Our History



With the help of contributors from several countries, the Secular Buddhist Network (SBN) website was launched in October 2019 as an interactive space where secular dharma practitioners and those who are curious about a secular approach to Buddhism can share perspectives, initiatives, and practices. Our goal was and is to foster dialogue and the critical examination of issues related to secular dharma, while strengthening the bonds of community among secular Buddhists.

In 2021, SBN's first online groups were formed: a monthly discussion group and a weekly meditation group. As more people became involved in SBN, other groups subsequently formed, including a reading group, an Aging as a Spiritual Practice sangha, the Secular Dharma and Political Activism group, the Secular Buddhism Meets Western Psychology group, the Secular Buddhist Zen Pub, and an Exploring Secularism group. Each of these groups functions autonomously and is peer-led.

In Fall 2024, SBN representatives began to discuss a merger with the Secular Buddhist Association, which had been established in 2011 and has played a key role in the development of secular Buddhism as a distinct trend within Buddhism. The merger process was completed in February 2025, with the election of new officers and members of the SBN Board of Directors.

Click here to read the by-laws of the organization.

Our Vision and Mission

Vision:

The Secular Buddhist Network is an interconnected global community and resource for study, practice and social engagement within the context of a secular dharma.

Mission:

The Secular Buddhist Network is dedicated to increasing human flourishing in harmony with all life on the planet and to addressing the ethical and social challenges of the world through furthering the understanding and creative practice of the dharma.

While SBN advocates an approach to the dharma which is secular and focuses on human flourishing in this life, we encourage discussion and debate concerning a variety of philosophical, political, and ethical perspectives which are relevant to meeting the fundamental challenges of our contemporary life. Everyone is welcomed and encouraged to express their own viewpoint, and we endeavor to maintain an open and curious mind when listening to all views, no matter how challenging to our own they may be.