Buddhism: A Non-Theistic Religion

The book opens with the Translator’s Foreword, where Irmgard Schloegl explains the difficulty of translating a study on the religiosity of a non-theistic religion without imposing Christian theological assumptions, followed by Christmas Humphreys’ Preface, which frames the work as important for Western readers seeking a religious alternative to belief in a creator God. The Introduction defines several meanings of “god”: supernatural beings, a personal creator, the philosophical Absolute, moral world order, and spiritually perfected beings. Chapter 1, “The Impermanent Gods,” explains that Buddhism accepts devas and other divine beings, but treats them as impermanent, karmically conditioned, and unable to grant liberation. Chapter 2, “No Creator or Ruler of Worlds,” presents the Buddhist rejection of an eternal creator God and compares this with theistic traditions. Chapter 3, “The Law of the World,” analyzes Dharma, karma, rebirth, causality, and moral order as the impersonal structure of the Buddhist cosmos. Chapter 4, “The Bringers of Enlightenment,” discusses Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and spiritually awakened beings as guides rather than creators. Chapter 5, “The Absolute,” examines Buddhist ultimate concepts such as Nirvāṇa, Śūnyatā, Tathatā, Dharmakāya, and related Mahāyāna ideas, distinguishing them from a theistic God. The Conclusions synthesize the central thesis that Buddhism is religious but non-theistic, while the later sections provide a Note on the Buddhist Scriptures and selected passages from the Aṅguttara Nikāya, Dhammapada, Dīgha Nikāya, Jātaka stories, Majjhima Nikāya, Milinda-Pañha, Saṃyutta Nikāya, Udāna, Vinaya, Visuddhimagga, Abhidharmakośa, Bodhicaryāvatāra, Madhyamakakārikā, and Saddharmapuṇḍarīka.