“It was, of course, a lie “
What is the source of that passage? By that I mean, where did Dukas and Hoffman get it?
They quote a letter that Einstein wrote, dated March 24, 1954.
The letter was in response to a letter Einstein had received from an admiring atheist, who had read in an article that Einstein was devoutly religious. The writer was skeptical of that, and wanted to know the truth. Additionally, he mailed Einstein a check for Einstein to give to the charity of his choice.