
Stephen Hawking, one of the most brilliant scientists of our time, was known for tackling some of the most difficult questions in physics and the universe. But when it came to the question of whether God exists, he had a surprisingly simple answer.
Hawking believed in science and the laws of nature. While some people see science and religion as being in conflict, Hawking didn’t get caught up in that debate. Instead, he chose to look at both sides in a calm and logical way. Rather than thinking of the universe as something guided by a divine force, he believed that everything can be explained through natural laws.
In his book *Brief Answers to the Big Questions*, he talked openly about how, in the past, people believed that disabilities were curses from God. Speaking from personal experience as someone who had ALS—a condition that gradually paralyzed him—Hawking gently questioned this idea. He joked that maybe he upset someone “up there,” but quickly added that he preferred to believe that science and nature can explain why things happen.
He explained that if you believe in science, you believe that the universe follows fixed rules—laws that don’t change. Some people may choose to call those laws “God,” but that, he said, is more a way of defining God than proving God is real.
When asked about God and life after death, Hawking didn’t shy away. He said people are free to believe what they want, but for him, the simplest answer was that there is no God. He believed the universe wasn’t created by anyone and no one controls our destiny. He had what he called a “profound realization”: there’s probably no heaven, no afterlife. We have just this one life, and that’s what makes it so important. He said we should cherish our time here and be grateful that we get to experience the beauty of the universe at all.
He echoed these thoughts in an interview, comparing the brain to a computer. Just like a computer stops working when it breaks, he said the brain does too. In his view, the idea of an afterlife is a comforting story, but not a realistic one.
Even without belief in God or an afterlife, Hawking still found deep meaning in life. He encouraged others to stay curious, to always ask questions about the world, and to keep pushing forward, even when life gets tough. He once said that no matter how hard things get, there is always something you can succeed at—and that we should remember to look up at the stars, not down at our feet.