How did the universe begin? How did life arise on Earth? These have been humanity’s most important questions through the ages. In the last century, we have learned more about science and the creation of the universe than everything known before the twentieth century. What is more notable, the last decade has opened new discoveries leading to new theories that give us unique hypotheses about the presence of God and the nature of the universe.
Today’s article will discuss some of the most famous scientists in history who believed in God.
Albert Einstein (1879-1955)
Arthur Compton (1892 – 1962)
Blaise Pascal (1623-1662)
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Ernst Haeckel (1834 –1919)
Erwin Schrödinger (1887 –1961)
Francis Bacon (1561-1627)
Francis Collins (Born 1950)
Galileo Galilei (1564-1642)
Gottfried Leibniz (1646 –1716)
Gregor Mendel (1822-1884)
Guglielmo Marconi (1874 –1937)
Isaac Newton (1642-1727)
James Clerk Maxwell (1831 –1879)
Johannes Kepler (1571-1630)
John Eccles (1903 – 1997)
Louis Pasteur (1822-1895)
Max Planck (1858-1947)
Michael Faraday (1791-1867)
Nicholas Copernicus (1473-1543)
Rene Descartes (1596-1650)
Robert Boyle (1791-1867)
Robert A. Millikan (1868 – 1953)
Werner Heisenberg (1901 – 1976)
William Harvey (1578 –1657)
William Thomson Kelvin (1824-1907)
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And given that people are still executed for denying the existence of a god, any claim that ANY of the above believed in a god is without foundation, and is based on an “ad baculum” logical fallacy.
Some of those may well have believed in a god – but thanks to the intolerance of religion in executing and torturing those who denied a god, we shall never know.
Puzzled why sites continue to mistakenly include Einstein when he explicitly clarified misunderstandings about his supposed belief in a god – and emphasised that he was NOT a theist.
IN RESPONSE TO DAVE LOCKE
Albert Einstein (1879-1955)
Einstein is probably the best known and most highly revered scientist of the twentieth century, and is associated with major revolutions in our thinking about time, gravity, and the conversion of matter to energy (E=mc2).
Although never coming to belief in a personal God, he recognized the impossibility of a non-created universe. The Encyclopedia Britannica says of him: “Firmly denying atheism, Einstein expressed a belief in “Spinoza’s God who reveals himself in the harmony of what exists.”
This actually motivated his interest in science, as he once remarked to a young physicist: “I want to know how God created this world, I am not interested in this or that phenomenon, in the spectrum of this or that element. I want to know His thoughts, the rest are details.” Einstein’s famous epithet on the “uncertainty principle” was “God does not play dice” – and to him this was a real statement about a God in whom he believed. A famous saying of his was “Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind.”
Atheism and deism are equal in their blind absolutism about that which cannot be known.. the esistence of God.
Science asks the question of how, religion asks the question of why.
It is equally sad to see both devouts and atheists pushing henceforth their own individual agendas.
Here’s what Einstein said in an interview in G. S. Viereck’s book Glimpses of the Great, in response to a question about whether or not he believed in God.
“Your question [about God] is the most difficult in the world. It is not a question I can answer simply with yes or no. I AM NOT AN ATHEIST. I do not know if I can define myself as a Pantheist. The problem involved is too vast for our limited minds. May I not reply with a parable? The human mind, no matter how highly trained, cannot grasp the universe. We are in the position of a little child, entering a huge library whose walls are covered to the ceiling with books in many different tongues. The child knows that SOMEONE MUST HAVE written those books. It does not know WHO OR HOW. It does not understand the languages in which they are written. The child notes A DEFINITE PLAN IN THE ARRANGEMENT of the books, a mysterious order, which it does not comprehend, but only dimly suspects. That, it seems to me, is the attitude of the human mind, even the greatest and most cultured, TOWARD GOD. We see a universe MARVELOUSLY ARRANGED, obeying certain laws, but we understand the laws only dimly. Our limited minds cannot grasp the MYSTERIOUS FORCE that sways the constellations.”
