Childhood
Becoming a Freethinker and a Scientist
Religious Concepts
On Ego, Consciousness, and “Eternal Life”
Science and Religion
Religion and Science: Irreconcilable?
A Conversation with Gustav Bucky
Morals
Beliefs
Short Comments on Einstein's Faith
Miscellaneous
Miscellaneous Comments
Miscellaneous Comments
Excerpted from Calaprice. See pp. 145 - 161.
Philosophy and Reason
I would not think that philosophy and reason themselves will be man's guide in the foreseeable future; however, they will remain the most beautiful sanctuary they have always been for the select few.
— Letter to Benedetto Croce, June 7, 1944; Einstein Archive 34-075; also quoted in Pais, Einstein Lived Here p. 122
Unbelief as Philosophy
Mere unbelief in a personal God is no philosophy at all.
— Letter to V. T Aaltonen, May 7, 1952, on his opinion that belief ill a personal God is better than atheism Einstein Archive 59-059
The Society of Friends
I consider the Society of Friends the religious community which has the highest moral standards. As far as I know, they have never made evil compromises and are always guided by their conscience. In international life, especially, their influence seems to me very beneficial and effective.
—Letter to A. Chapple, Australia, February 23, 1954; Einstein Archive 59-405; also quoted in Nathan and Norden, Einstein on Peace P. 510
Moral Worth
A man's moral worth is not measured by what his religious beliefs are but rather by what emotional impulses he has received from Nature during his lifetime.
— To Sister Margrit Goehner, February 1955; Einstein Archive 59-831