Life is suffering. Suffering is caused by our desires (thirst). To over suffering is to cut your desires. This (these eight ways) is the how you can cut your desires. The eight ways are to have right understanding, thought, action, speech, livelihood, effort, mindfulness and concentration.
The above is what the Buddha taught soon after his enlightenment, his realisation of the nature of existence. Notice how there is no mention of a deity or deities, or worship of a deity or deities, but that everything depends on your practice and way of life, minus the gods. Buddhism explicitly rejected the gods of his time and place, those of the Vedic tradition, the belief systems and practices that were to become Hinduism later on.
What the Buddha taught was not entirely unique. Jainism also rejected the belief in a deity or deities. However, Jainism believed in a soul, something Buddha rejected. Here, Buddhism is unique, in rejecting both the existence of gods and the soul. One must be very careful in understanding that what the Buddha taught and Buddhism are different things. Buddhism takes on its own life and comes in many different “flavours”. Thus the study of the many traditions but looking at the underlying principles will reveal how the different strands of Buddhism have diverged from what he actually taught. Do the math and you will see whatever remains must be close to what the Buddha taught.
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