Buddhism is a religion, because even without a theistic force, there are good things and bad things that happen after you die, and ways to try to achieve the good things. This is why I'm so interested in Buddhism, because it's a religion without a G-d. And the core force in Zen in particular is actually a belief in nothing, which makes it almost close to Nihilism, even though it's the exact opposite in practice.
I think the main difference is that religions have codes of conduct for this life, based on what happens in the next life. It could be heaven or hell, or it could be reincarnation or samsara, or it could be anything. Pantheism, monotheism, and polytheism all have this in common. Atheism does not.
I don't see how you can have any religion without an afterlife. I think anything else is philosophy.
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