In fact, we arrive at a conception of the relationship of science and religion very different from the usual one. Einstein had no use for a religion of fear, and equally little for social or moral religion. A God who rewards and punishes is inconceivable, he thought. He felt a man's actions were determined by necessity, so in God's eyes he could not be responsible. It kept him from losing his temper.
Science is accused of undermining morality, an unjust charge in Einstein's view.
He thought man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope of reward after death. It was easy to him to see why the churches have always fought science and persecuted its devotees. Kepler and Newton, he felt, must have had a deep conviction of the rationality of the universe and a yearning to understand, were it but a feeble reflection of the Mind revealed in this world . This enabled them to spend years of solitary labor in disentangling the principles of celestial mechanics. He felt that those acquainted with scientific research chiefly because of its practical results develop a false notion of the mentality of these men.