Yes.

Every religion likes to be 'one up' on other religions. It makes the people feel better. Buddhists came up with a way to allow all religions to be Buddhist if desired. So Baptist / Buddhist or Buddhist / Baptist is a thing. Not very wide spread. In India with Buddhist, Hindu, Catholic (largest Catholic population in world) and Moslem, it seems a method of trying to keep the peace. (too bad it didn't work).

Bit of a sticky one this as scholars in the field cannot define what religion is. Outside of the Western ideologies religion doesn't really exist of itself, its just how life is conducted. The idea of religion being something different to 'what you do' was not considered until after The Enlightenment. A reasonable description of religion by Emile Durkheim is "a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things, that is to say things set apart and forbidden - beliefs and practices which unite into one single moral community called a church, all those who adhere to them." Gods are not necessary to denote a religion. There are no actual words for Buddhism and Hinduism before C19th. See the work of Wilfred Cantwell Smith, especially 'The Meaning and End of Religion'. Therefore, yes, Buddhism is a religion, but only in the Western post-Enlightenment context.

The way I practice it, it's a philosophy, and ideally a way of life. Some do practice the dogmatic aspects as a religion, and they come with all the pitfalls of any other religion. I don't think there's anything wrong or superficial about cherry picking it as a philosophy though. The ability to do so is a feature, not a bug. As I understand it Buddha advocated not taking his word for it on anything. If you don't find it useful when applied to your life, ditch it and try something else. Big fan of elements of Buddhism and Taoism both as a way to "build your own religion." Although it's a shame to even call them the R word, or practice them in such a way that someone else would label it as such.

Buddhism is a philosophy as Taoism, and Confucianism. I prefer philosophy over religious semantics any day.

Buddhism tends to melt with whatever religious beliefs are already in that state or region it migrates to. I think at it's puriest form it's just a way to live your life but that form may not really exist in any established place because if the melding aspect to it.Zen is the closest I've seen but even it has it's dogmas although there are no gods still. I really think that a true Buddhist wouldn't join any established groups but that's merely my take on it. I've studied it since my early 20s but never joined any groups. There aren't any in this area even if I wanted to.

I don't know but I can say this....I have friends in Thailand. None of them ever (I did travel back and forth few times a year in a span of 10 years, I did make some good friends ) ever ever tried to push any single bit of Buddhism on me. None. They wouldn't even bring it up. To me that says a lot and I have a lot of respect for them because of that, among many other things.

I found out that to convert, you have to agree to a number of restrictions including dress code. I thought it was just a way of life. But that's if you skate the surface of Buddhism. It doesn't seem to have a god but many offer tribute (a form of worship) to Buddha shrines as they believe he is Divine in some way.

it's a way to 'move through the world'....for me.

I consider myself as following the Buddhist way. I honestly don't think that you can speak of "general Buddhism" as there are so many different schools and philosophies of thought. It would be the same as saying that a 7th Day Adventist was in the same general group of Christians as a Catholic.
Most Westerners probably view it as a philosophy or practice. People who live in countries where Buddhism originated consider it their religion. Buddhists do not have a diety except for Tibetans Buddhists. Even when you put your hands together in gasho it is not praying but rather a statement that you and I are one. Buddhists don't believe in heaven and not all Buddhists believe in reincarnation and not all are vegetarians. Some sects practice by using koans, some chant, some meditate. So no diety, no heaven, no dogma......you decide what it means to you but if you aren't one you probably shouldn't be too quick to judge

I was going to mention this earlier, but I am a Buddhist and I consider it more of a way of life.

Buddhism is a seeking of a way. As a religion it is a seeking of the Way. Because of its many lifestyle constraints it becomes a credo for living one's own life. It is often confused with Taoism which translates loosely as way or pathway. The god of Buddhism is within the person. Meditation and practice in the Buddhist lifestyle becomes a finding of the way to self deification.

I'm definitely an Atheist....and a Buddhist...
No deity needed.

A lot of people cherry pick and practice only the parts of Buddhism that they like. People I know who were raised in Buddhist families and countries regard it as a religion and are offended when others say t's not. Most of the North Americans I know who chose Buddhism later in life regard it as a philosophy or way of life and are only familiar with the more superficial aspects.

You could make an argument for both. Buddhism doesn’t have a deity or deities but it does teach the metaphysical aspects of reality like a religion.

Although I do consider myself an atheist I've done some reading on the philosophy and way of life of Buddhism. And there are some that practice it as a religion. But what I like about it is its flexibility. And also the Buddha saying that he did not want to be worshipped.

All of the above and a bit more.