Albert Einstein and God

When published in 1931, Cosmic Religion: With Other Opinions and Aphorisms put forth the argument that science and religion were indeed compatible. In the book, Einstein shared his views, which included the belief that science is the basis of a cosmic religion, which could not only be embraced by scientists and theologians, but by anyone who found beauty in the universe or had a sense of wonder about rationality.

The book was a collection of essays that Einstein had collected on a range of subjects and offered a glimpse into the genius' views on topics as diverse as pacificism, disarmament, Zionism, the possibilities that radio offered society and his views of God and religion, which he states, were totally compatible within the framework of an enlightened form of religion.

Pretty heady stuff, though Albert Einstein put it into terms that anyone could understand. Einstein's quote, "Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world" is somewhat limited itself, for it should continue, "... stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution. It is, strictly speaking, a real factor in scientific research."

While his exploration of the cosmos and God is overshadowed by such gee-whiz contributions such as E=mc2 and Brownian motion and the photoelectric effect, Cosmic Religion is one of Einstein's best pieces of work, if only because the average person could appreciate his true genius in the language of the common man.