Einstein

This is a collection of the quotations religious people cite to bolster their contention that Einstein was a theist. In my own pursuit of scientific understanding I have used similar language when faced with the ineffable dimensions of ultimate reality. In my case these were metaphorical ideas, not statements of religious faith. That is the sense in which some of Albert Einstein's remarks must be viewed as well.	My own serious studies of humanity's quest to understand the nature of reality has taken me through some fascinating intellectual territory. A part of my longer essay, Reflections: Right and Real includes a section on the nature of reality itself. Far from trivial, I prove that all of our conceptions of reality are mere fantasies. None come even close to revealing the ultimate nature of reality which must remain forever unknowable.
A collection of quotations attributed to Albert Einstein regarding his religious/spiritual beliefs.	Bertrand Russell is one of the Twentieth Centuries most lucid and persuasive intellects. A few of his ideas are summarized in these quotations.
Another separate collection of quotations from Albert Einstein about his religious convictions.	Imagine There's No Heaven is a compelling exploration of the dangers of unbounded religious faith, by Sam Harris.
Finally, I draw your attention to this collection of quotations which includes longer passages from the written works of Albert Einstein on the nature of good and evil and humanity's fascination with gods and religious authorities.	The ideas of Sam Harris regarding the destructive nature of all religions are presented in this Wikipedia.org article. In it he explores the many dimensions of what he considers the most serious dangers humanity has ever faced.

One of my personal favorite quotations attributed to Albert Einstein is the following:

"The individual feels the nothingness of human desires and aims and the sublimity and marvelous order which reveal themselves both in nature and in the world of thought. He looks upon individual existence as a sort of prison and wants to experience the universe as a single significant whole, the beginnings of cosmic religious feeling already appear in early stages of development – e.g. in many of the Psalms of David and in some of the Prophets. Buddhism, as we have learnt from the wonderful writings of Schopenhauer especially, contains much stronger elements of it.

The religion of the future will be a cosmic religion. It should transcend a personal God and avoid dogmas and theology. Covering both the natural and the spiritual, it should be based on a religious sense arising from the experience of all things, natural and spiritual and a meaningful unity. Buddhism answers this description . . . If there is any religion that would cope with modern scientific needs it would be Buddhism. "