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30-Second Summary
Headline Link: ‘Childish Superstition: Einstein's Letter Makes View of Religion Relatively Clear’
Background: Einstein’s thoughts on religion
Key Players: Albert Einstein
Reference: Einstein’s Letter to Eric Gutkind
Related Topics: Einstein was asked to be second president of Israel
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New Letter Shows Einstein Critical of Religion
by
Liz Colville
In the letter, Albert Einstein refers to religion as “childish superstition,” adding fuel to the debate over the scientist’s beliefs.
30-Second Summary
Albert Einstein’s religious beliefs have long been the subject of debate among the “believers and non-believers wanting to claim the greatest scientist of the 20th century as their own,” British newspaper The Guardian reported Tuesday.
However, this newly publicized letter could help resolve the dispute. Scheduled for auction in London this week after being held in a private collection for over 50 years, the document reveals a man critical of religious beliefs.
In the letter, written to philosopher Eric Gutkind on Jan. 3, 1954, Einstein denounces his Jewish faith, calling it a “childish superstition.” The scientist then goes on to deny the idea that the Jews are God’s chosen people, writing that “they are no better than other human groups.”
However, other evidence explored by Einstein scholars shows that the theoretical physicist defied any religious “pigeonhole.” For example, although he questioned religion at a young age, Einstein declared later in life that a “cosmic religious feeling” guided his work.
However, this newly publicized letter could help resolve the dispute. Scheduled for auction in London this week after being held in a private collection for over 50 years, the document reveals a man critical of religious beliefs.
In the letter, written to philosopher Eric Gutkind on Jan. 3, 1954, Einstein denounces his Jewish faith, calling it a “childish superstition.” The scientist then goes on to deny the idea that the Jews are God’s chosen people, writing that “they are no better than other human groups.”
However, other evidence explored by Einstein scholars shows that the theoretical physicist defied any religious “pigeonhole.” For example, although he questioned religion at a young age, Einstein declared later in life that a “cosmic religious feeling” guided his work.
Headline Link: ‘Childish Superstition: Einstein's Letter Makes View of Religion Relatively Clear’
Einstein’s letter, written to the philosopher Eric Gutkind, is being sold at Bloomsbury Auctions in London this week, according to The Guardian. Gutkind sold the letter in 1955, the year Einstein died, and it has remained in a private collection until now. Two Einstein scholars deeply familiar with Einstein’s work, Max Jammer, author of “Einstein and Religion,” and John Brooke, had no knowledge of the letter.
Source: The Guardian
Background: Einstein’s thoughts on religion
“Einstein and Religion,” a site run by a professor at St. Cloud University, houses a vast amount of the scientist’s thoughts on religion. In a letter published in The Christian Register in 1948, Einstein explains the apparently “irreconcilable” ideas of religion and science by saying, “while most people readily agree on what is meant by ‘science,’ they are likely to differ on the meaning of ‘religion.’”
Source: EinsteinandReligion.com
To date, Einstein’s most famous statement about religion is “science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind,” which he made in 1941 in a lecture called “Science, Philosophy and Religion: a Symposium.” The lecture was prepared for a conference at the Jewish Theological Institute in New York, and remains a focal point of scholarly discussion on Einstein’s beliefs.
Source: EinsteinandReligion.com
Key Players: Albert Einstein
The German-born Albert Einstein, 1879-1955, is the “father of relativity” and arguably the greatest scientist of the 20th century. Winner of the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics, Einstein is best known for his special theory of relativity, general theory of relativity, and numerous other explorations of previously established and new scientific concepts. A biography of Einstein is available on the Nobel Prize site.
Source: Nobel Prize Official Site
Reference: Einstein’s Letter to Eric Gutkind
Einstein’s letter, handwritten in German, is available for viewing on the Bloomsbury Auctions Web site.
Source: Bloomsbury Auctions
Related Topics: Einstein was asked to be second president of Israel
After the 1952 death of Chaim Weizman, Israel’s first president, the editor of Israeli evening newspaper Maariv proposed that Weizman be succeeded by “the greatest Jew alive: Einstein.” The idea took root, and Einstein, then a naturalized U.S. citizen, was formally asked to take up the post by Israeli envoy Abba Eban. Einstein politely declined, saying, “I have neither the natural ability nor the experience to deal with human beings."
Source: Time
Einstein wrote to Israeli Prime Minister David Ben Gurion in 1952, “My relationship to the Jewish people has become my strongest human bond, ever since I became fully aware of our precarious situation among the nations of the world." The Web site of the Historical Society of Princeton hosts this piece of writing, along with other memorable Einstein works.
Source: Historical Society of Princeton
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