Every scientist display himself as atheist to the world due to the other scientists and scientist community think belive in god is taboo,but that doesnt mean they are really not belive in god. i dont support god as a particular human being i think god mean a ultimate source of energy which controll the universe.
James,
You wrote “I was a reluctantly religious youth, then an atheist with doubts, then brought to belief in god through science, mainly QM.”
Will you tell me what science, and specifics in QM, brought you back to faith? I have a budding scientific family member who is just starting the process (thinking she might be atheist because of doubts), and I’d like to help her in any way I can. Thank you~
Yes but a scientist would say it does have a point! It’s just dull. Sorry you set that one up, I am a scientist who believes in god and you will find many many who do. I’m not sure where you pulled 1% of physicists from, probably a black hole near the 7th planet.
Especially quantum physicists, causation does not equal creation, Hawking doesn’t but he’s not the only QM master. I wonder why they nick named it the “god” particle. Oh, they are all hipsters, I see.
I was a reluctantly religious youth, then an atheist with doubts, then brought to belief in god through science, mainly QM. Do I know what god is exactly, no I can’t possibly fathom that its like thinking about infinity. I can understand in theory and use this knowledge but not really comprehend it.
Not everything in religious text is word for word literal fact, there are some metaphors in there. Read Ishmael by Daniel Quinn, for some insight.
Food for thought: If you prove god exists can you still believe in god, or vice versa?
To Jon,
Einstein was not an atheist, he was an agnostic who believed in God but, that God, after creating the universe, did not interfere with the happenings of human beings and other events in the universe. Some of his quotes on the topic of God are as follows:
“I want to know how God created this world. I am not interested in this or that phenomenon, in the spectrum of this or that element. I want to know His thoughts; the rest are details.”
“Science without religion is lame. Religion without science is blind.”
“My religion consists of a humble admiration of the illimitable superior spirit who reveals himself in the slight details we are able to perceive with our frail and feeble mind.”
“Every one who is seriously involved in the pursuit of science becomes convinced that a spirit is manifest in the laws of the Universe-a spirit vastly superior to that of man, and one in the face of which we with our modest powers must feel humble.”
“God does not play dice with the universe.”
“God is subtle but he is not malicious.”
“When the solution is simple, God is answering.”
Billy Graham isn’t a scientist but is a fantastic man of God in his own right and this is his quote:
“Life without God is like an unsharpened pencil – it has no point”
‘ I do agree with God presence, but i also firmly believe that Human Can be the one having the same potential and same powers to became a God’. I strongly believe this’.
Are there any from this century? (Einstein was an atheist, by the way.) Many of the scientists on this list (almost all) are from a time period where being an atheist publicly was career suicide and could even result in physical harm. In today’s scientific community, there are virtually no physicists (less than 1%) who believe in God. Why is that?
i am very happy because there are scientist who believe in God our Savior.
Also “Nikola Tesla” ONE of the greatest scientists ever(after Maxwell & Faraday). He was a serbian born in Croatia. His father was an Serbian Orthodox priest. I think he should be AT LEAST in the second place of the greatest scientist EVER!
Really? You missed out Georges Lemaitre, the Belgian PRIEST who was the first person to propose the theory of the expansion of the universe? He should be on top of that list.
hello smart in the world that believed in god thank you i don’t know why people think god is fake they should be ashamed but god will bless you guys well toodles
Jesus loves them and He loves all. Love Him as He is your savior. Amen!
Einstein wrote: “I do not believe in a personal God. If something is in me which can be called religion, then it is the unbounded admiration for the structure of the world so far as our science can reveal it.”
Also, note: “In his writings, there are well-known references to God and frequent discussions of religion. Although Einstein stated that he was religious and that he believed in God, it was in his own specialized sense that he used these terms. Many are aware that Einstein was not religious in the conventional sense, but it will come as a surprise to some to learn that he clearly identified himself as an atheist and as an agnostic.” — Philip W. King, “Einstein’s Credo”
Where are the rest of 125 who didn’t?