Paul Dirac on ‘God and Religion’
Dirac’s 1927 statement on the great almighty
I’m going to make this piece no-nonsense and straight to the point. Everybody knows Paul Dirac as a great theoretical physicist who had groundbreaking contributions to the development of quantum mechanics and quantum electrodynamics. But we’ve talked about that part in our earlier pieces. In this short piece, I shall be discussing about Dirac’s views, or better say, brutal views on God and religion. I shall take the reference of words presented by Dirac himself at the 1927 Solvay Conference where the scientists were discussing about the religious implications of the newly pioneered quantum theory. He said,
“I cannot understand why we idle discussing religion. If we are honest — and scientists have to be — we must admit that religion is a jumble of false assertions, with no basis in reality. The very idea of God is a product of the human imagination.”
He believed that discussing religion was a waste of time and that it was a false belief system with no basis in reality. He stated that the concept of God was simply a creation of the human imagination, born out of the fear of the overwhelming forces of nature by primitive people. However, with the advances in science and understanding of natural processes, he felt that there was no need for religion.
He found it hard to understand how the belief in an Almighty God could help in any way and believed that it led to many unproductive questions about the existence of suffering and injustice. He thought that religion was still taught then only to keep the lower classes quiet, as a peaceful and satisfied population was easier to govern and exploit.
Here’s the complete statement by Dirac as shared by Ash Jogalekar on Twitter,
He viewed religion as a kind of opium that allowed a nation to forget about the injustices being perpetrated against them by lulling them into wishful dreams. He noted the close alliance between the State and the Church, as they both benefited from the illusion of a kindly God who rewarded those who were obedient and submissive.
He said that the honest assertion that God was a mere product of the human imagination was considered a sin because it undermined the alliance between the State and the Church, and challenged the belief system that helped keep the population under control.
Dirac held a critical and skeptical view of religion, considering it to be a false belief system with no basis in reality.
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