Do you think Buddhism is an atheistic religion?

Question

I saw here a question and I want to hear your opinion since we have some questions about atheism and religion.

Thank you for your input.

Answer 1

It's as close to an atheistic religion as you can get.

Answer 2

Have you heard the phrase "If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him"?

I take understand this to mean that we are our own teachers. The Buddha is not to be worshiped. He was his own teacher, as we are.

Buddhism is in my opinion an atheistic religion. Although there can be some belief in the supernatural (reincarnation) atheism simply implies "no gods". Atheism does not mean lack of supernatural or spiritual beliefs, nor does it necessarily exclude religion. Especially one like Buddhism, which has no deity.

Answer 3

Buddhism is atheistic in its simplest form. Some people do combine the principles of Buddhism with deism. Thomas Merton, a Catholic monk, was probably the most famous of these.

I think that Buddhism is probably the most misunderstood religion in America. If you ask the average joe he will tell you that Buddhists believe Buddha is god. This is absolutely untrue. Buddha was a man. Period. End of story. He was enlightened, but not divine.

Answer 4

Buddism is an offshoot of Hindu,Based on the "eightfold path" of right views, right resolve, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration.Kinda sounds like Christianity, or Judaism,or Islam dont it?Its another vehicle towards finding GOD. But is it true religion?some chubby guy from India with a bald head full of wisdom,started this here particular brand of religion.It is not at all atheistic. Its another path toward spirituality. If you want to learn about counterfeit money for instance,would you try and memorize all the false money in the world,so you could recognize that? or would you first find out what real money looked like? Its better to find out what the truth is friends,and then you can see what true religion is. By being able to identify God's message, we can recognize those religions that are false.

Answer 5

I would not put it into that category, maybe more of an agnostic approach. It does not rely upon some deity watching over your every move and grading your faithfulness to it. (what a concept!).

But it does allow that you have an afterlife (reincarnation) and can become a spiritual entity. It leaves the big God out of the picture which is great! I mean frankly, who can really answer that question? It doesn't rule it out, but says you can become a totally enlightened person without even knowing God.

Answer 6

Buddhism is a kind of atheistism. Converts are usually people who have rejected a belief in God. Buddhism fulfill a desire for religion without the belief of God.
So yes it is an atheistic religion.

Answer 7

Buddhism is more of a philosophy than a religion. The Buddha was not a god nor did he claim to be. He found a way to enlightenment and tought that path to others. There is no god in Buddhism, though I'm sure there will be disagreements there.

There's more to it than that, but it's a nutshell answer.

Answer 8

Buddhist can go either way. The Dali Lama is an atheist, but many Buddhist honor several gods/goddesses. A god, however, is not the focus of Buddhism: enlightenment is.

Answer 9

No, Although it appears since a supreme diety is not mentioned nor thought of. However it does have a belief in many gods as opposed to the monotheistic faiths, so therefore to call it atheistic is not accurate.

Answer 10

I am Buddhist...a Theravada Buddhist...it is a good point you raise and one I've never contempleted before...

Some Buddhist Traditions hold to Deities and some Buddhist traditions hold the Lord Buddha to be such, Theravada does not, yet to us there are Devas and Realms of existence which contain Devas.

I'll let you decide yourself from my own experience

I do not believe in God.

I do not believe in nor pray to Gods, yet there are Realms of existence which have Devas, humans who have reached a supermundane level of awareness and have attained these Realms and will remain there until the Karma which allowed them to reach there requires them to be reborn..

I do not pray to the Lord Buddha. I bow in respect and to give honour to him whenever I am in a temple and gain merit...positive Karma for doing so..which I can pass onto whomever I so desire through Loving Kindness (Metta)Meditation....and good intent for others benefit...

To me there is no all powerful Deity in control of my life or my destiny. My future is determined by me, my intentions, my level of Wisdom, my actions and my Karma...

Does this clear it up...?

As I don't believe in any Deity nor pray to any, this makes me an Athiest, yet as I do see that Devas exist in some of the Heavenly Realms and that they can be considered Gods then this makes me an Agnostic, however I don't consider them Gods, just highly aware humans. Consequently I've never contemplated these titles, prefering to allow others the choice to do so for me.../smiles/ I guess therefore that I'm an Athiest-Buddhist..../smiles again/....

Peace from a Buddhist....

Answer 11

It depends on how you interpret the word "atheist".

Merriam Webster: "one who believes that there is no deity"
Buddhists subscribe to the Buddha's teachings that there exist other beings in different dimensions. The "higher beings" are regarded as deities. In this case Buddhists are not atheists.

Another dictionary (http://www.thefreedictionary.com/atheist)
"One who disbelieves or denies the existence of God or gods."
If "God" means the All-powerful Creator God, then Buddhists are "atheists".
There is the addition "gods" which are "deities", then Buddhists are not atheists.

To sum up, Buddhists do not subscribe to the existence of an all powerful creator God. To regard Buddhists as atheists or not will depend on the interpretation of the word "atheist".