Believers, when they say that Buddhists do not have a God, mean the absence of a Personal God – a Creator, that is, a deity with personal characteristics, which in their worldview is necessary for the creation and governance of the world.

Buddhism's Rejection of a Personal Creator

Believers, when they say that Buddhists do not have a God, mean the absence of a Personal God – a Creator, that is, a deity with personal characteristics, which in their worldview is necessary for the creation and governance of the world. This understanding sharply contrasts with the Buddhist approach, where the fundamental principles are the law of causality and karma, and the creation of the world as well as the path to liberation are explained not by the actions of a supernatural creator but by natural laws.

According to one source, “Buddhists completely reject faith in a Personal God and regard the doctrine of creation as a fanciful delusion” (source: link txt). This emphasizes that the core teaching of the Buddha does not include the concept of a God with personal traits, as is typical of monotheistic religions. A similar sentiment is reflected in another description: “By renouncing desires, we deviate from the path of suffering” – a thought that embodies the idea of liberation through personal cognitive effort rather than through the intervention of some supernatural creator (source: link txt).

Furthermore, several interpretations note that the concept of a Personal God arises as a kind of illusion or even a later reinterpreted element when the need to explain the origins of the world emerges. For example, one text describes how the appearance of a heavenly palace with the god Brahma was formed – “after which around him appear another thirty-three gods of the heavenly world of desires. They see Brahma and exclaim: ‘This is Brahma! He is eternal, he has always existed! He created us all!’” (source: link txt). Thus, even if figures possessing divine attributes are introduced temporarily, they do not correspond to the original atheistic design of the Buddha’s teachings.

In this way, the Buddhist worldview is characterized by a fundamental denial of the idea of a Personal Creator God. This position not only rejects the need for any sacred creator but also emphasizes that the very path to liberation and understanding of existence can be achieved without resorting to a supernatural principle—a fundamental contrast to religious systems based on belief in a Creator God.

Supporting citation(s):
“Buddhists completely reject faith in a Personal God and regard the doctrine of creation as a fanciful delusion” (source: link txt)
“Often the example is given of Buddhism as a religion in which there is no belief in a personal God... The original true teaching of the Buddha was atheistic...” (source: link txt)
“In Buddhism there is an interesting concept regarding the origins of what Buddhists consider the false idea of a Personal God... This circle of hardened wind forms the basis of a new world. And it is nothing other than the objectified energy of collective karma...” (source: link txt)