William James, the American philosopher and psychologist, said over a hundred years ago that Buddhism is atheistic. As compared to Islam, Judaism or Christianity, Buddhism does not have a God who created this world. Philosophers question all … Well, secular Buddhism is an interesting concept there. Atheistic religions already exist. Interpretation-Buddhism Buddhism is a non-theistic or atheistic religion consists of path full of practices of spiritual seeking as well as inner peace development. My impression is that the Buddhist conception of devas is so minor and essentially irrelevant to the human condition (like Epicureanism) that Buddhism is essentially atheistic/non-theistic in practice. There are those who debate on whether or not Buddhism is really a religion or a philosophy. is that nontheistic is not believing in any gods while nonatheistic is not atheistic. Shintoism is theistic. Neither. All of us. As a religion, Buddhism is neither monotheistic nor polytheistic. Oh, and not all theists are religious. . Anonymous. English. It’s our spirituality that makes us tend to be religious. Atheism is associated with a materialistic doctrine that knows nothing higher than this world. Well, that is partially true. Nontheism or non-theism is a range of both religious and nonreligious attitudes characterized by the absence of espoused belief in a God or gods.Nontheism has generally been used to describe apathy or silence towards the subject of God and differs from an antithetical, explicit atheism. Is Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism non - theistic or at atheistic? Let me explain my understanding. The Buddha just didn’t believe that the existence of a God, or the non-existence of a God, was important to the cessation of suffering as he prescribed it. Buddhist scriptures either do not promote or actively reject the existence of a creator god, the existence of "lesser" gods who are the source of morality and that humans owe any duties to any gods. All Dharmic faiths can be interpreted as either polytheistic, pantheistic, monotheistic, henotheistic, or atheistic depending on the person. I'm a Buddhist. Basically, whether or not capital-G "God" exists isn't very relevant to its practice. Some of these groups or movements are non-theistic or even atheistic. Yet, throughout Asia, it is common to find people praying to the Buddha or to the many clearly mythical figures that populate Buddhist iconography. nontheistic . It might be shocking fro some of you. The fundamental philosophy of Buddhism seems to deny the concept of a personal God, although it is controversial whether Buddhism denies … Understanding the non-theistic nature of Buddhism When we talk about Buddhism, it is neither polytheistic nor monotheistic. It is one of the most followed religion in central Asia. Buddhism is widely regarded as an atheistic religion. Buddhism is non-theistic. ‘Buddhism is a non-theistic religion that claims that suffering is unavoidable, and that the root of suffering is attachment, greed and desire.’ ‘Overall, based on my experience in both camps (theistic and non-theistic), I venture to claim that activists of either breed have a greater tendency to be "religious" rather than non-activists.’ For this reason, Buddhism is more accurately called nontheistic rather than atheistic. The nonenlightened deities are mundane sentient beings that die, sort of like extraterrestrials. They include eastern religions like Theravedic Buddhism, Jainism, Taoism, and … It has many gods in addition to the animism thing. The spirituality that we’re talking about here, I want to present this in a way to help you understand, is that everybody is spiritual. If it's taken to the point of being a religion. Yes, Buddhism is non-theistic. The Buddha has condemned godlessness by which He meant the denial of worship and renunciation, the denial of moral and social obligations, and the denial of a religious life.He recognized most emphatically the existence of moral and spiritual values. They should only say that Buddhism is non-monotheistic, or non-creator-theistic. In order to conclude on whether or not Buddhism is an atheistic or a theistic religion, we have to first characterize whether Buddhism is a religion. It was initially atheistic and has later been practiced as non-theistic, which means that most Buddhist sects allow the adoption of theistic beliefs from other religions and cultures. I don't think we can classify Buddhism or Jainism as being either atheistic or theistic. Incidentally, the philosophies of Buddhism and Jainism are non-theistic in character because they do not have the concept of Brahman in them. Favourite answer. Buddhism is unique amongst the religions of the world because it does not have any place for God in its soteriology. If a creator is necessary for it to be a