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1 Buddhism Is Not a Religion What People Think Buddhism is not a religion, at least not in the usual sense of the word. Religions are characterized by a number of shared features. Religions are characterized by specific articles of faith, or dogmas. Religions are char- acterized by belief in God, by faith in the existence of the soul, by beliefs about heaven and hell, by belief in the power of ritual, and faith in mir- acles. These beliefs are established in scriptures and are maintained by recognized authorities, such as priests. Buddhism is not a religion because it lacks these characteristics. Buddhists do not believe that there is an omnipotent, omniscient God who created the universe. Buddhists do not believe that one can pray to or worship such a God and thereby be “saved.” Buddhists do not believe in a heaven and a hell in which the righteous are rewarded and sinners are punished after death. (Bumper stickers in the United States proclaim “Buddha will not threaten you with Hell.”) Buddhists do not believe in the existence of a soul. There is no Buddhist church that establishes dogmas or confessional requirements for Buddhists. Buddhists are not concerned with matters of orthodoxy and heterodoxy—that is, correct and incorrect belief. Buddhists do not privilege belief or faith, and they do not rely on the authority of a priestly class. Buddhists do not perform rituals or have them performed on their behalf by religious professionals. Buddhists do not believe in miracles and supernatural events. Unlike religions, which posit the existence of unseen beings and holy individuals who defied the laws of nature by performing miracles, Buddhists accept the findings of science and reject the possibility