Buddhist - Religious Group Timeline Association

Event	Introduction	Type
American Chapter of Soka Gakkai Formed	The Japanese-based Soka Gakkai Buddhist society commissioned its U.S. chapter in 1960. In 1991, the chapter reorganized as Soka Gakkai International-USA.
Buddhist Churches of America	The Buddhist Churches of America, formed in 1944 and headquartered in San Francisco, represents mainstream Japanese American Buddhism.
First Buddhist Temples Built	In the 1850s-1880s, Chinese and Japanese immigrants brought Buddhism to America as they searched for work in Hawaii's plantations and California's gold rush.
First Buddhists Elected to U.S. Congress	In November 2006, voters in Georgia and Hawaii elected the first two Buddhists --Democrats Hank Johnson and Mazie Hirono -- to the U.S. Congress.
Fo Guang Shan Hsi Lai Buddhist Temple	Built in 1988, Hsi Lai Temple near Los Angeles is the largest Buddhist temple in the western hemisphere.
Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965	The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 (i.e., Hart-Celler Act) permitted more Muslim, Buddhist, and Hindu immigrants into the United States, changing the U.S. religious landscape.
Vietnamese Buddhists Come to United States	Vietnamese Buddhism spread across America as thousands of refugees arrived after the Vietnam War ended in 1975.

Name	Introduction
Suzuki, D.T.	Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki (1870-1966), a Zen Buddhist monk from Japan, helped to personify and explain Zen to a generation of Americans.
Trungpa, Chogyam	Chogyam Trungpa (1939-87) is the founder of the largest Tibetan Buddhist group in America.