Einstein's Religious Beliefs

A will like ourselves doesn't mean no will at all. I think the best quote is where Einstein says he is upset with atheists that try to count him as one of them. http://www.godandscience.org/apologetics/einstein.htmlNote his derision of "people who say there is no God." Just read his writings. It's abundantly clear he believed in a Creator God.Edited by Admin, : Fix quote.

I think we can narrow down the possibilities to two. Einstein sounds like he was either Agnostic, and refused to be shunted into the certainty implied by Atheism, or he was a Deist, who thought a god created the universe and "wrote" the laws of nature, but has no more impact on the Universe than that.

Wrong.When someone such as Einstein or Joseph Campbell states that their ideas are similar to those of Spinoza, they are not referring to Atheism, Agnosticism or Deism. Spinoza clearly identified God with that which makes the universe run, that which is behind the universe and not something that is in any way separate from creation itself such as some external entity, anthropomorphic or not. Deism states that God created the laws of the universe and then left such a creation alone to run itself. Spinoza states that the laws of the universe are a part of God and are not separable from creation itself.Nor does Spinoza state that the sum total of the universe itself is identical to God, which is the viewpoint of strict pantheism.From: Baruch Spinoza (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

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According to the traditional Judeo-Christian conception of divinity, God is a transcendent creator, a being who causes a world distinct from himself to come into being by creating it out of nothing. God produces that world by a spontaneous act of free will, and could just as easily have not created anything outside himself. By contrast, Spinoza's God is the cause of all things because all things follow causally and necessarily from the divine nature. Or, as he puts it, from God's infinite power or nature "all things have necessarily flowed, or always followed, by the same necessity and in the same way as from the nature of a triangle it follows, from eternity and to eternity, that its three angles are equal to two right angles" (Ip17s1). The existence of the world is, thus, mathematically necessary. It is impossible that God should exist but not the world. This does not mean that God does not cause the world to come into being freely, since nothing outside of God constrains him to bring it into existence. But Spinoza does deny that God creates the world by some arbitrary and undetermined act of free will. God could not have done otherwise. There are no possible alternatives to the actual world, and absolutely no contingency or spontaneity within that world. Everything is absolutely and necessarily determined.

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This is a more proper explanation of Spinoza's true belief system, and the system to which Einstein was referring to, than the mistaken notions I am seeing from some individuals in this thread.Of course, one is always welcome to read everything ever written by Spinoza, as I have. Perhaps if one did, such mistakes could more easily be avoided. An alternative would be to read the entire article from The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy referenced above. While not as through as reading Spinoza's life's works, It is much more accurate and detailed than any Wikipedia article or other common internet and print sources of various misconceptions.Additionally, I can easily imagine why anyone who understands what Spinoza was actually writing about may become exasperated in their old age and just state they are Agnostic or Atheist to get the incurably ignorant off their back. Often here in West Texas I have to give up on trying to explain why I am in agreement with Spinoza's concept of God and just have to say my religion is basically Jewish. The usual reply is "Oh of course, you look Jewish!" It is not completely true but appears to make sense to others with limited ability to understand complex concepts or religious beliefs that have a minuscule number of adherents.

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Read not to contradict and confute, not to believe and take for granted, not to find talk and discourse, but to weigh and consider - Francis BaconThe more we understand particular things, the more we understand God - Spinoza

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A will like ourselves doesn't mean no will at all. I think the best quote is where Einstein says he is upset with atheists that try to count him as one of them.

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Can you come up with a way of having a will that ISN'T like ourselves, in a way that fits with Einsteins other statements ?And don't forget that Einstein is also upset with those that wish to count him as a theist. While you want to paint Einstein as essentially a deist who believes in an anthromorphic but noninterventionist God, that ignores his explicit agreement with Spinoza and rejection of any view of God as anthropomorphic.

Einstein also said: I wouldn't pretend to know how to unravel the contradiction.--Percy

I think we have to say that Einstein's beliefs were in some way close to atheism and pantheism but not close enough that he felt happy about accepting either label. For instance his concept of God was something that HE considered to be a God, but others would not. That would be why he qualifies his statement about pantheism with "in common terms" - suggesting that there is some nuance that distinguishes his beliefs from pantheism in a stricter sense.

As I said in the OP, I don't think Einstein believed in God at all. I think he just used God as a metaphor for the laws of the universe, which for him evoked a spiritual response.--PercyEdited by Percy, : Improve wording.

