What role did God play in George Berkeley's explanation of unperceived objects?

In the philosophy of George Berkeley, the existence of physical objects is defined by the doctrine esse est percipi, or "to be is to be perceived." Because Berkeley argued that physical objects are merely collections of sensible ideas that cannot exist outside of a mind, he faced the challenge of explaining how objects continue to exist when no human is perceiving them.1

Berkeley’s solution was that God serves as the ultimate, constant perceiver. Even when an object is not being perceived by any human, it remains in existence because it is being perceived by the mind of God. This concept was consistent with the traditions of Christian philosophy, which held that God not only creates all things but also sustains their existence through His continuous thought. Consequently, for Berkeley, the permanence of the physical world is guaranteed by the divine mind, ensuring that objects do not simply vanish when they fall outside of human attention.12