Einstein thought religion was 'childish superstition'

In the letter, he states: "The word god is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of honorable, but still primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish. No interpretation no matter how subtle can (for me) change this."

I can remember reading that, inspite of his views on religion, he was not a confessed athiest. The article said he did believe in a higher power. Keeping in mind a "higher power" and religion are two totally different things...

There is a difference in outgrowing religious dogma and developing a deeper spiritual awareness.

"Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind" means that both need to be integrated since empirical data has no focus without a direction to give it meaning. Also interpretation of morals has no basis without facts to give it grounding.

The point he was making was that any dogmatic point of view that was convinced that only it was right way and all others were doomed was the " incarnation of the most childish superstitions." and that "experience the universe as a single cosmic whole". meant to transcend and include all perspectives

Yay for Agnosticism.

"I came-- though the child of entirely irreligious (Jewish) parents -- to a deep religiousness, which, however, reached an abrupt end at the age of twelve." -- Albert Einstein

Its simple, reason and intelligence are incompatible with religion. The higher the IQ the less likely the person is religious, so Einsteins quotes should not be suprising. There are several studies being conducted now regarding links between certain brain types that are prone to pychosis and that link to a persons propensity towards being religious. Keep an eye out for them...

He didn't feel that way about ALL religions, however:

"The religion of the future will be a cosmic religion. It should transcend personal God and avoid dogma and theology. Covering both the natural and the spiritual, it should be based on a religious sense arising from the experience of all things natural and spiritual as a meaningful unity. Buddhism answers this description. If there is any religion that could cope with modern scientific needs it would be Buddhism." -Einstein

beautifully said Argon18

The wording in Einstein's letter ("product of human weaknesses", "childish") is rather harsh though and I would have chosen more delicate diction if I was in his position.

I don't know if Einstein knew what he believed in.

He believed in Science and Humanity, not a magical invisible man in the sky. Good for him.

fountaingoats- please correct me if I am wrong, but from what I know Buddhism isnt actually a religion so much as it is a way of life, or a philosophy. The latin word religio means to bind, inferring a bind to the divine, and since buddhism doesnt believe in a "divine" being, in essence it doesnt fall in the category of religion. Einstein was using the term religion broadly in order to include Buddhism, but because of this broad usage he seems to contradict himself, making it look like what poster Neghie says is true that he didnt know what he believed.

However, his acceptance of Buddhism is consistent of his lack of a belief in a "divine" being.

If organized religion helps some people to feel better about themselves O.K. but way to many use it as an excuse for um um everything. Out of control. Mr. Albert Einstein was correct in his brilliant obversations.

Einstein believed in science and the world in front of his eyes. The natural order and beauty of the Universe has commanded a sense of spirituality in many scientists, but do not confuse this with religion.

hey einstein, amen.

buddhism is my favorite religion, so I guess i must be a genius too!! :P

Einstein's own words...

"It was, of course, a lie what you read about my religious convictions, a lie which is being systematically repeated. I do not believe in a personal God and I have never denied this but have expressed it clearly. If something is in me which can be called religious then it is the unbounded admiration for the structure of the world so far as our science can reveal it."
- Albert Einstein, letter to an atheist (1954), quoted in Albert Einstein: The Human Side, edited by Helen Dukas & Banesh Hoffman

"we still don't know one thousandth of one percent of what nature has revelaed to us" Albert Einstein

Korourke, you're right - I don't think of Buddhism as a religion either, but there are religious aspects to it, such as prayer, blessings, and ritual. However, the acts these terms apply to in Buddhism are very different than their traditional religious counterparts. It's all a matter of terminology really, especially regarding prayer and receiving blessings.

Buddhism happens to be grouped in with other religions by many people who don't know very much about it, and is considered one of the "world's religions." So in short, I agree with you, but many people still think of it as a religion - including many people with negative opinions about religion in general. When they lump it in with other religions as an example of unrealistic beliefs, it usually means they are underinformed.

I'm a fundementalist agnostic.

I think the next step in our spiritual evolution is to move beyond the "personal god" concept and into the realm of moral philosophy.

so everything i know about him is a lie . cause i always thought he was very religious . i was told that was the reason he died on his death bed .

Religion aside, don't you just want to pinch his cheeks. He looks so giddy in that picture.

I say it doesn't matter.

Its interesting to hear the opinions of respectable as well as intelligible men, but are his views on religion important?

Science is just full of hypocrisy and excuses. It was supposed to be a unbiased practice that is untouched by gods and society. Many men just trying to prove a point will use this opinion as evidence to there being no god..

Considering this is newly attained information, its beyond respectable that he didn't use his credibility vainly and profess this as truth. I only wish more scientists were currently like him.

[on a personal note, I want to make it clear that I, myself, am not defending any god or religion. I am more fascinated with Zen Buddhism :D]

He did believe in the human spirit or soul - his reasoning was that nothing leaves the universe, so the life force of people has to go somewhere when it leaves the body.

