Why is Buddism a religion and not a philosophy?

[Shoes]

Please explain!
***Buddhism

[dr.kristen]

Buddhism is a religion because it is a belief system that deals with morals & ethics but it also deals with how to achieve enlightenment and be reborn in a higher spiritual state. Not all philosophies deal with the spiritual or the afterlife. Many philosophies deal with morals/ethics but don't consider the soul.

[Skeptic]

Many people throughout the world practice Buddhism as a philosophy rather than a religion and enjoy their Christian beliefs. They practice meditation and "presence in the moment" in contrast to the "addiction to distractions" that the mass media encourages.

Please remember that how you categorize something is an arbitrary process of thought. Most religions are practiced to exclude other philosophies and beliefs. Buddhism does not.

[duckie]

my mother and father are both Buddhists and they dont consider it a religion, they call it their Philosophy of life...

[Rez Rostov]

It can be both or either one or none. Doesn't matter.
I choose to look at it as a philosophical set of beliefs. Most of Buddhism makes sense from a psychological standpoint, then you have the parts that go into the afterlife and there if you choose you must have faith that it is true because if not it is only sci-fi; meaning it makes sense but cannot be proven.
I don't think it was ever intended to be a religion rather a set of beliefs but some have taken it in that direction.

[Epic Fail]

Because they do make SOME unverifiable claims about what happens after you die.

[clusium1971]

It depends on whether or not the Buddhist worships gods or not.

For the ones that believes in all the Buddhist gods, then Buddhism is a religion.

For the ones that do not, it is a philosophy.

Same thing with Judaism. For those who worship God, it is their religion. For those that do not, it is their culture.

[Amanda]

Some Buddhists will consider it a philosophy, or a way of life, v.s. an actual religion. I myself think it's both a philosophy and a religion.

[Simon]

Well, simply put, a philosophy is not "organized" as Religion is.

In Buddhism, due to the "Sangam sharanam gachchami", it become "organized"; hence, it qualifies to being a Religion.

Hope this helped.

Peace.

ST