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Religion and Spirituality
Albert Einstein on Religion and Science
The following article by Albert Einstein appeared in the New York Times Magazine
on November 9, 1930 pp 1-4. It has been reprinted in Ideas and Opinions, Crown
Publishers, Inc. 1954, pp 36 - 40.
It also appears in Einstein's book The World
as I See It, Philosophical Library, New York, 1949, pp. 24 - 28.
Everything that the human race has done and thought is concerned with the
satisfaction of deeply felt needs and the assuagement of pain. One has to keep
this constantly in mind if one wishes to understand spiritual movements and
their development. Feeling and longing are the motive force behind all human
endeavor and human creation, in however exalted a guise the latter may present
themselves to us. Now what are the feelings and needs that have led men to
religious thought and belief in the widest sense of the words? A little
consideration will suffice to show us that the most varying emotions preside
over the birth of religious thought and experience. With primitive man it is
above all fear that evokes religious notions - fear of hunger, wild beasts,
sickness, death. Since at this stage of existence understanding of causal
connections is usually poorly developed, the human mind creates illusory beings
more or less analogous to itself on whose wills and actions these fearful
happenings depend. Thus one tries to secure the favor of these beings by
carrying out actions and offering sacrifices which, according to the tradition
handed down from generation to generation, propitiate them or make them well
disposed toward a mortal. In this sense I am speaking of a religion of fear.
This, though not created, is in an important degree stabilized by the formation
of a special priestly caste which sets itself up as a mediator between the
people and the beings they fear, and erects a hegemony on this basis. In many
cases a leader or ruler or a privileged class whose position rests on other
factors combines priestly functions with its secular authority in order to make
the latter more secure; or the political rulers and the priestly caste make
common cause in their own interests.
The social impulses are another source of the crystallization of religion.
Fathers and mothers and the leaders of larger human communities are mortal and
fallible. The desire for guidance, love, and support prompts men to form the
social or moral conception of God. This is the God of Providence, who protects,
disposes, rewards, and punishes; the God who, according to the limits of the
believer's outlook, loves and cherishes the life of the tribe or of the human
race, or even or life itself; the comforter in sorrow and unsatisfied longing;
he who preserves the souls of the dead. This is the social or moral conception
of God.
The Jewish scriptures admirably illustrate the development from the religion of
fear to moral religion, a development continued in the New Testament. The
religions of all civilized peoples, especially the peoples of the Orient, are
primarily moral religions. The development from a religion of fear to moral
religion is a great step in peoples' lives. And yet, that primitive religions
are based entirely on fear and the religions of civilized peoples purely on
morality is a prejudice against which we must be on our guard. The truth is that
all religions are a varying blend of both types, with this differentiation: that
on the higher levels of social life the religion of morality predominates.
Common to all these types is the anthropomorphic character of their conception
of God. In general, only individuals of exceptional endowments, and
exceptionally high-minded communities, rise to any considerable extent above
this level. But there is a third stage of religious experience which belongs to
all of them, even though it is rarely found in a pure form: I shall call it
cosmic religious feeling. It is very difficult to elucidate this feeling to
anyone who is entirely without it, especially as there is no anthropomorphic
conception of God corresponding to it.
The individual feels the futility of human desires and aims and the sublimity
and marvelous order which reveal themselves both in nature and in the world of
thought. Individual existence impresses him as a sort of prison and he wants to
experience the universe as a single significant whole. The beginnings of cosmic
religious feeling already appear at an early stage of development, e.g., in many
of the Psalms of David and in some of the Prophets. Buddhism, as we have learned
especially from the wonderful writings of Schopenhauer, contains a much stronger
element of this.
The religious geniuses of all ages have been distinguished by this kind of
religious feeling, which knows no dogma and no God conceived in man's image; so
that there can be no church whose central teachings are based on it. Hence it is
precisely among the heretics of every age that we find men who were filled with
this highest kind of religious feeling and were in many cases regarded by their
contemporaries as atheists, sometimes also as saints. Looked at in this light,
men like Democritus, Francis of Assisi, and Spinoza are closely akin to one
another.
How can cosmic religious feeling be communicated from one person to another, if
it can give rise to no definite notion of a God and no theology? In my view, it
is the most important function of art and science to awaken this feeling and
keep it alive in those who are receptive to it.
