Are there official religions that don't worship any god? (buddhism, for instance?)?

Question

Almost everyone here seems to believe that every religion worship one or several god(s).

Is it really true? Aren't there religions that don't worship any kind of deity?
.

Answer 1

Sorry, I am not quite clear about an aspect of your question.
What do you mean by "official"? I am not aware of a list
of religions maintained by any authority as such.
I have come across groups that maintain lists of what
they call religions and cults, but these groups
are sometimes misinformed and biased. Also, I have read
that there is a disagreement about whether Buddhism is
a religion. To get an idea of what I mean, if you get
a chance, please read the book "The Monk and the Philosopher: A Father and Son Discuss the Meaning of Life"
You can read about the book here:
http://tinyurl.com/jz4es

Buddhism talks about 6 realms - one of which is the god realm.
But Buddhism emphasizes that we are responsible for
our progress, happiness and misery, not god.
However, in Tibetan
Buddhism, there are considerable rituals similar to
Hindu tantrism, inviting Boddhisatvas (beings in an
advanced stage on the road to Buddhahood) and placing
offerings before them and meditating, seeking their
blessings. Some form of these Boddhisatva are also
worshipped in China (GuanYin or Kuan Yin), in
Japan (Kannon) and in Korea as godess of compassion.
But there is no worhip in Theravada school of Buddhism.
Several centuries after Buddha's passing away, people
created images and statues of Buddha. Buddha never
advocated or approved his worship. He only exhorted
people to follow the way that he himself had followed
so that they may also experience and reach the state that
he had. Of course, there is homage paid and gratitude
expressed to Buddha for showing the way.

The Hindu philosophy is a very flexible/versatile one.
You are a Hindu if you worhip an idol with form and
attributes, or even if you dont worship an idol. In
other words, you are still considered a Hindu
even if you believe in something that is formless and
attributeless. How do you think of or meditate
on something that is formless and attributeless?
It is not something that can be described in short,
and it is not for everyone. That is why most Hindu
people start with rituals and worship of some form/idol.
Later on, it is supposed to lead to a state where
forms, rituals and idols are left behind. It is like
the example of the raft which needs to be left
behind when one reaches the other shore - no need
to carry it after reaching the other side.
In Taoism there is a saying - "Those who speak
do not know; Those who know do not speak."
Scholars explain this to mean that the experience
of the Tao (or the Way, or the universal force)
is such that it cannot be expressed in words, hence
those who so speak do not know (meaning that they
have not experienced it) and that those who have
experienced it do not say anything, again, because
the experience cannot be verbalized. The same
is true in a part of Hindu philosophy called Vedanta.
It talks about the whole world being pervaded by
the same reality known as Godhead (NOT to be
confused with God). The word "godhead" is used
for lack of any other word in translation. This
has caused much confusion and misunderstandings
among not only people of Judeo-Christian religions
but also even among the Hindus. Those who practice
Vedanta believe in "Ishwara" (which some people
wrongly translate to mean as "god"). Thus the
Vedanta followers believe in only one universal
Reality, the same way that the Christians and and Muslims
believe that there is only one God. On the other
hand, some hindus (not the ones who follow Vedanta)
believe in various forms of god and thus Hindusim
has been described as polytheism (many gods).
But these many gods are said to be various ASPECTS
of that one universal power - much the same way
as a man who is a boss at work is a father at home
and also a son and also a friend, a citizen, a volunteer, etc.

If you are looking for a philosophy without any god or
deity, you may be interested in reading the teachings
of Sri Ramana and Nisargadatta Maharaj. It involves
self-enquiry. If you are interested, you may
read a book called "I am That" which is a collection
of questions and answers with Nisargadatta. It has
changed the lives of many people. Both these spiritual
teachers teach that there is a single realty, directly
experienced by everyone. You can read a book
about Ramana's teachings called "Be as You Are: The Teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi". You may
also like to read the works of J. Krishnamurti.
You can also find groups discussing their teachings on groups.yahoo.com. But I don't think you can call these philosophies as 'religions'.

So, it depends on whether you are looking for
academic information (where there can be discussions,
and debates), or if you are looking
for trying something for spiritual experience. If you
are looking to get on some path, you can try out
Taoism, Buddhism, Vedanta, or the self-enquiry mentioned
above.

Good luck to you.

Answer 2

Toaism doesnt say anything about god -- when i first was reading the texts in an eastern religions class, i was like, this isnt a religion, its a philosophy. But it is considered a religion . . . but people can be christian or jewish and also toaist, easily, since it doesnt mention anything about a deity.

btw, I sometimes go to Unitarian Universalist churches, and you dont have to believe in anything there, either. I mean, sometimes they will talk about god or higher powers, but not always. There are usually small groups that meet to support christian UUs or athiest UUs or whatever, but its just a place to be spiritual and together, rather than to push any particular beliefs. They do tend to focus a lot on community service, tho

Answer 3

Hinduism. It teaches that all are part of a larger force. It is possible for demigods to matieralize from that force, but there is no all powerful god in the religion. Any demigod is only part of the Brahma, which we all are.

Answer 4

Taoism and Buddhism.

- 16 yo Pagan

Answer 5

Taoism involves a belief in a path, or way, but not a deity.

Answer 6

Well, that wouldn't be much of a religion, I mean look at atheism, atheists will deny this, but they are worshiping a god, themselves.

Answer 7

metaphysics

Answer 8

lol, 'official.'