Conversion of non-Hindu places of worship into temples
Places of worship originally belonging to Muslims, Christians, Jains, and Buddhists, that have been converted to Hindu places of worship.
Conversion of Islamic mosques into Hindu temples
Mosque conversions to Hindu temples are particularly observed during the decline of Muslim rule and the rise of Hindu nationalist movements. For example, a notable instance is the demolition of the Babri Masjid and the construction of Ram Mandir at the site. During medieval India, similar instances were observed when political power shifted leading to alterations in religious structures.
Current Name |
Mosque Name |
Images |
City |
Country |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ram Mandir |
Babri Masjid |
|
Ayodhya |
India |
The 16th-century Babri Masjid was built at the site of a pre-existing structure "not of Islamic origin". Many Hindus believe it was a temple dedicated to Ram, marking his birthplace, which was destroyed to construct the mosque. In 1992, Babri Masjid was demolished by a Hindu nationalist mob. After a legal battle for the ownership of the land, the Supreme Court of India ruled in favour of the Hindus in 2019. And in 2024, Ram Mandir was consecrated at the site. |
Sita Ram Mandir-Gurdwara |
Jama Masjid of Farrukhnagar |
|
Farrukhnagar |
India |
The town of Farrukhnagar was founded by Mughal Governor Faujdar Khan in 1732 CE. It was named after the Mughal Emperor, Farrukhsiyar. He constructed the Jama Masjid as the principal mosque of this new town, which is now used as a Hindu temple and Sikh Gurdwara. |
Bharat Mata Mandir |
Khilij Jumma Masjid |
|
Daulatabad (Aurangabad) |
India |
The Jumma Masjid is the earliest surviving Islamic monument in the Deccan region. |
Bhagwan Danasher Mandir |
Dana Shir Masjid |
Hisar |
India |
The mosque is built to the west of the courtyard of the Tomb of Dana Shir Bahlul Shah. It is completely built of small bricks and is plastered with fine white stucco. |
Conversion of Christian churches into Hindu temples
This table lists former churches with identified original buildings that have been converted into Hindu temples. It only includes those churches where the original structure was never a site of a temple.
Current name |
Church Name |
Images |
City |
Country |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Shree Swaminarayan Temple, Virginia |
Grace Bible Church |
Chesapeake, Virginia |
US |
A 30-year-old church, Grace Bible Church, was converted to a temple to accommodate the Gujarati community of Chesapeake near Portsmouth, Virginia. |
|
Shree Swaminarayan Temple Delaware |
Highland Mennonite Church |
Bear, Delaware |
US |
A 50-year-old church was converted to a temple. It is the 3rd church to be converted into a temple in the US, and the 5th in the world. |
|
Shri Krishna Vrundavana |
Saint Nicholas Byzantine Catholic Church |
Edison, New Jersey |
US |
In 2017, a church covering 4.5 acres, in Edison, New Jersey, was acquired to be converted into an Udupi Krishna temple. |
|
Swaminarayan Hindu Temple |
St John's Baptist Church |
Islington, London |
UK |
The first BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir in the UK was opened in a converted disused Anglican church in Islington, North London, by Yogiji Maharaj in June 1970. It was also called the Mission Hall of St. John's. |
|
Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Bolton |
Unity Church (Unitarian) |
|
Bolton, Manchester |
UK |
A Unity Church of the Unitarian denomination, on Deane Road was a fine example of late 19th-century religious gothic in red brick with terracotta detailing. It was converted to a temple in 1973 and rebuilt into a larger building after demolishing the old structure in 1993. |
Shree Swaminarayan Temple Canada |
Centennial Rouge United Church |
Scarbarough, Ontario |
Canada |
Swaminarayan Gadi Sansthan Maninagar purchased a 100-year-old church. The organization said the heritage structure, as declared by the Canadian government, will be preserved and restored. |
|
Shree Swaminarayan Temple California |
Community Bible Church of Van Nuys |
Van Nuys, California |
US |
In 2012, the Swaminarayan Gadi Sansthan Maninagar purchased a church in Van Nuys (a suburb of Los Angeles), California, and converted it to a Hindu temple. |
|
Shree Swaminarayan Temple Kentucky |
Dunamis Christian Faith Church |
Louisville, Kentucky |
US |
In 2013, Swaminarayan Gadi Sansthan Maninagar bought a defunct church in Louisville, Kentucky. The land spreads over 4 acres. |
|
Shiva temple |
Hall of the 7th-Day Adventist |
Asroi, Uttar Pradesh |
India |
A church overnight turned into a temple adorned with a portrait of Shiva after what some Hindu groups in Asroi, near Aligarh, termed the "ghar wapasi" (reconversion) of 72 Valmikis who had become Christians in 1995. |
|
Hanuman temple |
Believers Church |
Baijnath, Himachal Pradesh |
India |
