this again

[a_white_rain]

Buddhism is a religion. That it can also be a philosophy* doesn't change the fact that it is a religion. That it looks different than the bigger Western religions doesn't change that

Comments

[elle_white]

What brought this on?

[brecho]

Hearing people say it's not a religion. Again.

[elle_white]

Does the fact it is not a Western religion, invalidate it's status as a religion to some? That would be ridiculous.

[brecho]

I think it's because it doesn't fit into the idea, in some people's minds, of what a religion is. And many people do use it as a philosophy. Nuance is hard.

[etrangere]

that person at meganbmoore? heh, also made me twitch.

[a_white_rain]

Yes!

[svelterose]

Hm. I will have to disagree on this one.

Religion is the practice of worshipping a god or many gods. Buddhism is the practice of a set of beliefs relayed by Siddharta. There is no particular god we worship, just the idea of life/death's cycle and nirvana.

Just because something is not called a religion does not invalidate it as a set of beliefs. Why does it need to be called a religion in order for it to be validated?

[a_white_rain]

Religion is the practice of worshipping a god or many gods.
No, it's not.

[svelterose]

My definition of religion was missing another piece of it so you are right, religion is not just about worshipping a god or many gods.

Still though, does it need to be viewed as a religion in order for it to be validated? Because that's what it seems like here.

[a_white_rain]

That's like asking does an apple need to be a fruit to be validated? What's wrong with it being a religion?

[a_white_rain]

Buddhism tries to answer 'why are we here', which I think is probably the best way to answer 'what is religion'. It's also hard to pinpoint exactly Buddhism is because it's developed in various ways. What you find in Japan isn't going to be the same as what you find in South Korea, for instance.

[svelterose]

Confused. What are the differences in treating something as a religion versus treating something as a philosophy?

[etrangere]

religious rituals?

[pheonee]

Made all the more confusing by people like me, who actually pracise a school of Buddhism (Falun Dafa) and insist that it's not a religon. ?_?

I just mean that a lot of people who pracise these cultivation styles absolutely refuse to call it a religon, so I can see why people don't like to call it that?

In the instance that actually sparked this, though..."not really a religion, but a philosophy"? It...has places of worship and deities and people who dedicate their entire lives to pracising it so...by even the most ignorant and insensitive definition, wouldn't it still be a religion?

[brecho]

I can see not wanting to call it a religion to you personally. But that doesn't change that it is to a great many people around the world.

[pheonee]

Yes, I was a little fuzzy on the details until I hunted down the offending comment, which is very clearly wrong. Buddhism is very much both a religion and a philosophy, I don't see where I ever started insisting it isn't.

Though honestly, I view Buddhism and all subschools a culture more than anything else. Which, apart from possibly being incorrect, still doesn't change the fact that it is a religion. (And also a philosophy.)

[a_white_rain]

I think viewing it as a culture isn't wrong. Religion and philosophy are both parts of culture, you know?