We thus arrive at a conception of the relation of science to religion very
different from the usual one. When one views the matter historically, one is
inclined to look upon science and religion as irreconcilable antagonists, and
for a very obvious reason. The man who is thoroughly convinced of the universal
operation of the law of causation cannot for a moment entertain the idea of a
being who interferes in the course of events - provided, of course, that he
takes the hypothesis of causality really seriously. He has no use for the
religion of fear and equally little for social or moral religion. A God who
rewards and punishes is inconceivable to him for the simple reason that a man's
actions are determined by necessity, external and internal, so that in God's
eyes he cannot be responsible, any more than an inanimate object is responsible
for the motions it undergoes. Science has therefore been charged with
undermining morality, but the charge is unjust. A man's ethical behavior should
be based effectually on sympathy, education, and social ties and needs; no
religious basis is necessary. Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be
restrained by fear of punishment and hopes of reward after death.
It is therefore easy to see why the churches have always fought science and
persecuted its devotees.On the other hand, I maintain that the cosmic religious
feeling is the strongest and noblest motive for scientific research. Only those
who realize the immense efforts and, above all, the devotion without which
pioneer work in theoretical science cannot be achieved are able to grasp the
strength of the emotion out of which alone such work, remote as it is from the
immediate realities of life, can issue. What a deep conviction of the
rationality of the universe and what a yearning to understand, were it but a
feeble reflection of the mind revealed in this world, Kepler and Newton must
have had to enable them to spend years of solitary labor in disentangling the
principles of celestial mechanics! Those whose acquaintance with scientific
research is derived chiefly from its practical results easily develop a
completely false notion of the mentality of the men who, surrounded by a
skeptical world, have shown the way to kindred spirits scattered wide through
the world and through the centuries. Only one who has devoted his life to
similar ends can have a vivid realization of what has inspired these men and
given them the strength to remain true to their purpose in spite of countless
failures. It is cosmic religious feeling that gives a man such strength. A
contemporary has said, not unjustly, that in this materialistic age of ours the
serious scientific workers are the only profoundly religious people.
Albert Einstein on Religion, Antisemitism and God
The following is taken from The Private Albert Einstein by Peter A. Bucky with Allen G. Weakland,
Andrews and McMeel, Kansas City, 1992, pp 85-87.
Bucky:
"It's ironic that your namc has been synonymous with science in the twentieth
century, and yet there has always been a lot of controversy surrounding you in
relation to religious questions. How do you account for this unusual
circumstance, since science and religion are usually thought to be at odds?"
Einstein:
"Well, I do not think that it is necessarily the case that science and religion
are natural opposites. In fact, I think that there is a very close connection
between the two. Further, I think that science without religion is lame and,
conversely, that religion without science is blind. Both are important and
should work hand-in-hand. It seems to mc that whoever doesn't wonder about the
truth in religion and in science might as well be dead."
Bucky:
So then, you consider yourself to be a religious man?
Einstein:
I believe in mystery and, frankly, I sometimes face this mystery with great fear.
In other words, I think that there are many things in the universe that we
cannot perceive or penetrate and that also we experience some of the most
beautiful things in life in only a very primitive form. Only in relation to
these mysteries do I consider myself to be a religious man. But I sense these
things deeply. What I cannot understand is how there could possibly be a God who
would reward or punish his subjects or who could induce us to develop our will
in our daily life.
Bucky:
You don't believe in God, then?
Einstein:
Ah, this is what I mean about religion and science going hand-in-hand! Each has
a place, but each must be relegated to its sphere. Let's assume that we are
dealing with a theoretical physicist or scientist who is very well-acquaintcd
with the different laws of the universe, such as how the planets orbit the sun
and how the satellites in turn orbit around their respectivc planets. Now, this
man who has studied and understands these different laws-how could he possibly
believe in one God who would be capable of disturbing the paths of these great
orbiting masses?
No, the natural laws of science have not only been worked out theoretically but
have been proven also in practice. I cannot then believe in this concept of an
anthropomorphic God who has the powers of interfering with these natural laws.