Taking all the quotes that have been presented here, along with the Spinoza you provided, (It's been a long time since I read Spinoza, I focus more of my time on Moral Theories.) I think we can say only one thing for sure: Einstein is the only one could have told us exactly what he meant, and we have no way of knowing if we even happen to stumble upon what he did, in fact, mean.But what it sounds to me, and this could be completely wrong, is that what Einstein is saying is that IF there is a god, then that god is a combination of all the Natural Laws. That if we finally find the Theory of Everything and combine all the forces we know of into one grand, elegant theory, then we have described the nature of god.To me, I would consider that equivocation, and a form of Agnosticism. I feel truly in awe when I look up into the night sky, or when I look across a beautiful, natural vista. It sounds like Einstein did as well, and he decided to call that experience divine. That sense of divinity was produced in him by the natural laws of the universe, therefore, the natural laws of the universe are god.Again, I could be talking out my ass here, and since we can't ask Einstein, we'll never know for sure.

I think any discrepancies between authentic quotations attributed to Einstein is nothing odd when you consider that behind the genius is a human being. All people are prone to change their opinions from time to time. If someone asked for our opinions at various points in our life and then at a later time compared our quotations, they would no doubt see instances of subtle or perhaps even glaring discrepancies. These discrepancies would not represent contradictions but shifts in thought.It is pretty clear that Einstein had always denied a belief in a personal deity and was not in any way supportive of the theistic Judeo-Christian tradition. It also seems plausible that he had a shift in thought later in his life. Some of his earlier quotations do seem to indicate he held a view somewhat akin to Pantheism. Later in his life he tended to speak as if he was using deity as a metaphor.Also, you need to be careful when pulling quotes, especially off the Internet. There are many archives containing alleged correspondence between Einstein and his peers. Not all quotations and letters are authentic and there is quite a bit of fraud out there.

I agree with your assessment.But I cannot help but wonder why it actually matters what Einstein thought.
Einstein is considered by many to be the very definition of scientfic genius. However nobody, least of all the man himself, has ever made any claim that he was somehow any more privy to knowledge regarding the existence or absence of God than the rest of us.I have no quotes with which to back this up and can claim little knowledge of the man himself - But it seems to me that whatever his views on God the one thing Einstein would not have appreciated or considered valid is the weight and importance others place on his views with regard to this matter.If Einstein did declare himself an atheist what would it change?
Likewise if he had declared himself a true believer what would that change?
It seems too much to place such emphasis on the views of one man.

There is no contradiction whatsoever. He couldn't be plainer. You can't believe in a "superior intelligence" that shows itself in the universe without believing in God, period. He over and over again states his belief in God. He just doesn't think this God is the same as the personal God of most religions. He also believes God is subject to the same principles His/It's intelligence reveals.Spinoza, just to make a point, believed very much in a Creator Being. One item many atheists naively miss is the fact that Spinoza didn't accept a strictly materialist universe as some think. He believed created things were made from an uncreated substance which is part of a divine Being. Now, you could argue that the uncreated substance is material, but it's a different perspective than materialists. Everything, not just "physical" things, are an extension and part of Spinoza's God, both what we can see and measure and what we cannot.

If you don't see the contradiction, you're either not reading the quotes that counter your beliefs about what Einstein believed, or you're being intellectually dishonest. Percy provided a quote where the man said he wasn't a panthesist, and then one where he basically said he was a pantheist.
I don't know exactly what Einstein believed, or if his beliefs changed throughout his lifetime, but apparently the one thing we call agree on is that he didn't believe in a personal god.
I'd say Einsten was essentially agnostic, and also that it doesn't really matter that much. It is annoying when Christians use Einstein quotes in an attempt to support their beliefs though.

Or conversely you have poor reading skills and shouldn't accuse those with better knowledge of being intellectually dishonest?Fact is he never says he is a pantheist. He says quite plainly he is not an atheist, that he is not a pantheist either. He quite plainly states over and over again, he believes in a Creator God, but doesn't think God answers prayer. God is not a personal God as most religions advocates. He sets up immutable laws, which He Himself is subject to. How you can read what he says and not see this is astonishing to me!Maybe if you approach this not trying to fit Eistein into some specific camp and just reread his words, you can see it. He is not an atheist and deplores atheists that try to say he is. He explicitly says it upsets him. At the same time, he is not favorable towards traditional religion, though he does argue, over and over again, that a specific religious feeling is necessary for true, scientific discovery, and that great intellects possess this feeling.

If you could say to Einstein, "After reading many of your quotes, my understanding is that you believe in a Creator God," I think he would reply, "Young man, when you put my views in your own words it opens them up to interpretations I never intended."--Percy

Maybe so, maybe not....but one thing is clear, despite rejecting a traditional view of God, he was not atheist and did believe in God.