[GJM] Fw: Re:Childish superstition: Einstein's view of religion

[mary rose]

with love and gratitude, Deki. 


----- Original Message ----- 
From: DekiFox at aol.com 
To: maryrose333 at att.net 
Sent: Thursday, May 15, 2008 6:07 AM
Subject: Re:Childish superstition: Einstein's view of religion 


Here are two more perspectives on religion, etc., from Albert himself

http://www.update.uu.se/~fbendz/library/ae_scire.htm 
Science and Religion
By Albert Einstein
This article is taken from: 
Science, Philosophy and Religion, A Symposium,
The Conference on Science, Philosophy and Religion
in Their Relation to the Democratic Way of Life, Inc.,
New York, 1941.

It would not be difficult to come to an agreement as to what we understand by science. Science is the century-old endeavor to bring together by means of systematic thought the perceptible phenomena of this world into as thoroughgoing an association as possible. To put it boldly, it is the attempt at the posterior reconstruction of existence by the process of conceptualization. But when asking myself what religion is I cannot think of the answer so easily. And even after finding an answer which may satisfy me at this particular moment, I still remain convinced that I can never under any circumstances bring together, even to a slight extent, the thoughts of all those who have given this question serious consideration. 
At first, then, instead of asking what religion is I should prefer to ask what characterizes the aspirations of a person who gives me the impression of being religious: a person who is religiously enlightened appears to me to be one who has, to the best of his ability, liberated himself from the fetters of his selfish desires and is preoccupied with thoughts, feelings, and aspirations to which he clings because of their superpersonalvalue. <clip>


http://www.stephenjaygould.org/ctrl/einstein_religion.html 
Religion and Science 
by Albert Einstein
Published in The World as I See It (1999).

Everything that the human race has done and thought is concerned with the satisfaction of felt needs and the assuagement of pain. One has to keep this constantly in mind if one wishes to understand spiritual movements and their development. Feeling and desire are the motive forces behind all human endeavour and human creation, in however exalted a guise the latter may present itself to us. Now what are the feelings and needs that have led men to religious thought and belief in the widest sense of the words? A little consideration will suffice to show us that the most varying emotions preside over the birth of religious thought and experience. With primitive man it is above all fear that evokes religious notions—fear of hunger, wild beasts, sickness, death. Since at this stage of existence understanding of causal connexions is usually poorly developed, the human mind creates for itself more or less analogous beings on whose wills and actions these fearful happenings depend. One's object now is to secure the favour of these beings by carrying out actions and offering sacrifices which, according to the tradition handed down from generation to generation, propitiate them or make them well disposed towards a mortal. 
I am speaking now of the religion of fear. This, though not created, is in an important degree stabilized by the formation of a special priestly caste which sets up as a mediator between the people and the beings they fear, and erects a hegemony on this basis. In many cases the leader or ruler whose position depends on other factors, or a privileged class, combines priestly functions with its secular authority in order to make the latter more secure; or the political rulers and the priestly caste make common cause in their own interests.
 <clip>


 
Deki Fox
Milwaukee, Wisconsin





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