🧬 Protestants Dominate the Sciences

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In a profound analysis conducted by Dr. Baruch Shalev (2001/2002), a geneticist from the University of Reading, it is revealed that between 1901 and 2000, an astonishing 65.4% of Nobel Prize laureates were either Christians or hailed from a Christian background, illuminating the indelible influence of Christian thought on the pinnacle of human achievement. Among these luminaries, an extraordinary 78.3% of Nobel laureates in Peace, 72.5% in Chemistry, 65.3% in Physics, 62% in Medicine, 54% in Economics, and 49.5% in Literature proudly identified as Christians or possessed Christian roots. This remarkable representation not only underscores the monumental contributions of these intellectual titans but also celebrates their pivotal role in shaping the course of human progress and enlightenment.

A review of the Nobel awards between 1901 and 2000 reveals that 654 Laureates belong to 28 different religions. Most (65.4%) have identified Christianity in its various forms as their religious preference. While separating Roman Catholic from Protestants among Christians proved difficult in some cases, available information suggests that more Protestants were involved in the scientific categories and more Catholics were involved in the Literature and Peace categories (p. 57).

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Contents

1. Protestants
   • 1.1 Sir Francis Bacon (1561–1626)
   • 1.2 Sir Isaac Newton (1642–1726/27)
   • 1.3 Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646–1716)
   • 1.4 Michael Faraday (1791–1867)
   • 1.5 James Clerk Maxwell (1831–1879)
   • 1.6 Alfred Werner (1866–1919)
   • 1.7 Max Planck (1858–1947)
   • 1.8 Lord William Kelvin (1824–1907)
   • 1.9 J.J. Thomson (1856–1940)
   • 1.10 R.A. Millikan (1868–1953)
   • 1.11 Sir Alexander Fleming (1881–1955)
   • 1.12 Cyril Garnham (1901–1994)
   • 1.13 Sir Nevill Francis Mott (1905–1996)
   • 1.14 Kurt Friedrich Gödel (1906–1978)
   • 1.15 Wernher von Braun (1912–1977)
   • 1.16 Charles H. Townes (1915–2015)
   • 1.17 Manfred Eigen (1927–2019)
   • 1.18 Vera Kistiakowsky (1928–2021)
   • 1.19 Werner Arber (1929–Present)
   • 1.20 John C. Polkinghorne (1930–2021)
   • 1.21 Edward Nelson (1932–2014)
   • 1.22 Ulrich Becker (1938–2020)
   • 1.23 Joseph H. Taylor, Jr. (1941–Present)
   • 1.24 John Erik Fornæss (1946–Present)
   • 1.25 Francis S. Collins (1950–Present)
2. Catholic & Orthodox
   • 2.1 Gregor Mendel (1822–1884)
   • 2.2 Louis Pasteur (1822–1895)
   • 2.3 Nikola Tesla (1856–1943)
   • 2.4 Alfred Werner (1866–1919)
3. Deists
   • 3.1 Albert Einstein (1879–1955)
   • 3.2 Ernst Boris Chain (1906–1979)
   • 3.3 Christian B. Anfinsen Jr. (1916–1995)
   • 3.4 Dr. Michio Kaku (1947)
4. Miscellaneous Quotes
   • 4.1 Erwin Schrödinger (1887–1961)
   • 4.2 Charles Darwin (1809–1882)

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Protestants

Sir Francis Bacon

22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626

The 17th century scientist and philosopher of science who is credited with discovering and popularizing the scientific method, whereby the laws of science are discovered by gathering and analyzing data from experiments and observations. Bacon was a devout Christian.

“A little science estranges a man from God. A lot of science brings him back.”

Sir Isaac Newton

25 December 1642 – 20 March 1726/27

^{Kneller, G. (1689). Porträt des Isaac Newton [Painting]. Isaac Newton Institute.}

Isaac Newton stands as one of the most brilliant intellects in history, credited with achieving the First Great Unification in physics and independently developing Calculus alongside Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz. His seminal work, Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica, is regarded as one of the most significant contributions to the field of science. Additionally, Newton was a deeply devout Christian. Isaac Newton was raised in the Church of England, an Anglican denomination within the broader Protestant tradition.

“My favorite physicist is Isaac Newton. … one of the greatest minds in history … Einstein is way up there. So is Richard Feynman. But, Isaac Newton tops them all” (Kaku, 2021, 7:10).

The following are direct quotes from Sir Isaac Newton:

“God created everything by number, weight and measure” (Jean & Barabé, 1998, p. xxxvii).

