Was albert einstain an atheist

Answer 1

For Einstein the Word God was Devoid of the Divine.

Most mortals believe in a "personal God", in heaven and souls, in idols and all kinds of sacred follies - - - and they also believe that Einstein believed in God.

Not only Einstein's personal God had been dead all along. In fact God was never even alive according to Einstein.

According to Einstein, God is "a product of human weakness".

Einstein's quotes have been used by dealers of delusions to confuse the common man to fool him about Einstein's true religious beliefs. Einstein categorically rejected the supernatural.

----------

"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."

, the quick answer is that Einstein (maybe) did not believe in a personal God. It is however, interesting how he arrived at that conclusion.

In developing the theory of relativity, Einstein realized that the equations led to the conclusion that the universe had a beginning. He didn't like the idea of a beginning, because he thought one would have to conclude that the universe was created by God. So, he added a cosmological constant to the equation to attempt to get rid of the beginning.

He said this was one of the worst mistakes of his life. Of course, the results of Edwin Hubble confirmed that the universe was expanding and had a beginning at some point in the past. So, Einstein became a deist - a believer in an impersonal creator God:

"I'm NOT an atheist and I don't think I can call myself a pantheist.

We are in the position of a little child entering a huge library filled with books in many languages. The child knows someone must have written those books. It does not know how. It does not understand the languages in which they are written. The child dimly suspects a mysterious order in the arrangements of the books, but doesn't know what it is. That, it seems to me, is the attitude of even the most intelligent human being toward God."

Towards the Further Shore (Victor Gollancz, London, 1968), p. 156; quoted in Jammer, p. 97

"I 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."

The Viereck interview with Einstein appeared first in the Saturday Evening Post (Oct. 26, 1929, p.17)

• Open in Google Docs Viewer
• Open link in new tab
• Open link in new window
• Open link in new incognito window
• Download file
• Copy link address
• Edit PDF File on PDFescape.com
• Open in Google Docs Viewer
• Open link in new tab
• Open link in new window
• Open link in new incognito window
• Download file
• Copy link address
• Edit PDF File on PDFescape.com

Answer 2

There is no black & white answer to this question, as Einstein made several contradicting statements on this matter throughout his life. Some examples:

1. Einstein rejected the label atheist, but called himself agnostic:

"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."

2. Einstein questions wether he can call himself a pantheist:

Your question [about God] 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.[

Conclusion:

Atheism and agnosticism are stricly speaking overlapping terms: one can be an agnostic atheist,i.e. someone who is agnostic about the existence of a supernatural entity but convinced there is no personal God as described in human religions.

You could consider Einstein a Deist(someone who believes in or allows for a supernatural, but non-intervening entity), but certainly not a Theist (someone who claims that ONLY his religion matches the will of a supernatural, intervening and personal God).

When he said" "God does not play dice with the universe" he is referring to Deism, not Theism. This statement is often quoted by Theists to incorrectly claim that Einstein believed in the Judeo-Christian deity.

Answer 3

It's a little unclear if Albert Einstein was an atheist. He certainly did not believe in a personal god or and of the widely held existing religions, such as the Biblical god of Abraham, or Buddha or the Hindu gods. He called himself an agnostic but appears to have believed in Pantheism or Spinozism which (i guess) is the belief that the universe itself is god. If that explanation of Pantheism is wrong I won't be surprised since I can't relate to the concept.

Answer 4

No, he was a Jew. However Einstein did not believe in a personal god.