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.^[1]

Conversion of Islamic mosques into Hindu temples

See also: Mass destruction and conversion of Hindu temples during Muslim invasion and Islamic rule in the Indian subcontinent

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, situated in what is known as Ram Janmabhoomi, and construction of Ram Mandir at the site.^[2] During medieval India, similar instances were observed when political power shifted leading to alterations in religious structures.^[3]

Current Name	Mosque Name	Images	City	Country	Notes
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.[4][5]
Bharat Mata Mandir	Khilij Jumma Masjid		Daulatabad (Aurangabad)	India	The Jumma Masjid is the earliest surviving Islamic monument in the Deccan region.[5][6]
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.[5][7]

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[8]	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.[9][10]
Shree Swaminarayan Temple Delaware[11]	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.[12]
Shri Krishna Vrundavana[13]	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.[14][15]
Swaminarayan Hindu Temple	St John's Baptist Church[16]		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.[17] It was also called the Mission Hall of St. John's.[18]
Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Bolton	Unity Church (Unitarian)[19]		Bolton, Manchester[20]	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.[21]
Shree Swaminarayan Temple Canada[22]	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.[23]
Shree Swaminarayan Temple California[24]	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.[23][25]
Shree Swaminarayan Temple Kentucky[26]	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.[23]
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.[27]
Hanuman temple	Believers Church[28]		Baijnath, Himachal Pradesh[29]	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.[30][31][32]
Sri Ashtalakshmi Sametha Venkateshwara Swamy Temple[33]	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.[34][35]
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.[36][37][38]

Conversion of Buddhist temples into Hindu temples

See also: Decline of Buddhism in the Indian subcontinent

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.[39]
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.[40][41][42]
Bhuteshwar Temple			Mathura, UP	India	Anti-caste scholars argue that this temple was built on a site of a Buddhist structure.[43][44]
Gokarneshwar Temple			Mathura, UP	India	Anti-caste scholars argue that this temple was built on a site of a Buddhist structure.[43][44]
Badrinath Temple			Badrinath, Uttarakhand	India	The temple was a Buddhist shrine till the 8th century and Adi Shankara revived the shrine and converted it to a Hindu temple.[45][46]

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.^[47][48]

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.[49][47]
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.[47]
Mahalakshmi Temple	Temple dedicated to Chandraprabha		Kolhapur, MH	India	Paul Dundas in his book The Jains mentions that the Mahalaxmi temple in Kolhapur was a Jain temple.[50] Sheshashayee Vishnu which is an octagonal structure closer to the eastern gate has a panel of 60 Jain Tirthankaras carvings.[51][52]
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.[53][54]

See also

• Conversion of non-Islamic places of worship into mosques
• Hinduism and other religions