Friday, February 04, 2005

Buddhism and Religion

There's some interesting discussion of whether Buddhism is a religion:

* Buddha, Stoicism, and Epicureanism at "Dangerous Idea"

* Is Buddhism a Religion?, a reply at "The Maverick Philosopher"

* Buddhism: a Religion and more on Buddhism-as-religion at "BigHominid's Hairy Chasms" (For those who prefer not to deal with such things, the site itself is fairly racy, so be forewarned.)

And, independently, on related issues:

* Buddhism without Beliefs at "Practical Dharma"

* The Jewel in the Torah at "the fourth rabbi"

While I primarily do Christian philosophy of religion (for obvious reasons), I do have an interest in others - Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, or what have you. And it often has relevance, anyway. For instance, the question of whether state Confucianism was a religion or instead a highly ritualized system of civic participation was a question of immense importance for Christian missionaries in the early modern period (the Chinese Rites Controversy -- as always, take the Wikipedia with a grain of salt; but it gives the gist).