This most beautiful system of the sun, planets, and comets, could only proceed from the counsel and dominion of an intelligent and powerful Being. And if the fixed stars are the centres of other like systems, these, being formed by the like wise counsel, must be all subject to the dominion of One; especially since the light of the fixed stars is of the same nature with the light of the sun, and from every system light passes into all the other systems: and lest the systems of the fixed stars should, by their gravity, fall on each other, he hath placed those systems at immense distances from one another.

This Being¹ governs all things, not as the soul of the world, but as Lord over all; and on account of his dominion he is wont to be called Lord God παντοκρáτωρ [“pantokrator”], or Universal Ruler; (Newton, 1934, p. 544).

1. [Appendix, Note 52.] 52 (p. 544). Book III, General Scholium to Prop. XLII. Newton’s idea of God. In the first edition of Newton’s Principia (1687) no statement is made on the nature of God. Nevertheless, criticism was passed upon the Principia, on theological grounds, by two prominent thinkers, Bishop Berkeley, who in 1710 published his Principles of Human Knowledge, and Leibniz, who on February 10, 1711, wrote a letter to Hartsoeker, a Dutch physician at Diisseldorf, which was published on May 5,1712, in the Memoirs of Literature, a weekly sold in London¹ (Newton, 1934, p. 668).

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz

1 July 1646 – 14 November 1716

^{Francke, C. B. (1695). Bildnis des Philosophen Gottfried Wilhelm Freiherr von Leibniz [Painting]. Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum.}

Leibniz developed calculus independently of Newton through self-directed study (autodidactically), paving the way for Einstein’s theory of relativity. Einstein, who referred to himself as a “Leibnizian,” wrote that Leibnizianism was superior to Newtonianism, asserting that Leibniz’s ideas would have dominated over Newton’s had it not been for the technological limitations of the time. Leibniz was a Protestant and Trinitarian. Leibniz devoted considerable intellectual and diplomatic effort to what would now be called an ecumenical endeavor, seeking to reconcile the Roman Catholic and Lutheran churches.

In contingent propositions, however, the analysis continues to infinity through reasons of reasons, so that we never have a full demonstration, although there is always an underlying reason for the truth, even if it is only perfectly understood by God, who alone penetrates an infinite series in one stroke of the mind (Strickland, 2006, p. 111).

Every substance is as a world apart, independent of everything else except God (Leibniz, 1993).

In whatever manner God created the world, it would always have been regular and in a certain general order. God, however, has chosen the most perfect, that is to say, the one which is at the same time the simplest in hypothesis and the richest in phenomena (Leibniz, 1993).

8. Now this supreme wisdom, united to a goodness that is no less infinite, cannot but have chosen the best. For as a lesser evil is a kind of good, even so a lesser good is a kind of evil if it stands in the way of a greater good; and there would be something to correct in the actions of God if it were possible to do better. As in mathematics, when there is no maximum nor minimum, in short nothing distinguished, everything is done equally, or when that is not possible nothing at all is done: so it may be said likewise in respect of perfect wisdom, which is no less orderly than mathematics, that if there were not the best (optimum) among all possible worlds, God would not have produced any [created one]. I call ‘World’ the whole succession and the whole agglomeration of all existent things, lest it be said that several worlds could have existed in different times and different places. For they must needs be reckoned all together as one world or, if you will, as one Universe. And even though one should fill all times and all places, it still remains true that one might have filled them in innumerable ways, and that there is an infinitude of possible worlds among which God must needs have chosen the best, since he does nothing without acting in accordance with supreme reason (Leibniz, 2007, p. 131).

But I have much stronger reasons for thinking so, since the religion I follow closely assures me that the love of God consists in an ardent desire to procure the general welfare, and reason teaches me that there is nothing which contributes more to the general welfare of mankind than the perfection of reason (Leibniz, 1951, p. 17).

53. Now as there is an infinity of possible universes in the ideas of God, and as only one of them can exist, there must be a sufficient reason for God’s choice, determining him to one rather than to another.

54. And this reason can only be found in the fittingness, or in the degrees of perfection, which these worlds contain, each possible world having the right to claim existence in proportion to the perfection it contains. [Thus there is nothing which is wholly arbitrary.] (Leibniz, 2014, pp. 24-25).

Michael Faraday

22 September 1791 – 25 August 1867

^{Phillips, T. (1842). Michael Faraday [Painting]. National Portrait Gallery.}

The greatest self-taught experimental physicist, and one of the most influential scientists in history. Albert Einstein kept a picture of Michael Faraday on his study wall, alongside pictures of Isaac Newton and James Clerk Maxwell at his apartment in Berlin, Germany.

Faraday found no conflict between his religious beliefs and his activities as a scientist and philosopher. He viewed his discoveries of nature’s laws as part of the continual process of “reading the book of nature”, no different in principle from the process of reading the Bible to discover God’s laws. A strong sense of the unity of God and nature pervaded Faraday’s life and work (Baggot, 1991).

