do scientists pray

Added on by Matthew Sutton.

In a letter to Albert Einstein, a sixth-grade girl speaking on behalf of her Sunday School class asked this question "Do scientists pray?" and "could we believe in both science and religion?"

Einstein's reply was that a scientist must be faithful to the "laws of nature" and this means that "a scientist cannot be inclined to believe that the course of events can be influenced by prayer, that is, by a supernaturally manifested wish." After this initial no, he unexpectably opened everything by admiting intelletual humility and accepting human wonder. He wrote that

"we must concede that our actual knowledge of these forces is imperfect, so that in the end the belief in the existence of a final, ultimate spirit rests on a kind of faith. Such belief remains widespread even with the curent achievements in science. But also, everyone who is seriously involved in the pursuit of science becomes convinced that some spirit is manifest in the laws of the universe, one that is vastly superior to that of man."

With this statement, Einstein seemed to suggest a "yes" to a scientist at prayer, if we understand prayer as encounter with the divine leading to wonder. He concluded that "In this way the pursuit of science leads to a religious feeling of a special sort." While thankfully different from a naïve understanding of religiosity, I think that Einstein provides a way for any serious scientist to re-evaluate his or her preconception of prayer.

So yes, even scientists pray, especially the serious ones.