What makes a religion a religion? This question has sparked the greatest debate, and the debate may never end. A religion can be interpreted as the belief in one or more Gods and the organized system of beliefs used to worship one or more Gods. We can then ask ourselves if Buddhism is a religion or a philosophy? Buddhism teaches that life is full of suffering caused by bad desires. The goal of Buddhism is to achieve enlightenment through wisdom and meditation to free oneself from rebirth, suffering and desire. Buddhism can be taught and disciplined in a fellowship setting, but it can be done solo, and it is based on a theory of "cause and effect" which closely relates it to a philosophy or science; calling Buddhism a science is extreme, therefore Buddhism is a philosophy. In exploring this topic, one must be able to understand the "philosophy versus religion" argument, pay close attention to who the Buddha was and his teachings, question how dogmatic Buddhism is, find the relevance of Buddhism in the world today, see the book on Buddhism. relationship with other religions and analyze the real reason for devotion in Buddhism. Religion and philosophy certainly have their similarities and differences, but it is important to look beyond the superficial meaning of both and understand what they actually entail. Religion and philosophy do deal with human life, the human spirit, the meaning of life, etc., but there is much more difference than similarity. The need for rituals constitutes a distinct difference between religion and philosophy. Many religions have a set in stone list of rituals that must be followed, while different philosophies do not. A philosophy is a way of thinking, or in more technical terms: the study of a theoretical basis of a par...... middle of an article ......udaya (Cause of suffering: Desire/Attachment), Nirodha (Cessation of suffering: eliminate desire/attachment) and Marga (The path out of suffering: the noble eightfold path). These truths teach how to free yourself from suffering and avoid cycles of rebirth. As we delve deeper into these truths, we wonder where the religious aspect is. We don't talk about God, worship, rituals and things common to the great religions. Buddhism is a philosophy and this is not a negative connotation. With such positive thoughts on how to live, Buddhism fits the description of a philosophy. The whole argument that Buddhism is a philosophy is based solely on the fact that Buddhism is less dogmatic than other religions. Buddhism does not require unquestionable blind faith from its followers. Instead, it places a strong emphasis on self-discipline and individual effort..