What is the best religion?
I don’t have any religion, and never will but if for some reason I would have to have one I guess I will be buddist, Buddishm is a doctrine, not a dogma, not a magic revelation provided from a supernatural being…
Just compare these two phrases:
“He who is not with Me is against Me”
-Jesus Christ
“When I speak to you, do not accept what I say in blind faith out of respect for me.
You must examine all that I say, think hard and long, and put it to the test,
just as a goldsmith examines gold by cutting and heating it to know whether it is genuine gold.
If you have doubts, test it out. If you find it is right, accept and follow it.
If you find that it is flawed then examine why and think it through.
Only when you know how it is flawed can you say so, and only when you know how it is right can you follow it.”
- The Buddha
The buddhism even has some kind scientific method applied. While the rests mean only intolerance.
The question isn’t, “what is the best religion”… the question is, what is true? Buddhism is not a religion, in that there is no supernatural elements. The religions that do have supernatural claims (Judaism, Islam, Christianity, Wicca, Hinduism, Ancestor Worship, Chinese Mysticism, etc), cannot all be true – if any are true and they accurately reflect the supernatural world, then only one can be true because they all contradict each other in fundamental ways. Thus, they all can be false, but only one can be true.
As for a naturalistic approach to the world, since the absence of the supernatural cannot be proven, it to must be taken as a framework for world view – I wouldn’t completely call it faith, but is is based on functionally ignoring the possibility of the supernatural, or an anti-faith. But faith does not require a belief in the supernatural, but simply trusting in something you don’t know or can’t prove – for example, belief that wife will never cheat on me or leave me. I can’t prove it and I don’t know, but functionally I life as if it is true.
So, the idea of the best religion doesn’t make sense unless you don’t care about reality but are exceedingly pragmatic – whatever is best for my selfish understanding of the world – this is the best religion for me. I however, taking the high ground, I suggest we seek and accept reality regardless of if we like it or not. If reality includes a supernatural realm, so be it. If it does not, so be it. In either case, there are profound consequences for mankind.