Photo courtesy U.S. Library of Congress Albert Einstein image:40060:0::0

The years since Einstein’s death have seen a passionate running debate. He was a religious man. No, he was an atheist. Each side points to quotes which seem to support their position.

“Albert Einstein described belief in God as ‘childish superstition’ and said Jews were not the chosen people, in a letter to be sold in London this week, an auctioneer said Tuesday.”

The letter, which has been in a private collection for 50 years and is about to be auctioned off by a British auction house, was a response to a question by philosopher Eric Gutkind. Einstein said "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.

"No interpretation no matter how subtle can (for me) change this."

Einstein, a Jew himself, expressed an affinity for the Jewish people, but also said that they "have no different quality for me than all other people." He regarded the Jewish religion the same way he regarded all religions: "For me the Jewish religion like all others is an incarnation of the most childish superstitions."

It wouldn’t be suprising if the authenticity of the letters is challenged by those who can’t accept the idea that Einstein was a non-believer. The whole debate has been possible only because at various times in his life he made statements that could certainly be interpreted as implying a belief in God. There is the possiblity that some of the statements were made as a public person, with a view to his own image. But it’s equally possible that Einstein, like many rational and insighful people, spent his life examining his beliefs, which changed as he matured. For most people, the words written little more than a year before his death will be the definitive statement.