I cited buddhism and jainism as two faith systems that function more than adequately without. Nontheistic religions are traditions of thought within a religious contextsome otherwise aligned with theism, others notin which nontheism informs religious beliefs or practices. And what happens when religious dogma clashes with the morality it purports to uphold. Though many forms of it have imagined the buddha as a christlike figure, other buddhists think of him as an historical figure not to be worshipped, but respected as a man of insight who set an example for others to follow. The thesis of this highly polemical book by ray billington is that religion is better off without god and all its traditional western accoutrements. Andrew farley tries, as he did in the naked gospel, to show that god isnt about religion and obligations, but about grace. Hinduism, buddhism, taoism, confucianism and shinto are covered, and for each there is a section on 1 origins and historical development, 2 aspects of the divine, 3 sacred texts, 4 sacred persons, 5 ethical principles, 6 sacred space, 7 sacred. A religion depends on the existance of beliefs in the supernatural, ritual and prayer, and the reverence of some entity, be it a god or not. Ray billington a wideranging criticism of theism, questioning the assumption that rejecting god means rejecting religion. The best books on morality without god recommended by mary warnock. Buddhism is a major world religion with a complex history and philosophy. Do you think theres a way to replicate the communal aspect of religion without also taking on this.
Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to explain the origin of life or the universe. Buddhism is a spiritual tradition that focuses on personal spiritual development and the attainment of a deep insight into the true nature of life buddhism teaches that all life is interconnected, so compassion is natural and important. Buddhism is often interpreted as a lifestyle or a godless religion, but a closer investigation into the concepts of the buddhist concepts of dharma, karma, nirvana, moksha, niraya, samsara and atma might draw parallels to other main. From the outside, buddhism seems like a bundle of contradictions wrapped inside a paradox.
Hinduism, which is generally regarded as a monotheistic religion, is also discussed because of its unifying monistic concepts of brahman and atman. Buddhism is 2,500 years old there are currently 376 million followers worldwide. The son of an indian warriorking, gautama led a life of luxury in his early years, enjoying the privileges of his caste. Conreligion wikibooks, open books for an open world. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read religion without god. Moshe halbertal new republic 201021 the position taken in religion without god reflects a commitment to objective value that. This ebook, buddhism as a religion, seeks to explain the religious foundations of buddhism in comparison with other main religions.
Its founder, siddhartha gautama, lived from about 566 to about 480 b. The familiar stark divide between people of religion and without religion is too crude. He tries to show how far our religions of rules, responsibilities, commands and demands have taken us from the heart of god. Religion without god ebook written by ronald dworkin. But its certainly the case that there are all kinds of godlike creatures and beings called devas populating the early scriptures of buddhism. Perhaps we could say that man created religion and later introduced the concept of a. Generally, the book as a whole has been interpreted by some who see it as. Author kenan malik looks at morality without god and kenneth miller, a biologist at brown, chooses his best books on the arguments against creationism. And is buddhism a religion without god s, or is it more of a philosophy than a religion. The current volume constitutes a long overdue contribution to the globalization of the philosophy of religion. Radiant in its clarity, buddhism without beliefs reminds us not just of buddhisms true nature, but of our own as well. In buddhism without beliefs, author stephen batchelor reminds us that the buddha was not a mystic. To that end, the authoran external examiner of philosophy for the european baccalaureate and the author of two previous booksexplores the lineaments of nontheistic religion and mounts a case against all forms of theism, but particularly.
Step by step, it offers a bridge between organized religion and mystical spirituality for anyone questioning traditional dogma or its legacy of divisiveness. Buddhism is widely regarded as an atheistic religion. In his final book, ronald dworkin addresses questions that men and women have asked through the ages. The concept of religion without god has informed not only the theories of nietzsche, kant and spinoza, but also expressions of. Religion without god is an attempt to articulate such a stance. God is a mystery that one experiences in the enlightenment. Spirituality without religion more christians attracted to dalai lamas teachings. Yes, in the sense that buddhism does not feature worship of some deity called by a proper name god or the equivalent word used as a proper name in any of its texts, as far as i know. By this definition, buddhism is absolutely a religion without a god, and it is fine this way, just as long as it remains aware of all the possible failings of religion. Most are books that describe a general sense of spirituality. But this, his last, book, religion without god, is about value and religious experience. Drawing on western philosophical critiques of religion and nontheistic eastern religions, ray billington shows how a religion without god could work.
As of 2010, there were 488 million buddhists, representing seven percent of the planets population. God without religion introduces this ageold approach to spiritual inquiry for modern day readers. Freeing us from the notion of buddhism as a religion, stephen batchelor shows us how necessary the buddhas teachings are in todays world. There are religions with a personal and an abstract concept of god. Buddhism without beliefs seeks to reframe agnosticism as a creative place seeking a truth ourselves rather than bowing to the authority of others. In judaism, ultimate reality is a single, allpowerful god. In going buddhist, peter conradi has constructed an elegant and gently compelling homage to the attractions of the only major religion without a god. Its ambition and its achievement make it a deep and precious book. The religion without god has baffled western thinkers for hundreds of years.
