathisers or devotees of global Hindu guru organisations. In addition, there are practitioners of Hindu Kriyā Yoga estimated to be less than 1,000. The ISKCON movement has an estimated followers between hundreds to a few thousands.

Temples and Organisations

Schweizerischen Dachverband für Hinduismus or The Swiss Federation for Hinduism is the main Hindu association in Switzerland. It was formed in 2017. The Centre Védantique in Geneva was founded by Swami Yatiswarananda in the 1930s, then called the 'Vedanta Centre'. Associated with Swami Ramakrishna, the centre hosts pujas, talks, and meditation sessions.

There are 22 temples in Switzerland, as of 2016. Most of them are located in industrial zones, underground or near waste incinerators.

Sri Sivasubramaniar Temple - Adliswil, Zürich was established in 1994.

Arulmigu Sivan Temple - Glattbrugg, Zürich was established in 1994.

Sri Vishnu Thurkkai Amman Temple - Dürnten, Zürich was established in 2010.

Sri Manonmani Ampal Temple - Trimbach, Solothurn

Saivanerikoodam - Bern

Hare Krishna Temple - Zurich, established in 1980. Its the first Hindu temple in Switzerland.

Hare Krishna Temple - Geneva

Amman Hindu Temple - Root, Canton of Lucerne.

Murugan Temple - Adliswil, Zürich.