I love it when people make blanket statements about science without a single shred of evidence or creditable proof of any kind to back up their Lame statements. Blah, blah, blah, listen to me, I’m smart…

I really like this thread. I read a 500 pg biography on Einstein last summer, and I think he is one of the most amazing minds in history. He is often known for his work as a scientist, but he also had amazing perspectives on religion and spirituality that are not as known but were equally important to him.

Anyone who only knows scientific research in its practical applications may easily come to a wrong interpretation of the state of mind of the men who, surrounded by skeptical contemporaries, have shown the way to kindred spirits scattered over all countries in all centuries. Only those who have dedicated their lives to similar ends can have a living conception of the inspiration which gave these men the power to remain loyal to their purpose in spite of countless failures. It is cosmic religious sense which grants this power. - Einstein . .

lets ask questions instead of falsely sayings someone is wrong . . geez, your on the internet . . RESEARCH!!!

Well i agree with him... i do believe in something higher..
but who really knows.... well except the dead!

of course he didn't believe in religion. Science gives us a real answer to life while religion has yet to prove anything. And still there are millions of people in the world waiting for their God to speak to them. I've heard that Einstein was on LSD when he found the formula E=mc^2.

Science\math\astrology is the key!

Hadn't heard that JLAZ (the LSD thing), but I do know for a fact that Francis Crick dropped acid the same week that he discovered something called the double helix...

Anyway, I would have to agree with Einsteins views on traditional traditional religion (Christianity, Islam, Judaism...); but that is not to say that I do not have the utmost respect for the people that truly believe, it's their head after all. Who am I to mess with it?

um....Horntho......Science, math and ASTROLOGY?.....are you kidding me? Thats like saying, "I base all my research off of heavily verified data, careful watched experiments, and what letters my alphabet soup spells at dinner..."

M_Pavlov, the reason to be concerned about others' religious views is because those people so often try to push their religious ideologies on others. Examples of this are efforts to ban stem cell research based on the idea that a pinprick-sized collection of cells is a sacred life, or denial of equal rights to gays. Or taking away women's reproductive rights, or prayer in schools, or thinking we don't need to worry about global warming because the rapture is coming, or...

Truly one of the greatest men to ever grace this planet.

i feel the same way i guess great minds think alike!)

Einstein was right.

E=mc2 is central to Einstein's special theory of relativity, published in 1905. LSD was not discovered until the late 1930s. So, nope.

Religion is about faith, not proof. So one cannot fault religion for failing to prove anything. Religion and science are not mutually exclusive - it's more like they just use different parts of the brain.

i think he thought religion was 'childish superstition' because he knew God

...as do i on both counts

If one of the greatest minds to ever live has doubts about religion wouldn't we do well to doubt aswell?

He said he thought that the word god was the expression and product of human weaknesses. But later referred to his scientific career in terms of religion.

I don't think that his letter settles the question of whether or not Einstein believed in God or not.

Thank God for science & scientists. The only way we may hope to begin to understand the eternal forces of chaos & creation will be through these great minds that transcend everything they've been "told" so that they may make up their own minds & make discoveries that, hopefully, some day may elevate the human race above our present primitive mindset if Mother Earth allows us to live so long.

That's why he wasn't a theologian. Organized religions only divide people. How can someone's God be more "appropriate" than someone else's God? He plainly saw the inane, shallow, no-win arguments for weak people who need a crutch to justify their own existence & are too afraid to think for themselves about how they fit into our wonderful world & beyond. How can blind faith lead to ultimate truths when someone tells you to pick & choose certain beliefs & to not accept those that do not conform to their dogma. There are no more excuses in America's free thinking, information overloaded society to not question everyone & everything.

I see God in all & spell it N-A-T-U-R-E. Maybe Einstein did too. I consider myself truly spiritual after deep, introspective reflection and one with the universe by accepting all it contains-known & unknown. Einstein's mind blowing theory of relativity & groundwork for quantum physics will only get us closer to understanding the universe & our place in it-not which house of worship to attend for the answers.

Just because Einstein rejected religious sects doesn't mean he didn't have a sense of spirituality -- he was just approaching it from a physicist's point of view. Just because he didn't believe in a 'personal' god doesn't mean he rejected the idea of an impersonal, god-like energy in the universe. In calling the religious beliefs 'childish', he may be referring to those religious rules that are the 'no-no's -- no pork, no beer on Sunday, no sex outside marriage -- important to small-minded morality-police, but not to people like Einstein, whose head was out in the cosmos...

If you look at the origins of the meaning religion, it actually is derived from Hebrew meaning: "connection with the earth". So essentially religion was supposed to be for people to be one with the earth. Wherever this God dude came from, I have no idea!

Einstein was a very smart man!