Einstein's Last Endeavor

The Russell-Einstein Declaration dated July 9, 1955

"We who sign this appeal are scientists from many countries, of several races, of different creeds, unconnected in politics. Our association is that we have all been privileged to be awarded Nobel Prizes. Our appeal is to all men everywhere. We must recognize that ours is a common fate, that if we are to live, it can only be as brothers. The alternative is that we will die. We have given freely a life-time to the service of science. Science, we hold, is a way to a fuller life for mankind. But we have learned with horror that science has also provided man with the instruments for self-destruction. In an all out war the earth can be made so radioactive that whole nations will be destroyed. Many men and women of neutral countries also might be killed. If the major powers engage in war, where is the assurance that such an all out struggle will not develop? A nation that engages in an all out war thus invites self-destruction and endangers the whole world. We do not deny that at present the peace of the world may be maintained by the fear of these deadly weapons. Still we feel that it is self-deception for governments to think over a long period that the fear of these weapons will prevent war from occurring. Fear and tension have too frequently produced war. Likewise, it is self-deception to believe that minor conflicts can always be settled by the use of traditional weapons. In extreme need, no warring nation will deny itself the use of any weapon that scientific techniques can provide. The independent nations must bring themselves to the decision by which they voluntarily renounce force as the last political recourse. If they are not prepared to do this, they will cease to exist."
It is my humble opinion that Einstein, Russell and the other signators of this letter would come to the same conclusion today. These men were not anti-religious, in fact, they saw no conflict between God and test tube. People can coexist.