Einstein's God

These days, people tend to be interested in Albert Einstein's philosophy more than his science. Walter Isaacson (who has written the first biography of Einstein since his sealed personal files were opened) published a nice little introduction to Einstein's belief in God in the On Faith blog of the Washington Post. Einstein was basically a deist:

I believe in a God who reveals himself in the lawful harmony of all that exists, but not in a God who concerns himself with the fate and the doings of mankind.

A la Baruch Spinoza. Is deism still around? Not many I have spoken with openly subscribe to such ideas. I wonder if by taking this view, folks give a nod to a higher power that 'science' may never understand, but avoid orthodoxy, dogma and other difficult to accept practices of organized religion.