The following is a list of former Buddhists who no longer identify as such, organized by their current religious affiliation or ideology.
Atheism
NameNationalityNotesRefs.Adam CarollaAmericanRadio, TV, and podcast personality, raised as a Buddhist, now identifies as non-religious and an atheist.Loveline July 9, 1997 episode
Christianity NameNationalityNotesRefs.Mitsuo FuchidaJapaneseImperial Japanese Navy Air Service captain noted for involvement in the attack on Pearl Harbor who later became an evangelistFrom Pearl Harbor to Calvary by Mitsuo Fuchida.Kari LakeAmericanpolitician and former television news anchor, converted from Buddhism to evangelical ChristianityZack LeeIndonesianactor and boxerJaruvan MaintakaThaiformer Auditor-General of ThailandChieko N. OkazakiAmericanRelief Society leader, converted from Buddhism to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints"New Relief Society General Presidency Called," Ensign, May 1990, pp. 110–11.Talduwe SomaramaSri Lankanformer Buddhist monk and assassinCharlie SoongChinesebusinessman and missionaryJanice VidalHong KongersingerJanice: Except God, I trust Leon the Most (Traditional Chinese), Oriental Daily, Retrieved on 2010-07-08Paul WilliamsBritishprofessor in Indian religions at the University of BristolBuddhism: Critical Concepts in Religious Studies Edited and with a new introduction by Paul Williams (London: Routledge, 2005). Eight volumes. Ben WeaselAmericansinger and guitarist for the punk rock band Screeching Weasel, converted from Buddhism to CatholicismInterviews 1340 Mag July 2007Vanness WuTaiwanactor and singer Yu TianTaiwansinger-politician（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
Hinduism Mihirakula – Huna rulerThakur, Upendra. The Hunas in India. The Chowkhamba Senskrit, Banaras, 1967. Rajasinghe I – Sri Lankan king who conquered KandyDona Catherina: the last empress of Lanka Lanka Library Rishabhadatta – Satrap viceroyDivatia 42 Rudradaman I – Satrap ruler and conqueror of the Satavahanas
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 Muhammad ibn Suri – king of the Ghurid dynasty from the 10th-century to 1011 Mahmud Ghazan – seventh ruler of the IlkhanateMahmud Ghazan . Encyclopædia Britannica. 2007. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. 2 July 2007. Korguz – was a Uyghur governor of KhorasanGenghis Khan: his life and legacy By Paul Ratchnevsky, Thomas Nivison Haining, pg. 204 during the reign of the Mongol ruler Ogedei KhanThe Cambridge history of Iran, Volume 5 By University of Cambridge, pg. 204 Muhammad Khodabandeh – eighth Ilkhaid dynasty ruler in Iran from 1304 to 1316Limbert, J. W. (2004). Shiraz in the age of Hafez: the glory of a medieval Persian city. Seattle: University of Washington Press. p.87 Mubarak Shah – head of the ulus of the Chagatai Khanate (1252–1260, March–September 1266)A Sketch of the History of Hindustan from the First Muslim Conquest to the Fall of the Mughal Empire by H. G. Keene Donei Kalaminjaa – king of the MaldivesMaldives By Stefania Lamberti, pg.15 Tarmashirin – Khan of the Chagatai Khanate following Duwa Timur Hussein Ye – Islamic scholar of Chinese Malaysian descent whose lectures are frequently aired on Peace TV
See also List of converts to Buddhism References