Albert Einstein's religious views have been widely studied and often misunderstood. Einstein stated "I believe in Spinoza's God". He did not believe in a personal God who concerns himself with fates and actions of human beings, a view which he described as naïve.Calaprice, Alice (2000). The Expanded Quotable Einstein. Princeton: Princeton University Press, p. 218. He clarified, however, that, "I am not an atheist",Isaacson, Walter (2008). Einstein: His Life and Universe. New York: Simon and Schuster, p. 390. preferring to call himself an agnostic,Calaprice, Alice (2010). The Ultimate Quotable Einstein. Princeton NJ: Princeton University Press, p. 340. Letter to M. Berkowitz, 25 October 1950. Einstein Archive 59-215. or a "religious nonbeliever." In other interviews, he noted his belief in a cosmic "lawgiver" who sets the laws of the universe. Einstein also stated he did not believe in life after death, adding "one life is enough for me."Isaacson, Walter (2008). Einstein: His Life and Universe. New York: Simon and Schuster, p. 461. He was closely involved in his lifetime with several humanist groups. Einstein rejected a conflict between science and religion, and held that cosmic religion, defined in his book by that title as one “which recognizes neither dogmas nor God made in man’s image,”Einstein, Albert Cosmic Religion. New York: Covici Friede, 1931; p.49. was necessary for science.
Religious beliefs Einstein himself stated "I'm not an atheist, and I don't think I can call myself a pantheist ... I believe in Spinoza's God who reveals himself in the orderly harmony of what exists, not in a God who concerns himself with fates and actions of human beings". Einstein believed the problem of God was the "most difficult in the world"—a question that could not be answered "simply with yes or no". He conceded that "the problem involved is too vast for our limited minds".Viereck, George Sylvester (1930). Glimpses of the Great. New York: The Macaulay Company, pp. 372-373.
Einstein explained his view on the relationship between science and religion in his lectures of 1939 and 1941:
Early childhood Einstein was raised by secular Jewish parents and attended a local Catholic public elementary school in Munich.Baierlein, Ralph (1992). Newton to Einstein. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 201-202. In his Autobiographical Notes, Einstein wrote that he had gradually lost his faith early in childhood:
Personal God Einstein expressed his skepticism regarding the existence of a personal god, often describing this view as "naïve" and "childlike".Gilmore, Michael R. (1997). "Einstein's God: Just What Did Einstein Believe About God?" Skeptic 5 (2): 64; also July 2, 1945 letter to Guy Raner Jr. In a letter written in 1947, he stated that "The idea of a personal God seems to me an anthropological concept that I cannot take seriously."Hoffmann, Banesh (1972). Albert Einstein Creator and Rebel. New York: New American Library, p. 95. In a letter to Beatrice Frohlich on 17 December 1952, Einstein stated, "The idea of a personal God is quite alien to me and seems even naïve."Calaprice, Alice (2000). The Expanded Quotable Einstein. Princeton: Princeton University Press, p. 217. Einstein Archives 59-797.
Prompted by his colleague L. E. J. Brouwer, Einstein read the philosopher Eric Gutkind's book Choose Life,Gutkind, Eric (1952). Choose Life: The Biblical Call to Revolt. New York: Henry Schuman Press. a discussion of the relationship between Jewish revelation and the modern world. On January 3, 1954, Einstein replied to Gutkind: "The word God is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of honourable, but still primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish. .... For me the Jewish religion like all other religions is an incarnation of the most childish superstitions."Randerson, James (2008). "Childish superstition: Einstein's letter makes view of religion relatively clear", The Guardian (May 13). Concerns have been raised over The Guardians English translation. Original letter (handwriting, German). "Das Wort Gott ist für mich nichts als Ausdruck und Produkt menschlicher Schwächen, die Bibel eine Sammlung ehrwürdiger aber doch reichlich primitiver Legenden.... Für mich ist die unverfälschte jüdische Religion wie alle anderen Religionen eine Incarnation des primitiven Aberglaubens." Transcribed here and here. Translated here and here. Copies of this letter are also located in the Albert Einstein Archives: 33-337 (TLXTr), 33-338 (ALSX), and 59-897 (TLTr). Alice Calaprice (2011). The Ultimate Quotable Einstein. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, p. 342, cites Einstein Archives 33-337. In 2018, his letter to Gutkind was sold for $2.9 million.
On 22 March 1954, Einstein received a letter from Joseph Dispentiere, an Italian immigrant who had worked as an experimental machinist in New Jersey. Dispentiere had declared himself an atheist and was disappointed by a news report that had cast Einstein as conventionally religious. Einstein replied on 24 March 1954:
In his book Ideas and Opinions (1954), Einstein stated, "In their struggle for the ethical good, teachers of religion must have the stature to give up the doctrine of a personal God, that is, give up that source of fear and hope which in the past placed such vast power in the hands of priests." In December 1922, Einstein said the following on the idea of a saviour, "Denominational traditions I can only consider historically and psychologically; they have no other significance for me.Jammer, Max (2011). Einstein and Religion: Physics and Theology. Princeton NJ: Princeton University Press, p. 75.; Originally published in Albert Einstein (1929). Gelegentliches. ["A Miscellany"] Berlin: Soncino Gesellschaft, p. 9.
