Einstein’s “Religion”

February 18th, 2008

Yesterday I blogged about the evolution vs. intelligent design “controversy” in the guise of bashing Ben Stein for falling prey to sloppy thinking and misdirection. There is no scientific controversy about evolution in general, although we continue to study the process and learn more about it. Most creationists don’t actually understand it, or many other things, well enough to have a real discussion on the topic. I’ll keep with the theme for this post since it intersects with research I’ve been doing for a new novel.

One place where those discussions often go, even though it is a red herring, is about how so many scientists are religious, Einstein in particular, presumably because he was arguably the greatest scientist of the 20th Century, if not ever.

The reason I believe this issue comes up so much is because creationists reason poorly and don’t know too much science or history. They think that science is like religion, and believe that an appeal to authority is a convincing argument, while at the same time getting their authority wrong because they only look far enough to support what they already think to be true. It gets me steamed not because the points have any merit, but because the points are just so totally wrong.

Here are some facts about scientists in general and Einstein specifically. I’m not going to try to get into the “whys” but just want to put the facts out there.

From Wikipedia, concerning scientists in general, with good citations: In total, about 60% of scientists in the United States expressed disbelief or doubt in such a god.[19] This compared with 58% in 1914 and 67% in 1933. Among leading scientists defined as members of the National Academy of Sciences, 72.2% expressed disbelief and 93% – disbelief or doubt in the existence of a personal god in 1998.[20]

A survey conducted between 2005 and 2007 by Elaine Ecklund of University at Buffalo, The State University of New YorkTempleton Foundation found that over 60% of natural and social science professors are atheist or agnostic. When asked whether they believed in God, nearly 34% answered “I do not believe in God” and about 30% answering “I do not know if there is a God and there is no way to find out,”[21] According to the same survey, “[m]any scientists see themselves as having a spirituality not attached to a particular religious tradition.”[22] In further analysis, published in 2007, Ecklund and Christopher Scheitle conclude that “the assumption that becoming a scientist necessarily leads to loss of religion is untenable” and that “[i]t appears that those from non-religious backgrounds disproportionately self-select into scientific professions. This may reflect the fact that there is tension between the religious tenets of some groups and the theories and methods of particular sciences and it contributes to the large number of non-religious scientists.”[23]

And as for Einstein? He fits right in there.

Einstein was ethnically Jewish and a supporter of Israel (even being offered, and turning down, the position of the first President). He was only religiously Jewish as a child and after a brief time rejected that faith. So what did he believe?

The casual observer, particularly shallow creationists I’ve come across on internet forums, know about his many quotes referring to “god” such as, “God does not play dice.” They conclude, incorrectly, that Einstein believed in a personal god and was religious in the conventional sense. It’s unfortunate about Einstein’s word choice, and he had to explain himself many times.

There’s a nice webpage about Einstein and Religion, and I suggest you check it out if you’re interested. I’ll just provide a few choice quotes that outline some key ideas about his views. By the standards of traditional religion, Einstein was an atheist, although he’s better described as a spiritual man, a deist/agnostic who believed in the god of Spinoza, who was considered in his own time an atheist. Einstein used the term “god” to refer to a universe that made sense, the order of a world following natural laws.

In Einstein’s own words:

“From the viewpoint of a Jesuit priest I am, of course, and have always been an atheist…. 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 being.”

and

“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.”

Still, creationists persist and make the error of believing that Einstein’s views on religion will sway those of other scientists to their point of view, and compile lists of scientists who believed in god (with some likely errors given the threats to the non-religious in certain places and times).

And for the record, if anyone has ever been a real hero to me, it is Einstein.    He thought outside the box, simply and directly, following his own reasoning to profound truths about the nature of our world.   He   spoke out with strong moral positions even when they were unpopular.     He was accessible to the common person, displaying both wisdom and humor.   He wasn’t perfect, but he did shine as brilliant as a star.

Believe what you want, but get your facts straight.   Better yet, keep focused on real arguments and don’t get distracted by   red herrings.   Do your own thinking, secure your own education, and do it right and deeply.   Too many do take things on faith from authorities — good ones and false.   Science ultimately does not depend on authority, but on the results of experiments that “god” gives us and we can verify.   It’s up to us to interpret them in the end.

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