Albert Einstein, the famous physicist, philosopher, and humanist, never ceases to fascinate and inspire with his originality. Alice Calaprice, the chief editor at Princeton University Press, has collected quotes about Einstein from others, as well as quotes attributed to him, in her book The Ultimate Quotable Einstein. Each quote in this inspirational collection is carefully documented. The book has been translated into twenty-five languages. We present here quotes that relate to his views on religion and God.If you attempt, with our limited means, to penetrate into the secrets of nature, you will discover that behind all apparent connections there is something subtle, intangible, and inexplicable. Deep respect for this force that transcends the possibilities of our knowledge is my religion. In that sense, I am, in fact, religious.My religiosity consists of humble admiration for the infinite. to my belief in the presence of a higher rational power that is revealed in the unfathomable universe. It is extremely difficult to explain this [cosmic religious] feeling to someone who is completely foreign to it… Religious geniuses of all ages have stood out with this kind of religious feeling that does not recognize dogma or a God in the image of man, so there cannot be a church whose doctrine is based on it… I believe that the most important role of art and science is to awaken this feeling and keep it alive in those who are receptive to it. The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of true art and science. One who is unfamiliar with this feeling, who is no longer capable of pausing and wondering, and experiencing awe, is as good as dead: their eyes are closed. This insight into the mystery of life, even if accompanied by a feeling of fear, has also provided impetus to… Religion. To know that which is unfathomable to us truly exists, manifesting as the deepest wisdom and the greatest beauty, which can only be perceived in their most primitive form by our limited abilities – that knowledge, that feeling resides in the heart of true religiosity. In that sense, and only in that sense, I belong among the ranks of deeply religious people. The scientist is consumed by a sense of universal causality… His religious feeling is expressed in the form of an ecstatic marvel at the harmony of natural laws, which reveals such a superior intelligence that, compared to it, all systematic thinking and action of human beings is completely insignificant reflection… It is unquestionably very similar [this feeling] to what has engulfed the religious geniuses of all ages. There are fanatical atheists whose intolerance equals that of religious fanatics and springs from the same source… They are creatures who cannot hear the music of the spheres. I do not believe that philosophy and reason alone will be man’s guide in the foreseeable future. However , it will remain the most beautiful refuge, which has always been chosen by the minority. The human being is part of a whole that we call the Universe, a part limited in time and space. It has the experience of itself, its thoughts and feelings as something separate from others – which is in a way an optical illusion of its consciousness. The effort to free ourselves from this illusion is the basic aspiration of true religion. Not to maintain it, but to strive to overcome it, is a way to achieve a reachable measure of inner peace. I have not found a better term than religious for the feeling of faith in the rational nature of reality, to the extent that it is accessible to human reason. Whenever this feeling is absent, science degenerates into uninspired empiricism. I feel religious to the extent that I am imbued with awareness of the inadequacy of the human mind to deeper understand the harmony of the universe that we strive to formulate as the laws of nature. I am not trying to imagine God. It is enough to feel awe for the structure of the world, to the extent that our limited senses allow us to appreciate it. </ section>Albert Einstein, the famous physicist, philosopher, and humanist, continues to fascinate and inspire with his originality. Alice Calaprice, the senior editor at Princeton University Press, collected quotes about Einstein from others, as well as quotes attributed to him, in her book The Ultimate Quotable Einstein. Each quote in this inspirational collection is carefully documented. The book has been translated into twenty-five languages. Here are some quotes that relate to his views on religion and God.
If you try with our limited means to penetrate the secrets Nature, you will realize that behind all the apparent connections there is something subtle, intangible and inexplicable. Deep respect for that power that transcends the limits of our understanding is my religion. In that sense, I am actually religious.
My religiosity consists of humble admiration for the infinitely exalted spirit that reveals itself in the few things we can comprehend about the knowable world. This deep emotional belief in the presence of a higher rational force that is revealed in the unknowable universe forms my idea of God.
It is very difficult to explain this [cosmic religious] feeling to someone who is completely unfamiliar with it… Religious geniuses of all eras have stood out with this kind of religious feeling that does not know dogma or a God in human image, so there cannot be a church whose doctrine is based on it… I believe that the most important role of art and science is to awaken this feeling and keep it alive in those who are receptive to it.
The most beautiful thing that We can experience the mysterious. It is the source of true art and science. One who is unfamiliar with this feeling, who is no longer able to stop and wonder and feel awe, is like they are dead: their eyes are closed. This insight into the mystery of life, even if accompanied by a feeling of fear, has also given impetus to religion. Knowing that what is incomprehensible to us truly exists, manifesting itself as the deepest wisdom and greatest beauty, which our limited abilities can only perceive in their most primitive form – that knowledge, that feeling, is found in the heart of true religiosity. In that sense, and only in that sense, I belong among the ranks of deeply religious people.
A scientist is captivated by a sense of universal causality… Their religious feeling is expressed in the form of ecstatic astonishment at the harmony of natural laws that reveal such superior intelligence that, in comparison, all systematic thinking and actions of human beings are completely insignificant reflections… Devotion This feeling is undeniably very similar to what religious geniuses of all time have experienced.
There are fanatical atheists whose intolerance is equal to that of religious fanatics, and it stems from the same source… They are beings who cannot hear the music of the spheres. I do not believe that philosophy and reason alone will be man’s guide in the foreseeable future. However, they will remain the most beautiful refuge, as they have always been, for the chosen few.
The human being is a part of the whole that we call the Universe, a part that is limited in time and space. It has the experience of itself, its thoughts and feelings, as something separate from others – which is in a way an optical illusion of its consciousness. The effort to free ourselves from this illusion is the basic aspiration of true religion. Not to maintain it, but to strive to overcome it, is the way to attain a reachable measure of inner peace.
I have not found a better term than religious for the feeling of faith in the rational nature of reality, to the extent that it is accessible to human reason. Whenever this feeling is absent, science is a dead end or just austerity and barrenness. Art degenerates into uninspired empiricism.
I feel religious to the extent that I am imbued with an awareness of the human mind’s inadequacy to fully comprehend the harmony of the universe that we strive to formulate as the laws of nature.
I do not attempt to imagine God. It is enough to feel awe towards the structure of the world, to the extent that our flawed senses allow us to appreciate it.
The most beautiful gift of nature is that it offers us the pleasure of looking around and trying to understand what we see… I experience nature as a magnificent structure that we can only imperfectly grasp, and it must fill a thinking person with a sense of humility. This is a truly religious feeling that has nothing to do with mysticism.
