Einstein Letters …A Discussion of Science Versus Religion
Logic will get from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.
- Albert Einstein
Science versus religion. An age-old debate topic. From Einstein’s letters. One we will examine today through an exchange of letters between a sixth-grade girl and Einstein. From Professor Einstein: Albert Einstein’s Letters to and from Children (public library collection).
We are big fans of Einstein, no doubt. Perhaps you have read one of our previous posts on Einstein. If not, we suggest you read: Einstein on learning… Albert Einstein Facts and Wisdom. It will give you a great background on Einstein’s wisdom. A man ahead of his time. This letter exchange will then have more meaning.
What is most amazing to me is the fact that most of his wisdom is more applicable in today’s society than it was in his. He was always considered ahead of his time, wasn’t he?
Let’s get started on the science versus religion letter exchange:
The Riverside Church
January 19, 1936
My dear Dr. Einstein,
We have brought up the question: Do scientists pray? in our Sunday school class. It began by asking whether we could believe in both science and religion. We are writing to scientists and other important men, to try and have our own question answered.
We will feel greatly honored if you will answer our question: Do scientists pray, and what do they pray for?
We are in the sixth grade, Miss Ellis’s class.
Respectfully yours,
Phyllis
Only five days later, Einstein wrote back — isn’t it fantastic when giant thinkers such as Einstein respond to children’s curiosity? And his answer speaks to an interesting spiritual quality of science.
January 24, 1936
Dear Phyllis,
I will attempt to reply to your question as simply as I can. Here is my answer:
Scientists believe that every occurrence, including the affairs of human beings, is due to the laws of nature. Therefore a scientist cannot be inclined to believe that the course of events can be influenced by prayer, that is, by a supernaturally manifested wish.
However, we must concede that our actual knowledge of these forces is imperfect so that in the end the belief in the existence of a final, ultimate spirit rests on a kind of faith. Such belief remains widespread even with the current achievements in science.
But also, everyone who is seriously involved in the pursuit of science becomes convinced that some spirit is manifest in the laws of the universe, one that is vastly superior to that of man. In this way, the pursuit of science leads to a religious feeling of a special sort, which is surely quite different from the religiosity of someone more naive.
With cordial greetings,
your A. Einstein
Einstein was a very sensitive individual with a great way with words, wasn’t he? While having a strong will, he was very humble and attributed his talent to his passionate curiosity and imagination. He felt both were more important than knowledge. His view of was that the true sign of intelligence was not knowledge but imagination and believed that the only source of knowledge was experience.
