Is Buddhism a way of life or religion?

I don't know which is which, and I would like to be an atheist Buddhist.

religion

Both. Many say it is a way of life but, I've been around Buddhists most of my life and they chant and give food to their spiritual entities. That sounds like a religion to me.

It's generally considered a religion because of its belief in reincarnation (IE, an afterlife), but doesn't have a deity.

Why should a label matter?

Its a belief, and a way of life.

its mostly a peaceful way of life. they dint have a god, they just follow Buddhas teachings.

Defining a religion as a "way of life" is in the pretentious moron's guidebook to making yourself sound better than others.

Buddhism fits any and all definitions of being a religion. It is also a "way of life" if you must, but so are many other religions.

It is both, or none, it all depends on how you accept it. It's certainly not a "faith", that is one thing I can say for sure. The Buddha said that it was wise to question everything, including him. He also said rituals and offerings were pointless, but many of his supposed followers do them anyway. There's thousands of different ideas of what Buddhism even is. Some of those ideas definitely can be called religion, and some can only be called a way of life. My personal path is definitely a way of life, not a religion. I think the Buddha himself started a Sang which could possibly be called a religious order, but that's complicated, and could be discussed for years with no complete agreement by all who discuss it.

No one writes this question it just appears on its own.

Buddhism is a philosophy, not a religion. You can be anything you want. But Buddha believed in a higher plane of existence, so if you are an atheist then I don't think you are also Buddhist. You may agree with some of the Buddhist beliefs but not all, in which case you admire Buddha but are not truly a Buddhist.. An atheist doesn't believe in anything, so I am not sure you can be an atheist anything and be semantically correct. But the beauty of belief systems is that you can think whatever you like and nobody can stop you.

It is most definitely a religion. Religion is "a personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices", which Buddhism has. Gods and the supernatural are not main factors in whether something is a religion or not.

Both. Some consider it either or. I consider it both.

Check this video out on Zen meditation. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAz_Jkmp0dQ

It answers your question quite well, in the beginning itself.

Yes you can be an atheist Buddhist. My advice is, don't focus on labels of "atheist" or "Buddhist". Learn from everything, expand your knowledge and understanding of life and grow!

Good luck!