On 3 December 2005, Pastor Ramesh Masih Bhatti and his congregation were forced to evacuate the church by Hindus. A Hindu god's idol had been placed at the doorway and the confrontation became hostile. A militant leader in the area reportedly announced a campaign to move throughout the area's villages forcing Christians to reconvert to Hinduism. |
|
Sri Ashtalakshmi Sametha Venkateshwara Swamy Temple |
Messiah Lutheran Church and School |
|
Los Angeles, California |
US |
The Ashtalakshmi temple in North Hollywood, California, was once a church and was bought by the Hindu community. |
Aberdeen Hindu Temple |
Old Stoneywood Church |
|
Aberdeen, Scotland |
UK |
The Old Stoneywood Church on Bankhead Road, which dated back to the 1840s, was converted to Aberdeen's first Hindu temple in 2019. According to Aberdeen Hindu Temple Trust, there were more than 3,500 Hindu religion followers in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire, but the closest temple was 70 miles away in Dundee. |
Hindu Prarthana Samaj Temple |
Fern Avenue Church of Christ |
|
Toronto, Ontario |
Canada |
Toronto's oldest Hindu temple, the Hindu Prarthana Samaj temple, was established after the Prarthana Samaj congregation officially bought the Fern Avenue Church of Christ in 1979. The church was one of the earliest Presbyterian churches in the area, first named the Ruth Street Presbyterian Mission in 1886; later renamed the Fern Avenue Presbyterian Church in 1894 when Ruth Street was renamed Fern Avenue; and then from 1910/1913 to 1979, was known as the Fern Avenue Church of Christ. |
Maine Hindu Temple |
First Universalist Church of Scarborough and South Buxton |
|
Buxton, Maine |
US |
The Proprietors Meeting House and Parish House, known for many years as the Universalist Church of Scarborough and South Buxton, is a historic church complex listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was purchased by a private citizen for use of the Maine Hindu Temple in 2012. |
Universalist Church of Westbrook |
Westbrook, Maine |
In December 2012, the Universalist Church of Westbrook— built in 1840, and closed in 2010— was bought by Maine Hindu Temple. The temple in Scarborough and South Buxton was run by an organization called First Maine Hindu Temple, unaffiliated with the new Maine Hindu Temple, and is currently vacant. |
Conversion of Buddhist temples into Hindu temples
Current Name |
Buddhist Structure |
Images |
City |
Country |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sri Sanni Siddheswara temple |
Krishna, AP |
India |
Up to 11 Hindu temples have been built on Buddhist sites in the villages of Machilipatnam and Nidumolu, in the Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh. The buildings were converted into Hindu temples by the Chalukya folk. |
||
Kachchi Kuti |
Kushan-era stupas, identified as the Anathapindika (or Sudatta) Stupa |
|
Sravasti, UP |
India |
The earliest structures of Kachchi Kuti, which were Buddhist, date to the Kushan period; over which a Brahmanical temple with terracotta panels depicting scenes from the Ramayana was constructed during the Gupta period. |
Bhuteshwar Temple |
Mathura, UP |
India |
Anti-caste scholars argue that this temple was built on a site of a Buddhist structure. |
||
Gokarneshwar Temple |
Mathura, UP |
India |
Anti-caste scholars argue that this temple was built on a site of a Buddhist structure. |
Conversion of Jain temples into Hindu temples
Many Jain temples were converted to Hindu temples by replacing the statues of Tirthankaras with Shiva lingams. Jainism started its decline due to the aggressive rise of Veerashaivism.
Current Name |
Jain Structure |
Images |
City |
Country |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Padmakshi Temple |
Kadalalaya basadi |
|
Warangal, TS |
India |
One of the oldest temples in Hanamkonda (which was originally a Shaivite site), it had a Jain shrine which was converted into a Hindu temple dedicated to Padmavathi. The statues of Tirthankaras engraved on walls are now worshiped as local deities. |
Saraswati temple |
Saraswati Jain temple |
Basar, TS |
India |
A temple dedicated to the Jain avatar of Saraswati in Basar, was converted into a Hindu temple. |
|
Mahalakshmi Temple |
Temple dedicated to Chandraprabha or Padmāvatī |
|
Kolhapur, MH |
India |
12th-century Kannada poet Brahmashiva mentions that the Mahalaxmi temple in Kolhapur was a Jain temple. Sheshashayee Vishnu temple, whose sanctum has an idol of Vishnu reclining on the serpent Shesha, is an octagonal structure closer to the eastern gate. It has a panel of carvings of 60 Jain tirthankaras, and is believed to have been originally dedicated to the tirthankara Neminath. |
Naganatha Temple, Lakkundi |
Temple dedicated to Parshvanatha |
|
Gadag, KA |
India |
The sanctum houses a pedestal depicting seven hoods of a naga, which formed the canopy of the image of Parshvanatha originally placed there. A shiva lingam was placed on the pedestal after the structure was converted to a Hindu temple. |
See also
- Anti-mosque campaigning in India
- Saffronisation