Many Android phones will not let you set up the phone without a Google account, tho whether you use that account for anything later is up to you; everything will still work even if you don't (including the market).
Other phones--the Cliq is the one I'm most familiar with--do not have that requirement. My wife uses a Cliq and it is tied to her Yahoo mail and her Exchange (work) mail, with no Google account tied to it at all.
That said, integration with Google's services is one of Android's great features and one of the things that differentiates it from other mobile platforms. If you're not comfortable using Google's services, Android may not be for you. My advice, tho, would be to trust that they will not be evil and dive in. They do a great job, and you can always get your data out if you want to.