Not all Buddhists are Atheists!!!

Q. According to Buddhism, Lord Buddha is not a god and Buddhism in its thought and practices teaches nothing about which many theists considered a god. Then would one classify all Buddhists as atheists? One may say because there are different types of Buddhism, and hence there are different ways to experience the philosophy; wherein some may have belief in the Unseen; etc..

A message board has an interesting point for reflection:

Um...

Buddhism is not atheistic by any standard...

This shows a misunderstanding of different types of Buddhism and attempts to take the fact that Theravada Buddhism (my particular type) does not center itself on a belief in a Deity and make that into "All Buddhists are Atheist", which is untrue. Theravada Buddhism doesn't deny a Deity any more than it promotes one, nor does it state that one should not believe in a Deity. Theravada Buddhism centers itself on this lifetime and the spiritual growth of your current incarnation. Not all Buddhists even believe in reincarnation, not all Buddhists are atheists, there are many different beliefs held by those that are Buddhist. Most believe that all living things are part of the Deity, that which gives us life and unites us is the part of us which is the smallest part of the Deity.

Mahayana Buddhists believe in a Central Deity, so do Shin Buddhists (a Japanese form of Buddhism that believes in Amida Buddha, the Great Compassion, as a central Deity), Tibetan Buddhists believe in much that I have still to understand, but they are more mystical than the type of Buddhism that I study. Source

Books on the subject:

• Is The Buddhist An Atheist?  Theosophical Publishing Society 
• Buddhists and Christians: Through Comparative Theology to Solidarity (Faith Meets Faith Series) James L. Fredericks
• Without Buddha I Could Not Be a Christian  Paul F. Knitter
• Universal Prayer - Seeking Enlightenment through Prayer in the Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jewish and Muslim Traditions Bert Nemcik 
• The Gods of Northern Buddhism: Their History and Iconography  Alice Getty
• Short Description of Gods, Goddesses and Ritual Objects of Buddhism and Hinduism in Nepal  Jnan Bahadur Sakya
• Religion without God  Ronald Dworkin

• The Life Changing Lessons Of Buddha - Buddhism Secrets To Spiritual Enlightenment And Happiness (Buddhism For Beginners, Buddhism Without Beliefs, Buddhism For Busy People)  Steven Nash

• History of Zen from A to Z - Including the Meaning of Life, Creation of Heaven, Hell, Humans and Earth...  Richard Del Connor
• Buddhism Without Beliefs: A Contemporary Guide to Awakening  
  
  

Some other answers may be here:

• If There's No God in Buddhism, Are Buddhists Atheists? BY: Lama Surya Das -- Beliefnet  columnist explains why not. 
• Is the Dalai Lama an Atheist? - Buddhism - About.com
• Buddhism: The last honest religion? Entertaining Q&A with Dalai Lama
• by YourBrainOnReligion
• Buddhism Isn't More Enlightened Than Other Faiths - Patheos  
• Opinion | Are Buddhists atheists? - "NO'ing" Buddha
• Do Buddhists Believe in God? - Urban Dharma
• Dharma Wheel • View topic - Is Buddhism elitist?
• Gods of Buddhism? Learn Why There is No Such Thing
• Dalai Lama reaches out to British atheists - USATODAY.com
• The Buddhist Blog: Buddhism and Atheism
• Asian Buddhists are not atheists - Discover Magazine Blogs
• The new Buddhist atheism | Mark Vernon | Comment is free ...
• BBC - Religion - Atheism: Atheist Buddhism - Atheist Buddhism
• Opinion | Are Buddhists atheists? - The Buddhist Channel
• Rationally Speaking: The problem with atheism, a Buddhist ...
• Buddhism as an "Atheistic Religion": a Western Fantasy
• What Buddhists Believe - Is Buddhism Atheistic?
• Is Buddhism Atheistic?...A brief discussion at religionfacts.com, concludes:

In view of the above factors, scholars and Buddhists alike tend to describe Buddhism as atheistic in the sense that it denies an eternal creator God {7}, while recognizing its theistic and devotional elements. The Encyclopedia Britannica explains,

While the contemplative elite may deny the real existence of gods and demons together with the rest of phenomenal existence, the majority of Buddhists from the earliest times in India, and in other countries where Buddhism has spread, have never neglected indigenous religious beliefs. {8}

Love and Compassion: Rumi's Seven Pieces of Advice, Buddhist Perspective

Love and Compassion: Rumi's Seven Pieces of Advice Buddhistdoor International Dr. Thomas Lau

Extract:

This summer, the Anatolia Cultural & Dialog Centre of Turkey and the Hong Kong University Centre of Buddhist Studies Alumni Association jointly arranged a tour to Turkey. It offered the chance of a brief encounter of the Turkish cultural and religious life. Turkey is a secular country by constitution. In actual fact, more than 99% of the population is of Islamic background. Muslim practices are deeply seeded in the daily life of common people, and most people do not have any knowledge of Buddhism. During the tour, we visited the Mevlâna Museum and the tomb of Rumi in Konya, a city in central Turkey. The full name of Rumi (1207-1273) is Mevlânâ Celâleddin Mehed Rumi. He is a Sufi scholar, writer and poet, and he is one of the most famous masters in the history of Islam. Not only that his poetries are wide acclaimed, but his teachings are also very much inspiring and far-reaching. He teaches unconditional acceptance, tolerance, patience, love, compassion, and benevolence. His famous ‘Seven Advices’ has passed down all the years and is still very much revered in the present time. The Seven Advices epitomizes the highest sentiment of humanity, transcends religious boundaries, and encompasses the common values of all religions:

 

1.       In generosity and helping others: be like the river

2.       In compassion and grace: be like the sun.

3.       In concealing others’ faults: be like the night.

4.       In anger and fury: be like the dead.

5.       In modesty and humility: be like the soil.

6.       In tolerance: be like the ocean.

7.       Either you appear as you are, or: be as you appear. continue reading

On the same shelf:

 Seven Advice of Mevlana [Jalal ad-Din Rumi] - YouTube

 The Odyssey: Seven Advice Of Rumi

 Mawlana Jalaluddin Rumi | Healing Hearts