Pantheism and Spinoza's God Einstein had explored the idea that humans could not understand the nature of God. In an interview published in George Sylvester Viereck's book Glimpses of the Great (1930), Einstein responded to a question about whether or not he defined himself as a pantheist. He explained: Your question is the most difficult in the world. It is not a question I can answer simply with yes or no. I am not an Atheist. I do not know if I can define myself as a Pantheist. The problem involved is too vast for our limited minds. May I not reply with a parable? The human mind, no matter how highly trained, cannot grasp the universe. We are in the position of a little child, entering a huge library whose walls are covered to the ceiling with books in many different tongues. The child knows that someone must have written those books. It does not know who or how. It does not understand the languages in which they are written. The child notes a definite plan in the arrangement of the books, a mysterious order, which it does not comprehend, but only dimly suspects. That, it seems to me, is the attitude of the human mind, even the greatest and most cultured, toward God. We see a universe marvelously arranged, obeying certain laws, but we understand the laws only dimly. Our limited minds cannot grasp the mysterious force that sways the constellations. I am fascinated by Spinoza's Pantheism. I admire even more his contributions to modern thought. Spinoza is the greatest of modern philosophers, because he is the first philosopher who deals with the soul and the body as one, not as two separate things.G. S. Viereck, Glimpses of the Great (Macauley, New York, 1930) p. 372-373.
Einstein stated, "My views are near those of Spinoza: admiration for the beauty of and belief in the logical simplicity of the order which we can grasp humbly and only imperfectly. I believe that we have to content ourselves with our imperfect knowledge and understanding and treat values and moral obligations as a purely human problem—the most important of all human problems."Holton, G. J. and Yehuda Elkana (1997). Albert Einstein: Historical and Cultural Perspectives. New York: Dover Publications, p. 309.
On 24 April 1929, Einstein cabled Rabbi Herbert S. Goldstein in German: "I believe in Spinoza's God, who reveals himself in the harmony of all that exists, not in a God who concerns himself with the fate and the doings of mankind."Isaacson, Walter (2008). Einstein: His Life and Universe. New York: Simon and Schuster, pp. 388-389. Reported by The New York Times 25 April 1929 under the headline "Einstein believes in 'Spinoza's God'" He expanded on this in answers he gave to the Japanese magazine Kaizō in 1923:
Scientific research can reduce superstition by encouraging people to think and view things in terms of cause and effect. Certain it is that a conviction, akin to religious feeling, of the rationality and intelligibility of the world lies behind all scientific work of a higher order. [...] This firm belief, a belief bound up with a deep feeling, in a superior mind that reveals itself in the world of experience, represents my conception of God. In common parlance this may be described as "pantheistic" (Spinoza).Einstein, Albert (2010). Ideas And Opinions. New York: Three Rivers Press, p. 262.
Agnosticism and atheism Einstein said people could call him an agnostic rather than an atheist, stating: "I have repeatedly said that in my opinion the idea of a personal god is a childlike one. You may call me an agnostic, but I do not share the crusading spirit of the professional atheist whose fervor is mostly due to a painful act of liberation from the fetters of religious indoctrination received in youth. I prefer an attitude of humility corresponding to the weakness of our intellectual understanding of nature and of our own being." In an interview published by the German poet George Sylvester Viereck, Einstein stated, "I am not an Atheist." According to Prince Hubertus, Einstein said, "In view of such harmony in the cosmos which I, with my limited human mind, am able to recognize, there are yet people who say there is no God. But what really makes me angry is that they quote me for the support of such views."Clark, Ronald W. (1971). Einstein: The Life and Times. New York: World Publishing Company, p. 425.
In 1945, Guy Raner, Jr. wrote a letter to Einstein asking if it was true that a Jesuit priest had caused Einstein to convert from atheism. Einstein replied, "I have never talked to a Jesuit priest in my life and I am astonished by the audacity to tell such lies about me. From the viewpoint of a Jesuit priest I am, of course, and have always been an atheist. ... It is always misleading to use anthropomorphical concepts in dealing with things outside the human sphere—childish analogies. We have to admire in humility the beautiful harmony of the structure of this world—as far as we can grasp it, and that is all."Brian, Denis (1996). Einstein: A Life. New York: J. Wiley, p. 344. Einstein's Letter of 2 July 1945; cf. Michael Shermer 13 December 2010; cf. Bonhams sale, 14 Mar 2019, Eric C. Carens collection
In a 1950 letter to M. Berkowitz, Einstein stated that "My position concerning God is that of an agnostic. I am convinced that a vivid consciousness of the primary importance of moral principles for the betterment and ennoblement of life does not need the idea of a law-giver, especially a law-giver who works on the basis of reward and punishment."