American Jain unity
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 150,000 | |
| Languages | |
|
American English Indian Languages |
|
| Religion | |
| Jainism |
Adherents of Jainism first arrived in the United States in the 20th century. The most significant time of Jain immigration was in the early 1970s.
In 1893, Virachand Gandhi was officially the first Jain delegate to visit the United States, and represented Jainism in the first ever Parliament of World Religions. Virchand Gandhi is considered a key figure in the history of American Jainism as the first practicing Jain to speak publicly in the United States about Jainism. The first St. Louis Jain temple in the United States was built for the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904. After the fair, the temple was moved to Las Vegas and later to Los Angeles. It is now owned by the Jain Society of Los Angeles. Adherents of Jainism first arrived in the United States in 1944. The most significant time of Jain immigration was in the early 1970s. The United States has since become a center of the Jain diaspora.
The first former Jain monastic to travel to the United States, Chitrabhanu, arrived in 1971. He gave several lectures about Jainism at Harvard University and established a Jain center in New York City. The first monk who traveled outside India by use of mechanical means was Acharya Sushil Kumar who arrived in the United States in 1975. He established multiple Jain centers, including International Mahavira Jain Mission popularly known as Siddhachalam. In the 1980s, he and Chitrabhanu inspired the founding of Federation of Jain Associations in North America to support the Jain community in the United States and Canada.
As of 2010 the United States contained the most Jain temples of any country in the Jain diaspora. At least one third of the Jains living outside India live in the United States, numbering close to 100,000. Jain temples in the United States, which numbered 26 as of 2006, frequently incorporate marble and arches in a style reminiscent of Rajasthan architecture. There are almost 100 distinct Jain congregations in the United States.
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