However, his study is limited to the nontheistic religions and spiritualities in south asia, east asia, and the west during the last 3,000 years 31. Moshe halbertal new republic 201021 the position taken in religion without god reflects a commitment to objective value that has been indispensable for dworkin s broader jurisprudence. In the second book of mythoreligio series author indy jane continues compiling stories, this time from hindu books, buddhist traditions and world mythologies to gather information to answer the above questions and to continue with the comparison studies. British philosopher mary warnock recommends the best books on morality without god. Buddhism without beliefs by stephen batchelor, paperback. As billington points out early in the book, advaita vedanta, a school within that which we call. This book is a translation of a famous and universally loved poem for daily living composed by the 8th century buddhist sage shantideva. Buddhism encompasses a variety of traditions, beliefs and spiritual practices largely based on original teachings attributed to the buddha and resulting interpreted philosophies.
Buddhist practice to inform the books sense of wisdom, clarity and insight. Spirituality without god is the first global survey of godless spirituality. Since the time of the buddha, the denial of the existence of a creator deity has. Another biologist, jerry coyne, talks about the incompatibility of religion and science. Religion is a cultural system that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and moral values. It is a religion without a god, a belief system without rules, and a faith that encourages its adherents to question everything, including its own teachings. This book, as implied by the title, focuses on the atheistic religious philosophies of the east buddhism and taoism. It may not be what he intended, but he has made a believer out of me. Peter heehs begins by looking at godless traditions in the ancient world. Contrary to his predecessor, however, burton is more successful in breaking the.
A global history of thought and practice is peter heehs attempt at a global history of spirituality without god. Religion without god by ray billington, routledge, london, 2002,160 ff. Ive been asked on multiple occasions to recommend my favorite books on buddhism or mindfulness. Religionfacts does not necessarily endorse the contents of these books.
Confession of a buddhist atheist batchelor, stephen. It is commonly said that buddhism, jainism and taoism dont hold a belief in a god but thats not exactly true. Draws on western philosophical critiques of religion and nontheistic eastern religions to. Buddhism is a religion that was founded by siddhartha gautama the buddha more than 2,500 years ago in india. All are available for purchase on click book images for details. Id always thought of it as being lazy, not having quite got round to thinking about the great questions about life. Scarcely known outside asia at the turn of the 20th century, buddhism today has assumed the role of a world religion. Long before spiritual but not religious became the catchphrase of the day, there were religious and spiritual traditions in india, china, and the west that denied the existence of god.
A nontheist friend or an atheist quaker is someone who affiliates with. A buddhist perspective oxford university press, david burton here writes a second attempt to present a buddhist philosophy of religion. The best books on morality without god five books expert. Buddhism is about realization and experience, not institutions or divine authority.
Traces the basic history, beliefs and nature of buddhism in easytounderstand language written by renowned buddhist scholar, bernard faure, it is an ideal introduction for anyone who has unanswered questions about one of the worlds largest and most. This criticism of theism, especially monotheism, questions the assumption that rejecting god means rejecting religion. 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. There are fine books, excellent teachers many of them now american, practice. Nontheistic religions are traditions of thought within a religious contextsome otherwise.
Buddhism is the one world religion that has no god. After arvind sharmas 1997 the philosophy of religion. Of all the world religions, buddhism alone has kept its hands more or less clean, and perhaps it is this which accounts for its growing popularity here. With that in mind, huffpost religion put together this book list for spiritual but not religious families who want their kids to look at the universe and at the possibility of god with plenty of awe and wonder. Criticism of ronald dworkins work titled religion without god which postulates the. In his last book, ronald dworkin addresses questions that men and women have asked through the ages. This is a list of the books ive read that i would place on my recommended list of books. Some people need the idea of god as a person and some the idea of a higher dimension to reach enlightenment.
With about 470 million followers, scholars consider buddhism one of. Concept of god this is how imagination and humanism eventually fused together to become religion. It is this belief that made the jews unique among other ancient semitic peoples and that became the legacy judaism has passed on to the entire western world. Buddhism is sometimes called an atheistic religion, although some of us prefer nontheisticmeaning that believing in a god or gods really isnt the point. The concept of religion without god has informed not only the theories of nietzsche, kant and spinoza, but also expressions of belief in indian and chinese religionshinduism, theravada buddhism.
A collection of handselected books on buddhism, chosen on the basis of apparent usefulness and quality. Nontheism has been applied to the fields of christian apologetics and general liberal theology, and plays significant roles in hinduism, buddhism, and jainism. God and religious tolerationbuddhism wikibooks, open. In the more general sense of god as the creator, buddhism us. It charts the spiritual journey of a bodhisattva, one who is committed to attaining full enlightenment for the sake of all living beings. The role of gods and deities in buddhism learn religions. Finding religion without looking for god the evening. Our three experts, charles prebish yes, dzogchen ponlop rinpoche no, and joan sutherland kind of, join the debate. His awakening was not a shattering insight into a transcendent truth that revealed to him the mysteries of god, and he did not claim to have had an experience that granted him privileged, esoteric knowledge of how the universe ticks. They tend to derive morality, ethics, religious laws or a preferred.