Here's a subtle paradox: I believe in the scientific method, and secular buddhism.
Babies perform the scientific method. When the kid throws toys off the high chair, they're performing experiments. They learn that the mechanics of physics repeat with extreme consistency.
Regardless of what else you believe about reality, sanity demands we agree on the consistency of it. Sometimes people claim miracles happen, but in public, unconstrained places, no one has shown themselves able to fly. Reality acts the same. To run, an engine needs fuel, spark, air, and timing. Once a dish is broken, it never spontaneously un-breaks itself.
The scientific method explains the external world really well, by eliminating possibilities. If you can come up with a test that disproves a hypothesis, and it consistently produces the same result, you can prove something about reality.
The internal world is more complicated. But you can still apply the scientific method there. To me, that's what Siddartha Gautama, the historical Buddha, invented: internal science.
Much like Jesus was Jewish, Gautama was Hindu, and the religion of Buddhism incorporates all the metaphysical Hindu magic: demons and angels from other realms using undetectable forces to manipulate human souls.
But also like Jesus' pure message of love, Gautama had a message which stays valid when separated from the magic. This is secular buddhism: the practical teachings of how to live your life, with all the magic removed.
Here's the TLDR of secular buddhism: be radically, totally honest with yourself.
Words are very powerful, but also misleading. Words (in the form of knowledge) can help us direct and manipulate reality for our benefit. But sometimes we fall under the illusion that the words are reality. And then we wind up defending the definition of the word, sometimes at a terrible cost.
Reality – both external and internal – is what it is. It doesn't care what you label it. And when you struggle to preserve a label which doesn't fit reality, you can waste breathtaking amounts of energy.
Secular buddhism and the scientific method are both forms of acceptance. The paradox comes from saying I believe in them. You don't really have to believe at all, because you know.