Not much competion out there, who has won it it the past, I wonder.

<br /><b>Buddhism Wins Best Religion in the World Award</b><br /><br />In advance of their annual Leading Figure award to a religious figure who has done the most to advance the cause of humanism and peace, the Geneva-based International Coalition for the Advancement of Religious and Spirituality (ICARUS) has chosen to bestow a special award this year on the Buddhist Community. &quot;We typically prefer an under-the-radar approach for the organization, as we try to embody the spirit of modesty found in the greatest traditions,&quot; said ICARUS director Hans Groehlichen in a phone conference Monday. &quot;But with organized religion increasingly used as a tool to separate and inflame rather than bring together, we felt we had to take the unusual step of creating a &quot;Best Religion in the World&quot; award and making a bit of a stir, to inspire other religious leaders to see what is possible when you practice compassion.&quot;<br /><br />Groehlichen said the award was voted on by an international roundtable of more than 200 religious leaders from every part of the spiritual spectrum. &quot;It was interesting to note that once we supplied the criteria, many religious leaders voted for Buddhism rather than their own religion,&quot; said Groehlichen. &quot;Buddhists actually make up a tiny minority of our membership, so it was fascinating but quite exciting that they won.&quot;<br /><br />Criteria included factors such as promoting personal and community peace, increasing compassion and a sense of connection, and encouraging preservation of the natural environment. Groehlichen continued &quot;The biggest factor for us is that ICARUS was founded by spiritual and religious people to bring the concepts of non-violence to prominence in society. One of the key questions in our voting process was which religion actually practices non-violence.&quot; <br /><br />When presenting the information to the voting members, ICARUS researched each of the 38 religions on the ballot extensively, offering background, philosophy, and the religions role in government and warfare. Jonna Hult, Director of Research for ICARUS said &quot;It wasn't a surprise to me that Buddhism won Best Religion in the World, because we could find literally not one single instance of a war fought in the name of Buddhism, in contrast to every other religion that seems to keep a gun in the closet just in case God makes a mistake. We were hard pressed to even find a Buddhist that had ever been in an army. These people practice what they preach to an extent we simply could not document with any other spiritual tradition.&quot;<br /><br />At least one Catholic priest spoke out on behalf of Buddhism. Father Ted O'Shaughnessy said from Belfast, &quot;As much as I love the Catholic Church, it has always bothered me to no end that we preach love in our scripture yet then claim to know God's will when it comes to killing other humans. For that reason, I did have to cast my vote for the Buddhists.&quot; And Muslim Cleric Tal Bin Wassad agreed from Pakistan via his translator. &quot;While I am a devout Muslim, I can see how much anger and bloodshed is channeled into religious expression rather than dealt with on a personal level. The Buddhists have that figured out.&quot; Bin Wassad, the ICARUS voting member for Pakistan's Muslim community continued, &quot;In fact, some of my best friends are Buddhist.&quot; And Rabbi Shmuel Wasserstein said from Jerusalem, &quot;Of course, I love Judaism, and I think it's the greatest religion in the world. But to be honest, I've been practicing Vipassana meditation every day before minyan (daily Jewish prayer) since 1993. So I get it.&quot;<br /><br />Groehlichen said that the plan was for the award to Buddhism for &quot;Best Religion in the World&quot; to be given to leaders from the various lineages in the Buddhist community. However, there was one snag. &quot;Basically we can't find anyone to give it to,&quot; said Groehlichen in a followup call late Tuesday. &quot;All the Buddhists we call keep saying they don't want the award.&quot; Groehlichen explained the strange behavior, saying &quot;Basically they are all saying they are a philosophical tradition, not a religion. But that doesn't change the fact that with this award we acknowledge their philosophy of personal responsibility and personal transformation to be the best in the world and the most important for the challenges facing every individual and all living beings in the coming centuries.&quot;<br /><br />When asked why the Burmese Buddhist community refused the award, Buddhist monk Bhante Ghurata Hanta said from Burma, &quot;We are grateful for the acknowledgement, but we give this award to all humanity, for Buddha nature lies within each of us.&quot; Groehlichen went on to say &quot;We're going to keep calling around until we find a Buddhist who will accept it. We'll let you know when we do.&quot;<br /><br /><a href="http://blog.beliefnet.com/onecity/2009/07/freedom-from-religion-buddhism-wins-best-religion-in-the-world-award.html" target="_blank">Source</a>.<br />

This is not a religion.I forget much of what else he said,although I remember him saying it was a philosophy
Can someone explain what is going on?

One question I would like to ask is, can one be both a christian and a Buddhist? My boyfriend says "yes"
He is making a crude joke about how this highlights the state of play here and religion in general.
He does have a point about things looking very confused in this area.

I have to admit I had the silly image in my head of the announcer saying, "And the nominees for best religion are Jesus, Buddha, Mohammad, and Jerry Falwell." The camera falling on each as their name is read. "And the winner is Buddha. Accepting for Buddha, who is experiencing Nirvanna, is the Dali Lama."

Buddhism Wins Best Religion in the World Award

We were hard pressed to even find a Buddhist that had ever been in an army.

Groehlichen said that the plan was for the award to Buddhism for "Best Religion in the World" to be given to leaders from the various lineages in the Buddhist community. However, there was one snag. "Basically we can't find anyone to give it to," said Groehlichen in a followup call late Tuesday. "All the Buddhists we call keep saying they don't want the award." Groehlichen explained the strange behavior, saying "Basically they are all saying they are a philosophical tradition, not a religion.

As for the point about Buddhism not being a religion though, that seems very strange. Surely it's a religion, but an atheistic one? Calling something a philosophical tradition can be used to undermine the value of the religion.

Buddhism's not a religion in the definition of the latin roots of the word 'religion'. I really don't think it is really possible to take away from Buddhism or undermine it. Buddha's teachings are perfect and will remain so until the end of time.

Buddhism's not a religion in the definition of the latin roots of the word 'religion'. I really don't think it is really possible to take away from Buddhism or undermine it. Buddha's teachings are perfect and will remain so until the end of time.

if only we spent less time defining and more time meditating .........

I have a friend who's also Buddhist; he made the mistake of joining the Canadian Army. Then they sent him to Afghanistan. It sure did clash with his beliefs, and he's not yet recovered. No doubt some of the moralising about the fighting there might have been easier to agree with had he followed some other rather more prevalent western tradition.

As for the point about Buddhism not being a religion though, that seems very strange. Surely it's a religion, but an atheistic one? Calling something a philosophical tradition can be used to undermine the value of the religion.

It did'nt seem to bother the Japaneese during the war they were quite happy raping,murdering and torturing with no remorse.

Agree with you,still i find very difficult to sit and meditate..I tried sometimes,i guess that's not my way

Obvious wind-up.

ICARUS (very clever), "a Catholic priest Ted O'Shaughnessy" then a "Muslim Cleric Tal Bin Wassad" agreeing that Buddhism is tops.... Puuhrrleeeze.

You guys will be giving your money to the Nigerian e-mailers next....

We (and Beliefnet) were sucked in (except for RickBradford)! Well, I was anyway.