albert einstein the agnostic

7/28/2019 Albert Einstein the Agnostic

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. . . I camethough the child ofentirely irreligious (Jewish) parentsto a deep religiousness, which,however, reached an abrupt end atthe age of twelve. Through thereading of popular scientific books Isoon reached the conviction thatmuch in the stories of the Biblecould not be true. The consequencewas a positively fanatic orgy offreethinking coupled with theimpression that youth isintentionally being deceived by the

state through lies; it was a crushingimpression.

- Albert Einstein, AutobiographicalNotes


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It was, of course, a lie what

you read about my religiousconvictions, a lie which isbeing systematically repeated. Ido not believe in a personalGod and I have never denied

this but have expressed itclearly. If something is in mewhich can be called religiousthen it is the unboundedadmiration for the structure

of the world so far as ourscience can reveal it.

- Albert Einstein, 24 March 1954


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The idea of a personal God is

quite alien to me and seemseven nave.

- Albert Einstein, 17 December 1952


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The word God is for me

nothing more than theexpression and product ofhuman weaknesses, the Bible acollection of honourable, butstill primitive legends. No

interpretation no matter howsubtle can (for me) change this.These subtilised interpretationsare highly manifoldaccording to their nature

and have almost nothing todo with the original text.

- Albert Einstein, 1954


5/28

I believe in Spinoza's God, whoreveals himself in the harmonyof all that exists, not in a God

who concerns himself withthe fate and the doings ofmankind.

- Albert Einstein, 24 April 1929


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Scientific research can reducesuperstition by encouraging

people to think and view thingsin terms of cause and effect.Certain it is that a conviction,akin to religious feeling, of therationality and intelligibility ofthe world lies behind allscientific work of a higherorder... This firm belief, a beliefbound up with a deep feeling, in asuperior mind that reveals itselfin the world of experience,

represents my conception of God.In common parlance this may bedescribed as "pantheistic" (Spinoza).

- Albert Einstein, 50th birthday


7/28

I do not believe in immortalityof the individual, and Iconsider ethics to be an

exclusively human concernwith no superhumanauthority behind it.

- Albert Einstein, stated to a

Baptist pastor


8/28

I cannot conceive of a God whorewards and punishes his creatures,or has a will of the type of which

we are conscious in ourselves. Anindividual who should survive hisphysical death is also beyond mycomprehension, nor do I wish itotherwise; such notions are forthe fears or absurd egoism of feeblesouls. Enough for me the mysteryof the eternity of life, and theinkling of the marvellousstructure of reality, togetherwith the single-hearted endeavour

to comprehend a portion, be itnever so tiny, of the reason thatmanifests itself in nature.

- Albert Einstein, His book TheWorld as I See It


9/28

I have repeatedly said that in my

opinion the idea of a personalGod is a childlike one. You maycall me an agnostic, but I do notshare the crusading spirit of theprofessional atheist whose fervoris mostly due to a painful act ofliberation from the fetters ofreligious indoctrination receivedin youth. I prefer an attitude ofhumility corresponding to theweakness of our intellectual

understanding of nature and ofour own being.

- Albert Einstein


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11/28

You believe in a God who plays dice,and I in complete law and order in

a world which objectively exists,and which I in a wildly speculativeway, am trying to capture. I firmlybelieve, but I hope that someone willdiscover a more realistic way, orrather a more tangible basis than it

has been my lot to find. Even thegreat initial success of thequantum theory does not make mebelieve in the fundamental dicegame, although I am well aware

that some of our youngercolleagues interpret this as aconsequence of senility.

- Albert Einstein, Letter to Max Born


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Now he has departed from thisstrange world a little aheadof me. That signifies nothing.For us believing physicists the

distinction between past,present, and future is only astubbornly persistent illusion.

- Albert Einstein, Letter ofCondolence


13/28

Without 'ethical culture'there is no salvation for

humanity.

- Albert Einstein, At the 75thanniversary of the New YorkSociety for Ethical Culture


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I cannot imagine a God who

rewards and punishes theobjects of his creation, whosepurposes are modeled after ourowna God, in short, who isbut a reflection of human

frailty. Neither can I believethat the individual survivesthe death of his body,although feeble souls harborsuch thoughts through fear

or ridiculous egotisms.

- Albert Einstein, With regardto Divine command theory


15/28

A God who rewards and punishes isinconceivable to him for the simplereason that a man's actions are

determined by necessity, external andinternal, so that in God's eyes he cannotbe responsible, any more than aninanimate object is responsible for themotions it undergoes. Science hastherefore been charged withundermining morality, but the charge isunjust. A man's ethical behavior should bebased effectually on sympathy, education,and social ties and needs; no religiousbasis is necessary. Man would indeed be ina poor way if he had to be restrained byfear of punishment and hopes of reward

after death. It is therefore easy to seewhy the churches have always foughtscience and persecuted its devotees.