religion, then Buddhism is indeed not a religion. God and gods do not figure prominently in the Dharma. Buddhist tradition is steeped with devas and gods, but not a creator. Often this is said in order to promote Buddhism as a sensible religious or spiritual alternative to the monotheistic religions such as Christianity, Judaism and Islam with which many Westerners have become disillusioned. Confucianism, likewise. that doesn't propose you are able to no longer discover monotheistic or perhaps polytheistic Buddhists obtainable... this is in simple terms that the Gods are not the factor of Buddhism. . But I’ve heard all my life that it is. There is no personal god or monotheistic creator God in Buddhism, as there is in Christianity, Judaism or Islam. It’s our spirituality that also tends to make us be atheistic or non-theistic. Buddhism, as opposed to many religions, is what some would consider "agnostic" in its structure. It entirely depends upon your understanding of a theistic religion and how you would describe an act of worship. It is quite clear that Buddhism has no concept of a creator. In that sense, Buddhism is nontheistic.It is entirely incorrect to say that it is atheistic or agnostic. It’s how we were raised – when we were young, we studied algebra, read history, and memorized the names of elements on the periodic table. Most people think that learning is the key to self-development. I think what's important for Buddhists and Jains is self-reliance on the individual, and not on gods and dogma. Is Buddhism atheistic? Buddhism is what's traditionally called "non-theistic". This religion is based on the values and teachings of Gautama Buddha. Answer Save. Indeed, a very common refrain from adherents to and scholars of Eastern religions is that the "(a)theistic" dichotomy doesn't exist so much in the East. In the West, there are several Unitarian Universalists who are atheistic. Buddhism does not say there is or is not a supreme being (God). I don't need clarification on what Buddhism is. The most important difference is that while Buddhism does not even believe in God, in Christianity, God is supposed to be the center of our lives. Buddhism has no defined deity at the center of its worship, and no creator god, although some kinds of Buddhism consider the Buddha to be deified, and Buddhism does not exclude the worship of other deities, such as folk deities or gods from other religions. Whether they exist or not, the Dharma remains the same: The problem remains the same.The cause of the problem remains the same. Buddhism is Agnostic, in this sense. NONE of the Buddhas and deities are Creators. But with Buddhism, you have a point. There are several opinions on the theistic status of Buddhism with the descriptions of Buddhism ranging from atheistic, non theistic to theistic. 7 Answers. The solution remains the same ().The path to nirvana remains the same. And no, Catholicism isn't polytheistic. 1 decade ago. It is often said, especially by Buddhists, that Buddhism is ‘atheistic’ or ‘nontheistic’. Buddhism is a nontheistic religion that focuses on following the teachings of the Buddha and bodhisattvas to become free from suffering. Buddhism is an atheistic religion and has many doctrines that are in opposition with Christianity. Let’s look briefly at the main arguments for Buddhism being a tradition or way of life. While most Buddhists deny the existence in a supreme being there is no evidence in the sutras stating emphatically there is no universal creator. Answer:Atheist means "no god" so Buddhiss are more non-theist. What does that mean? In a recent discussion at another thread the question came up: is Buddhism atheistic? Buddhism as a Non-Theistic Religion. The Buddha also plainly said that he was not a god, but was simply "awakened" to ultimate reality. Buddhism as a Non-Religion. Buddhism teaches no Gods. Which means that Buddhism has not God or deities. I was told by an avowed Buddhist that it is not. None of this has ever seemed atheistic, or ‘non-theistic to me. It was and still is fascinating for me. In addition, there are many similarities between the non-theistic Buddhism and Jainism and the theistic Samkhya, especially when Samkhya is viewed without Brahman tattva or the God principle. First, there’s no creator or god. Such a peaceful religion with no God. Buddhism is Non-theistic. Here’s an answer, from the beginning of chapter VI of What the Buddha Taught, by Walpola Rahula: According to some religions, each individual has . We find that the writer is highly influenced by Zen Buddhism. Relevance. Some sects of Buddhism are theistic, since Buddhism was the first missionary religion, it traveled and spread throughout Asia. Even I was shocked when I first read about the core beliefs of Buddhism. It was found in 6 th century by Siddhartha Gautam or Lord Buddha.