As I said before, the most beautiful and most profound religious emotion that we
can experience is the sensation of the mystical. And this mysticality is the
power of all true science. If there is any such concept as a God, it is a subtle
spirit, not an image of a man that so many have fixed in their minds. In
essence, my religion consists of a humble admiration for this illimitable
superior spirit that reveals itself in the slight details that we are able to
perceive with our frail and feeble minds .
Bucky:
Do you think perhaps that most people need religion to keep them in check, so to
speak?
Einstein:
No, clearly not. I do not believe that a man should be restrained in his daily
actions by being afraid of punishment after death or that he should do things
only because in this way he will be rewarded after he dies. This does not make
sense. The proper guidance during the life of a man should be the weight that he
puts upon ethics and the amount of consid eration that he has for others.
Education has a great role to play in this respect. Religion should have nothing
to do with a fear of living or a fear of death, but should instead be a striving
after rational knowledge.
Bucky:
And yet, with all of these thoughts, you are still identified strongly in the
public mind as definitely Jewish and this certainly is a very traditional
religion.
Einstein:
Actually, my first religious training of any kind was in the Catholic catechism.
A fluke, of course, only because the primary school that I first went to was a
Catholic one. I was, as a matter of fact, the only Jewish child in the school.
This actually worked to my advantage, since it made it easier for me to isolate
myself from the rest of the class and find that comfort in solitude that I so
cherished.
Bucky:
But don't you find any discrepancy between your previous somewhat anti-religious
statements and your willingness to be identified publicly as a Jew?
Einstein:
Not necessarily. Actually it is a very difficult thing to even define a Jew. The
closest that I can come to describing it is to ask you to visualize a snail. A
snail that you see at the ocean consists of the body that is snuggled inside of
the house which it always carries around with it. But let's picture what would
happen if we lifted the shell off of the snail. Would we not still describe the
unprotected body as a snail? In just the same way, a Jew who sheds his faith
along the way, or who even picks up a different one, is still a Jew.
Bucky:
You were the focus of much attack on the part of the Nazis in Germany because of
your Jewishness. What explanation have you come up with for why the Jews have
been hated so much throughout history?
Einstein:
It seems obvious to me that Jews make an ideal scapegoat for any country
experiencing social, economic, or political difficulties. The reason for this is
twofold. First of all, there is hardly a country in the world that does not have
a Jewish segment in the population. And secondly, wherever Jews reside, they are
a minority of the population, and a small minority at that, so that they are not
powerful enough to defend themselves against a mass attack. It is very easy for
governments to divert attention from their own mistakes by blaming Jews for this
or that political theory, such as communism or socialism.
For instance, after the First World War, many Germans accused the Jews first of
starting the war and then of losing it. This is nothing new, of course.
Throughout history, Jews have been accused of all sorts of treachery, such as
poisoning water wells or murdering children as religious sacrifices. Much of
this can be attributed to jealousy, because, despite the fact that Jewish people
have always been thinly populated in various countries, they have always had a
disproportionate number of outstanding public figures.
Communicating with God
Much has been written on the topic of the ways of communicating with God.
Prerequisite for that is understanding what we mean with God. If you believe
that God is a big man/father figure that is somewhere out there then it's only
logical to reason that to communicate with God you would have to speak to him
either in out loud or via thought/prayer or through a representative who does
claim to have contact with God.
In my view, God is not a "he" or "she" or even a single separate being/entity.
No, I feel God is limitless, endless, pervades the whole of space and thus has always been and
always will be. It is the Life Energy and Intelligent Consciousness that
pervades everything and everyone and follows certain unchangeable Universal Laws
(which I am just beginning to learn).
Therefore I, as well as the CLO (Children of the Law of One) call God the Universal Spirit.
The realization that God is thus within and without us gives us the power to be
Self-Reliant, for we have all the power and knowledge within us. This ensures us
that we do not have to communicate with a being that is 'out there' somewhere
through "representatives" of a God,
but rather make that contact with our own inner Being - a Loving, Harmonious and Intelligent Spirit
which can be accessed through Love and Humility.
This Inner Being within us is also called
the Intuition. Through Intuition we can be guided to perform the right tasks at
the right time with the right intention. By performing every act energetically,
intelligently, truthfully and lovingly we can reach the "Foursquare" as
detailed in Eugene Fersen's the Science of Being.
Communicating with God
is a website that offers a blueprint to communicate with God through the Inner Being/Intuition
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