- Albert Einstein, With regard to Divinecommand theory


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The most important human endeavoris the striving for morality in our

actions. Our inner balance and evenour very existence depend on it. Onlymorality in our actions can givebeauty and dignity to life. To makethis a living force and bring it toclear consciousness is perhaps the

foremost task of education. Thefoundation of morality should notbe made dependent on myth nor tiedto any authority lest doubt aboutthe myth or about the legitimacy ofthe authority imperil the

foundation of sound judgment andaction.

- Albert Einstein, On the importanceof ethics


17/28

I do not believe that a manshould be restrained in his

daily actions by being afraidof punishment after death orthat he should do things onlybecause in this way he will berewarded after he dies. This

does not make sense. The properguidance during the life of aman should be the weight thathe puts upon ethics and theamount of consideration thathe has for others.

- Albert Einstein, On theimportance of ethics


18/28

I cannot conceive of a personal Godwho would directly influence theactions of individuals, or woulddirectly sit in judgment on creaturesof his own creation. I cannot dothis in spite of the fact thatmechanistic causality has, to acertain extent, been placed in doubt

by modern science. My religiosityconsists in a humble admiration ofthe infinitely superior spirit thatreveals itself in the little that we,with our weak and transitoryunderstanding, can comprehend of

reality. Morality is of the highestimportancebut for us, not for God.

- Albert Einstein, On the importanceof ethics


19/28

A knowledge of the existenceof something we cannot

penetrate, of themanifestations of theprofoundest reason and themost radiant beauty, which areonly accessible to our reason

in their most elementary formsit is this knowledge and thisemotion that constitute thetruly religious attitude; in thissense, and in this alone, I am adeeply religious man.

- Albert Einstein, His book TheWorld as I See It


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God is a mystery. But a

comprehensible mystery. I havenothing but awe when Iobserve the laws of nature.There are not laws without alawgiver, but how does this

lawgiver look? Certainly notlike a man magnified. somecenturies ago I would havebeen burned or hanged.Nonetheless, I would have been

in good company.

- Albert Einstein, his book Ideasand Opinions


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a person who is religiously enlightenedappears to me to be one who has, to the best ofhis ability, liberated himself from the fetters ofhis selfish desires and is preoccupied withthoughts, feelings and aspirations to whichhe clings because of their super-personal value.It seems to me that what is important is theforce of this superpersonal content ...regardless of whether any attempt is made tounite this content with a Divine Being, forotherwise it would not be possible to countBuddha and Spinoza as religious personalities.

Accordingly a religious person is devout inthe sense that he has no doubt of thesignificance of those super-personal objectsand goals which neither require nor arecapable of rational foundation ... In this sensereligion is the age-old endeavor of mankindto become clearly and completely conscious

of these values and goals and constantly tostrengthen and extend their effect. If oneconceives of religion and science accordingto these definitions then a conflict betweenthem appears impossible. For science can onlyascertain what is, but not what should be...

- Albert Einstein, 1930 New York Times article


22/28

I predict that the Vatican willsupport Hitler if he comes topower. The Church sinceConstantine has always

favoured the authoritarianState, as long as the Stateallows the Church to baptizeand instruct the masses.

- Albert Einstein, March 1930


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But what makes me shudder isthat the Catholic Church is

silent. One doesn't need to be aprophet to say, 'The CatholicChurch will pay for this silence...Ido not say that the unspeakablecrimes of the Church for 2,000

years had always the blessing ofthe Vatican, but it vaccinated itsbelievers with the idea: We havethe true God, and the Jews havecrucified Him.' The Church sowedhate instead of love, though theten commandments state: Thoushalt not kill.

- Albert Einstein, August 1943


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With a few exceptions, theRoman Catholic Church hasstressed the value of dogmaand ritual, conveying the idea

theirs is the only way to reachheaven. I don't need to go toChurch to hear if I'm good orbad; my heart tells me this.



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I don't like to implant in youththe Church's doctrine of a

personal God, because thatChurch has behaved so inhumanlyin the past 2,000 years... Considerthe hate the Church manifestedagainst the Jews and then against

the Muslims, the Crusades withtheir crimes, the burning stakes ofthe inquisition, the tacit consentof Hitler's actions while the Jewsand the Poles dug their owngraves and were slaughtered. AndHitler is said to have been analtar boy!



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The Church has always solditself to those in power, and

agreed to any bargain inreturn for immunity.



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If I were allowed to giveadvice to the Churches, Iwould tell them to begin witha conversion among

themselves, and to stop playingpower politics. Consider whatmass misery they have producedin Spain, South America andRussia.

- Albert Einstein, September 1948


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About God, I cannot acceptany concept based on the

authority of the Church... Aslong as I can remember. I haveresented mass indoctrination. Icannot prove to you there isno personal God, but if I were

to speak of him, I would be aliar. I do not believe in the Godof theology who rewardsgood and punishes evil. Hisuniverse is not ruled by

wishful thinking, but byimmutable laws.

- Albert Einstein, 1954

albert einstein the agnostic

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