You're quite right Mel T, every tradition has it's variations. Many believe in gods, some others believe in spirits, some blended with taoist traditions have a sort of nature-worship (I really like taoism actually, I find it compatible with buddhism, just explaining and percieving life from another angle).
Anywhoo, this was the belief the Buddha himself had on rebirth so far as I know. I personally don't adhere to a sect, but just read directly from the Buddha's teachings and do my best to interpret and understand them adaquately. Though I think all sects definately have their important pieces of wisdom, along with many non-buddhist philosophies. I especially find certain tribal shamanism practices fascinating and very usefull in my own self-exploration.

I think too it can be rather difficult to describe a certain aspect of buddhist philosophy, since almost all of them tend to relate to each other, and you must understand them all to completely understand one.