His parents were not religious but he attended a Catholic primary school and at the same time received private tuition in Judaism. One of the country's leading experts on the scientist, John Brooke of Oxford University, admitted he had not heard of it.Įinstein is best known for his theories of relativity and for the famous E=mc2 equation that describes the equivalence of mass and energy, but his thoughts on religion have long attracted conjecture.

The handwritten piece, in German, is not listed in the source material of the most authoritative academic text on the subject, Max Jammer's book Einstein and Religion. The letter will go on sale at Bloomsbury Auctions in Mayfair on Thursday and is expected to fetch up to £8,000. Otherwise I cannot see anything 'chosen' about them.' As far as my experience goes, they are no better than other human groups, although they are protected from the worst cancers by a lack of power. And the Jewish people to whom I gladly belong and with whose mentality I have a deep affinity have no different quality for me than all other people. 'For me the Jewish religion like all others is an incarnation of the most childish superstitions. No interpretation no matter how subtle can (for me) change this.'Įinstein, who was Jewish and who declined an offer to be the state of Israel's second president, also rejected the idea that the Jews are God's favoured people. In the letter, he states: 'The word god is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of honourable, but still primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish. The letter went on public sale a year later and has remained in private hands ever since.

Due to be auctioned this week in London after being in a private collection for more than 50 years, the document leaves no doubt that the theoretical physicist was no supporter of religious beliefs, which he regarded as 'childish superstitions'.Įinstein penned the letter on Januto the philosopher Eric Gutkind who had sent him a copy of his book Choose Life: The Biblical Call to Revolt.

The cosmic view of albert einstein pdf