Atheist, if you had to pick the most rational religion which would you pick?

[Casparov]

By that definition everything has the potential to be a religion

yeah, kinda, I suppose...

but I mean the point I was making was that setting out offerings of food to a statue of buddha on a regular basis is kind of ridiculous, but a teaching such as:

"Better than a thousand hollow words, is one word that brings peace." - Buddha

... is quite valuable. Especially considering:

"However many holy words you read, however many you speak, what good will they do if you do not act upon them?" - Buddha

... and...

“Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense.” - Buddha

[the_antithesis]

Heaven's Gate

Cut off your balls and wait for a spaceship.

Haleâ€"Bopp, ba duba dop
Ba du bop, ba duba dop
Ba du bop, ba duba dop
Ba du
Yeah

[Sargon The Grape]

Isn't Buddhism not a religion, on a technicality

Depends on which form of it you're talking about.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

I'd go with the one that had orgies fertility rights.

[josephpalazzo]

Since reason is excluded, I'd pick something with gods, nimble and svelte, gamboling about the forest in constant search of pleasures of the flesh, sometimes materializing out of nothing and then quickly blending into the forest again, but I'm not sure what that would be.  Angry gods that act like petulant children raining down death and destruction all the time just tend to piss me off.   

I like the Greek gods - they're humans with superpowers, how cool that is!

[Solitary]

One I didn't think of was Quakers, they even have an atheist sect. Solitary

[GSOgymrat]

Perhaps the World Pantheist Movement.

[Shiranu]

I'd go with the one that had orgies fertility rights.

There is a reason I voted Pagan :P.

I actually wouldn't be opposed to Irish paganism since I'm part Irish...

[Gawdzilla Sama]

There is a reason I voted Pagan :P.

I actually wouldn't be opposed to Irish paganism since I'm part Irish...

I'm Irish on my parent's side of the family.

[GSOgymrat]

I'm Irish on my parent's side of the family.

LOL!

[La Dolce Vita]

Well, I'd probably pick one of the atheistic religions, probably one of the milder versions of Buddhism that doesn't include tons of heavens and hells.

[leo]

Isn't Buddhism not a religion, on a technicality

Of course buddhism is a religion. There isn't a creator god concept and soul concept in buddhism but  the nikayas ( one of the earliest buddhist texts) have tons of supernatural elements like : mind reading , the concept of karma and rebirth( remembering past lives and seeing how beings  are reborn according to their karma ) everyone can be reborn in the impermanent heavens as gods, in the impermanent hells ,  as ghosts , as animals and as humans . They called the infinite circle of multiple lives samsara. The goal of orthodox buddhism is to stop the circle of rebirths.  Secular buddhists don't believe in  any of this stuff because they cherry pick from the texts or ignore tons of sutras.

[Solitary]

I have already joined the Church of Reality---it really is a church. Solitary

[Solitary]

                                                                                                                                                       Of course buddhism is a religion. There isn't a creator god concept and soul concept in buddhism but  the nikayas ( one of the earliest buddhist texts) have tons of supernatural elements like : mind reading , the concept of karma and rebirth( remembering past lives and seeing how beings  are reborn according to their karma ) everyone can be reborn in the impermanent heavens as gods, in the impermanent hells ,  as ghosts , as animals and as humans . They called the infinite circle of multiple lives samsara. The goal of orthodox buddhism is to stop the circle of rebirths.  Secular buddhists don't believe in  any of this stuff because they cherry pick from the texts or ignore tons of sutras.

Isn't that really Hinduism?  The original teachings of Buddha never said any of that, maybe the various schools that were influence by Hinduism, and later by Islamic, Christian, Judeo dogma did. It depends on what definition is used to describe religion what Buddhism is. Under one definition even atheism is a religion, but what Buddha taught was a philosophy of living and not a religion by popular definition of religion. What Buddha original taught was copied by Schopenhauer as a philosophy.   Solitary

[leo]

I have already joined the Church of Reality---it really is a church. Solitary

I like this church. In my opinion the practice of any religion if death is the end is a waste of time. I like some things about buddhism but I don't believe in life after death ( there isn't any evidence so far). I could read about buddhism but I can't claim to be a buddhist. There is a tons of elements of classical buddhism that I can't buy.