wow God did that!

[Michael]

To me it's also interesting how Einstein's views on religion evolved. As a younger person, he was more 'devoutly' religious than when he got older. What you described about the views and a quote of Einstein came from 1929. The quote I provided was from 1952. Seems like Einstein became less religious and less believing in any "personal" connection to "God" or even the word "God" the older and more experienced he became.

To me another question is: were scientists in the US allowed to openly declare (even in private letters) their disbelief in personal Gods without loosing their jobs or pensions or stuff like that in the years between 1900 and 1960? I mean, Einstein declared himself to be an agnostic and a humanist. But never an atheist. Maybe he was too scared to do it for fear of loosing everything?

I think it's probably natural to put less faith in religious dogma and put more credence on your own personal experiences as we grow older. I've certainly 'lost my birth religion", but I've since embraced a "belief system" that still includes my love of Christ. I'd say it's probably just normal to evolve over time in terms of religious beliefs.

It's probably never been particularly useful professionally to come out of the closet in terms of atheistic leanings. On the other hand he really seemed to resent being characterized as an atheist.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_views_of_Albert_Einstein#Agnosticism.2C_deism.2C_and_atheism

Agnosticism, deism, and atheism

Einstein stated in his final letter: 'I am not an atheist.',[19] explaining at one point: "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."[1]

I think he was rather uncomfortable being compared to an atheist, but quite comfortable being considered an agnostic. I think he ultimately just realized that any 'belief' we hold is limited based upon the limits of the human condition. He and I both shared a love of nature and a respect for nature, and I can relate to his 'scientific neutrality' as it relates to religious issues.

 

[Aureus]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_views_of_Albert_Einstein

The Wikipedia on Einstein's Religious views is presently in a pretty bad state despite its outward appearances. As you've quoted from the "Atheism" section of it I may as well point out how its gone bad. It starts with "Einstein stated in his final letter: 'I am not an atheist.' " Citing the Jan. 1954 Letter to Erik Gutkind. Though it does not provide a link to said letter or translation of it, likely because this quotation does not actually appear in that letter. Then it states immediately after "explaining at one point: 'I have repeatedly said that in my opinion ..." Which goes on as you've already quoted. There is another issue here, that quotation comes from a magazine article in the 1970s which is pretty poor form for citing something on Wikipedia as the Article must be citing from some other source as Einstein died in 1955. Meanwhile that passage of text on Wikipedia as written without examining the citations would have you believe it comes from this "final letter" of Einstein. A bit latter in the same section Wikipedia starts another quotation with "Your question 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." That is indeed the actual source for the "I am not an Atheist." remark by Einstein. That quote is from a 1930 book called "Glimpses of the Great."

The "final letter" sent in Jan of 1954 to Erik Gutkind is actually that one that gets brought up here and there, again and again as it is the one that said "The word God is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weakness, the Bible a collection of honorable, but still purely primitive, legends ..." and does not contain within in it anything along the lines of "I am not an Atheist."

I can't be bothered to try and dig through the entire Wiki article on this topic to try and break down the quotes, the contexts, if they're being presented truthfully etc... but I happened to know as I read that section that it was full of it so went and dug up the relevant points to show where that wiki article is twisting things quite deliberately. I've no reason to believe the rest of the article is not also presented with such bias and errors as presented in the Atheism section. Thankfully I don't care what Einstein's view on religion/god/pantheism was, nor do I think you could ever say anything more than that he made different statements at different points in time that reflected some elements of his views at the point in time at which he made the statement.

 

[Derek Meyer]

Thanks. So it seems that he expressed his pantheism and not being an atheist in 1930. Seems like his views changed from then till 1954.

 

[Radrook]

Numbers and logistics are irrelevant unless one dismisses the account as a lie. But if one accepts the written record as accurate written history, then there is absolutely no problem because it clearly explains that the Israelites had supernatural assistance in their efforts to survive.

 

[Hoghead1]

It is very true that Einstein said that, Dereck. However, he also said that the universe filled him with a sense of awe and wonder.