Is Buddha rated in the world largest religion?

Answer 1

==Total Buddhist population in the World==

Buddhist population in China is: 1219,149,600.

Buddhist population in Japan is: 122, 933, 785.

Buddhist population in Vietnam is: 74, 664, 000

Buddhist population in Thailand is: 61, 943, 563

Buddhist population in Myanmar is: 53, 649, 200

Population of Buddhists in China+Japan+Vietnam+Thailand+Myanmar+other Buddhist countries= 1921, 989, 641

Christianity

2.1 billion

Buddhism

1.9 billion

Islam

1.5 billion

Hinduism

1.1 billion

So Buddhism is the SECOND Largest Religious people in the World.

Reference:Wikipedia - Buddhism_by_country

AnswerBuddhism is not considered a religion either by outsiders or by Buddhists, it has no deity, does not offer salvation, and does not demand belief from its followers, from Buddhism in a nutshell (see link below):

It is neither a religion in the sense in which that word is commonly understood, for it is not "a system of faith and worship owing any allegiance to a supernatural being."

Buddhism does not demand blind faith from its adherents. Here mere belief is dethroned and is substituted by confidence based on knowledge, which, in Pali, is known as saddha. The confidence placed by a follower on the Buddha is like that of a sick person in a noted physician, or a student in his teacher. A Buddhist seeks refuge in the Buddha because it was he who discovered the path of deliverance.

A Buddhist does not seek refuge in the Buddha with the hope that he will be saved by his (i.e. the Buddha's own) personal purification. The Buddha gives no such guarantee. It is not within the power of a Buddha to wash away the impurities of others. One could neither purify nor defile another. The Buddha, as teacher, instructs us, but we ourselves are directly responsible for our purification. Although a Buddhist seeks refuge in the Buddha, he does not make any self-surrender. Nor does a Buddhist sacrifice his freedom of thought by becoming a follower of the Buddha. He can exercise his own free will and develop his knowledge even to the extent of becoming a Buddha himself.