Buddhism is a philosophy, so I say yes. But I'm no one haha. (I'm trying to get my points up as well so I can actually use this thing. )

Well...my belief is, that you can be anything you want! I mostly feel like a Buddhist, myself...spent lots of time with Buddhist and studied. But, somewhere along the way, I stopped being attached to any specific religious teachings! Whatever, I find...wherever I find it...that supports me to my higher nature, that is what I embrace! I am not here to please other people...I need to please myself so that I can become a fully functioning human being, hopefully!

IF YOU READ WHAT buddha said, its for sure not a religion. But.... like most things, humans mucked it up and made it in to several religions. If you take the basic stuff its very good as way to live. i read a bunch then went to some gatherings and they were chock full of people making it in to a crazy religious gulag. so read the philosophy, its great.

There are some groups on this site that focus on Buddhism

IMO, yes. Nirvana is often defined as reaching the point of realizing there is nothing. Pretty close to the same thing.

Yes, Buddhism can, and does, exist as philosophy and not always as a religion.

Buddhism is a religion without a set god. There are lots of moral principles that are very practical in Buddhism that individuals should try to work into their lives. Bottom line, you can identify any way you wish, but under an academic pretense Buddhism is a religion.

To recognise the philosophy, to use a term, within Buddhism it necessary to realise that Buddhism does not have gods as the western mind interprets them. Buddhism is a 'Path To Liberation' and does not rely on gods but some forms of Buddhism do have discourse with 'spiritual entities'. It is important to understand this differentiation. There is no creator to defer to. Therefore an atheist can be a Buddhist and vice versa. There are significant differences between Therevada, Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism, however. And of course, as with all classes of philosophy, in Buddhism there is dispute between Therevada and Mahayana, but that is not relevant to this post.

Yes. Also, there is a book "Buddhism without Beliefs" by Stephen Batchelor that you might find interesting.

There are people that call themselves Christian Atheists.

Absolutely. In fact a good friend of mine has written a book about that very subject.

That's an easily researched question. The answer is yes by definition of a-theist.

Yes, Buddhism is basically the belief or awareness of natural foxes and being are all connected. Hinduism is similar in that respect but Buddhism deviated from Hinduism by removing the cast system and the pantheon of gods. Otherwise there is a lot of overlap between these two faiths. People refer to Buddhism as a faith but not a religion because there is not supposed to be any worship and prayer to any god/s. It seems that over millennia Buddhist s adopted more of a worship of the Buddha and other Buddha s who supposedly reached nirvana or enlightenment. This a practice that the Buddha expressly mentioned as antithetical to his teachings.

Assuming that there is no idol worship in the Buddhist tradition of your choosing you can be anything else and still observe Buddhist practice, chanting and meditation.

I appreciate all of the comments on my question about Buddhism. I think Buddhism has alot to offer to atheists. I think secular Buddhism is worth looking into. Mankind in the 100,000 years of existence or more has figured out what is productive and what is destructive. Unfortunately, alot of this is under the cloak of religion. And yes you can use the rules of behavior found in Buddhism and even other religions without having to believe in an imaginary being.

Of course. Buddhism (in most of its forms) doesn't demand that you accept the existence of an asserted deity. The real question is whether you could accept Buddhism as a religious belief-system, even absent a god, and still be a critical thinker.

That question is easier to answer in the affirmative if you are talking about typical Westernized expressions of Buddhism, and even easier if you're talking about secular meditation practice and the like.

According to me, an atheist cannot be a Buddhist. Now before someone climbs on me to contradict, hear out my reason. It's actually because even though Buddhism wasn't meant to be a religion during it's inception, humans made it into a religion, and introduced dogmas into it. So in today's scenario, an atheist cannot be a Buddhist.

Yes. Buddhism is not strictly a religion. It's a philosophy. There are no deities.

Buddhism in the West has been rebranded to appeal to the affluent middle classes who want to feel good about their empty lives.

I would say yes. Check out Why Buddhism is True by Robert Wright. He also wrote The Evolution of God, another great read.

Buddhism is not a religion.

In the west, yes: Buddhism is mainly a philosophy. In eastern cultures, it's more a religion.

If you have to believe in anything spirit realm or after life, then no.

I think that an atheist could be a Buddhist. There is such a thing as secular Buddhism but I think it is more of a western phenomena. I think there is a faith base to it and ritual that makes it religious but without the godhead/pantheon some experts struggle putting the religion label on Buddhism.

Wikipedia
Secular Buddhism
[en.m.wikipedia.org]
...
Stephen Batchelor is a self-proclaimed Secular Buddhist who promotes a strictly secular form of Buddhism. Batchelor was a Buddhist monk ordained in the more traditional forms of Buddhism. From his experience as a monk practicing Tibetan Buddhism and later Zen, he felt the need for a more secular and agnostic approach. In his books Buddhism Without Beliefs and Confession of a Buddhist Atheist he articulates his approach to the Buddha's teaching, describes Siddhattha Gautama as a historic person rather than an idealized religious icon, and scrutinizes typical Buddhist doctrines dealing with the concept of an afterlife.[citation needed]
...

I don‘t believe you can be both. I‘ve travelled extensively in Buddhist countries and it is worshipped as fervently as any other religion. Buddhists also believe in reincarnation which would run counter to most atheist views i would have thought.

Yes. Being a Buddhist does not mean faith in a god or gods. But, essentially, being a better you.

Yes. Being a Buddhist does not mean faith in a god or gods. But, essentially, being a better you.