I suppose it depends on who the private letter is to.
As for the context question: I have some Jewish friends who, though they practice Judaism, have told me that they're not sure if God is real or not. They claim it doesn't much matter, and that the question doesn't really come up. To them the essence of Judaism is the practice -- the prayers, the discussions, the books, the tradition, the community. Whether or not the whole thing is based around a real character, a metaphorical character, or a fictional character is not so important.
I think that's a wise approach, and it means that I'm unwilling to automatically equate Einstein's views of the concept of god, the "childishness" of Bible stories, and the beliefs of fundamentalists (including fundamentalist Jews) and equate them with his "view of religion".
Religion is a subtle thing. People spend lots of time arguing about religious belief, debunking this one or that one, which amuses me because the content of the belief system is often the least important aspect of a religion. It's completely plastic. It's built out of rationalizations, and it can be -- and is -- changed whenever it's convenient.
The "beliefs" of a religion have several purposes, but one of them is simply to be a badge: People profess various beliefs as a way of expressing allegiance to their co-religionists. Sometimes the belief literally is a badge -- a special hat, a special scarf, a special way of wearing your hair that is somehow "sacred". Public denial of belief -- blasphemy, cutting your hair, wearing shoes in the Hindu temple -- becomes a signifier of dramatic disagreement: A public break with your family, a denial of the culture, perhaps even a declaration of war.
Daniel Dennett, in his book Breaking the Spell, draws a distinction between belief and "belief in belief": it's one thing to literally believe, in your heart of hearts, that God created the Earth, and it's another thing to believe that it's important to say, when asked, that God created the Earth. The latter is "belief in belief". I have my own beliefs that I believe in, and I tend to respect those of others unless there's good reason not to: I don't wear shoes in the Hindu temple, I don't tease vegetarians for not eating lard (although, my god, they are missing out on some great Southern cooking...) and when I attended Catholic mass with my late grandmother I stated out loud that I believed in God.
And there are degrees of believing in belief. If my grandmother had asked me if I believed in God, I would surely have said yes: It would have greatly offended and troubled her otherwise. If a Methodist minister who I respect were to ask whether I believe in God, I'd probably say "I'm not sure", if I felt another answer might offend her. If a Unitarian minister were to ask if I believe in God, I'd probably say something which translates to "no, except for religious purposes". If a fundamentalist tried to rewrite my kids' high school curriculum, I'd be sorely tempted to respond much as Einstein did in this letter.
So, a question: Did Einstein believe in belief? And to what extent? Would he ever have said in public, or to a religious person, the things he said in this letter? He doesn't seem to have ever done so. Instead, he used a lot of spiritual imagery. He didn't publicly break with the Jewish people -- they tried to make him president of Israel -- nor, even in this letter, does he suggest that he wanted to. If he had wanted to make the sentiments expressed in this letter part of his public persona and practice, he had every opportunity, but he didn't do it.
As for the context question: I have some Jewish friends who, though they practice Judaism, have told me that they're not sure if God is real or not. They claim it doesn't much matter, and that the question doesn't really come up. To them the essence of Judaism is the practice -- the prayers, the discussions, the books, the tradition, the community. Whether or not the whole thing is based around a real character, a metaphorical character, or a fictional character is not so important.
I think that's a wise approach, and it means that I'm unwilling to automatically equate Einstein's views of the concept of god, the "childishness" of Bible stories, and the beliefs of fundamentalists (including fundamentalist Jews) and equate them with his "view of religion".
Religion is a subtle thing. People spend lots of time arguing about religious belief, debunking this one or that one, which amuses me because the content of the belief system is often the least important aspect of a religion. It's completely plastic. It's built out of rationalizations, and it can be -- and is -- changed whenever it's convenient.
The "beliefs" of a religion have several purposes, but one of them is simply to be a badge: People profess various beliefs as a way of expressing allegiance to their co-religionists. Sometimes the belief literally is a badge -- a special hat, a special scarf, a special way of wearing your hair that is somehow "sacred". Public denial of belief -- blasphemy, cutting your hair, wearing shoes in the Hindu temple -- becomes a signifier of dramatic disagreement: A public break with your family, a denial of the culture, perhaps even a declaration of war.
Daniel Dennett, in his book Breaking the Spell, draws a distinction between belief and "belief in belief": it's one thing to literally believe, in your heart of hearts, that God created the Earth, and it's another thing to believe that it's important to say, when asked, that God created the Earth. The latter is "belief in belief". I have my own beliefs that I believe in, and I tend to respect those of others unless there's good reason not to: I don't wear shoes in the Hindu temple, I don't tease vegetarians for not eating lard (although, my god, they are missing out on some great Southern cooking...) and when I attended Catholic mass with my late grandmother I stated out loud that I believed in God.
And there are degrees of believing in belief. If my grandmother had asked me if I believed in God, I would surely have said yes: It would have greatly offended and troubled her otherwise. If a Methodist minister who I respect were to ask whether I believe in God, I'd probably say "I'm not sure", if I felt another answer might offend her. If a Unitarian minister were to ask if I believe in God, I'd probably say something which translates to "no, except for religious purposes". If a fundamentalist tried to rewrite my kids' high school curriculum, I'd be sorely tempted to respond much as Einstein did in this letter.
So, a question: Did Einstein believe in belief? And to what extent? Would he ever have said in public, or to a religious person, the things he said in this letter? He doesn't seem to have ever done so. Instead, he used a lot of spiritual imagery. He didn't publicly break with the Jewish people -- they tried to make him president of Israel -- nor, even in this letter, does he suggest that he wanted to. If he had wanted to make the sentiments expressed in this letter part of his public persona and practice, he had every opportunity, but he didn't do it.