The following are direct quotes from Michael Faraday:

The book of nature which we have to read is written by the finger of God (Faraday, 1859, p. 471).

To his old friend Auguste de la Rive, Professor of Physics at Geneva University, and a correspondent for 30 years, Faraday’s religious faith came most strongly to the surface: hope for a life to come comforted his final years:

I cannot tell when I wrote you last. Of late years I have kept a note, but I suppose I have forgotten to note. Having no science to talk to you about, a motive, which was very strong in former times, is now wanting. But your last letter reminds me of another motive, which I hope is stronger than science with both of us, and that is the future life which lies before us. I am, I hope, very thankful that in the withdrawal of the powers and things of this life, the good hope is left with me, which makes the contemplation of death a comfort-not a fear. Such peace is alone in the gift of God, and as it is He who gives it, why should we be afraid? His unspeakable gift in His beloved Son is the ground of no doubtful hope, and there is the rest for those who (like you and me) are drawing near the latter end of our terms here below. I do not know, however, why I should join you with me in years. I forget your age. But this I know (and feel as well) that next Sabbath day (the 22nd) I shall complete my 70th year. I can hardly think myself so old as I write to you-so much of cheerful spirit, ease and general health is left to me, and if my memory fails, why it causes that I forget troubles as well as pleasure and the end is, I am happy and content (Faraday, 1999, p. 199).

James Clerk Maxwell

13 June 1831 – 5 November 1879

^{Bianchetti, S. (1875). Portrait of James Clerk Maxwell [Photograph]. Corbis Historical.}

A luminary in the realms of physics and mathematics, is celebrated as the architect of classical electromagnetic theory, his groundbreaking contributions to science revered as monumental, rivaling the legacies of titans such as Einstein and Newton. A devout Christian, Maxwell is often hailed as a pivotal figure in the Second Great Unification of physics, a testament to his profound influence on the field. When asked whether he stood on the shoulders of Newton, Einstein replied, “No I don’t. I stand on the shoulders of Maxwell” (Thompson, 2009, p. 103). Maxwell was an evangelical Presbyterian and in his later years became an Elder of the Church of Scotland. Maxwell was an evangelical Presbyterian and, in his later years, ascended to the position of Elder within the Church of Scotland.

I have looked into most philosophical systems and I have seen that none will work without God (Maxwell, 2011, p. 376).

Science is incompetent to reason upon the creation of matter itself out of nothing. We have reached the utmost limit of our thinking faculties when we have admitted that because matter cannot be eternal and self-existent it must have been created (Maxwell, 2011, p. 376).

Man’s chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him for ever (Campbell et al., 2020)

I think men of science as well as other men need to learn from Christ, and I think Christians whose minds are scientific are bound to study science that their view of the glory of God may be as extensive as their being is capable. — Draft of a reply to an invitation to join the Victoria Institute (1875), in Ch. 12 : Cambridge 1871 To 1879, p. 404

… I have the capacity of being more wicked than any example that man could set me, and … if I escape, it is only by God’s grace helping me to get rid of myself, partially in science, more completely in society, —but not perfectly except by committing myself to God … — Letter to Rev. C. B. Tayler ( 8 July 1853) in Ch. 6 : Undergraduate Life At Cambridge October 1850 to January 1854 — ÆT. 19-22, p. 189

Christianity—that is, the religion of the Bible—is the only scheme or form of belief which disavows any possessions on such a tenure. Here alone all is free. You may fly to the ends of the world and find no God but the Author of Salvation. You may search the Scriptures and not find a text to stop you in your explorations. … — “James Clerk Maxwell and the Christian Proposition”. MIT IAP Seminar. Archived from the original on 25 October 2014. Retrieved 13 October 2014.

“I have been thinking how very gently I have always been dealt with. I have never had a violent shove all my life. The only desire which I can have is like David to serve my own generation by the will of God, and then fall asleep.” — As death approached Maxwell told a Cambridge colleague, “James Clerk Maxwell and the Christian Proposition”. MIT IAP Seminar. Archived from the original on 25 October 2014. Retrieved 13 October 2014.

Alfred Werner

12 December 1866 – 15 November 1919

(Nobel Prize for Physiology/Medicine, restriction enzymes and molecular genetics, University of Basel): “I do not think our civilization has succeeded in discovering and explaining all the principles acting in the universe. I include the concept of God among these principles. I am happy to accept the concept without trying to define it precisely. I know that the concept of God helped me to master many questions in life; it guides me in critical situations and I see it confirmed in many deep insights into the beauty of the functioning of the living world.”

Max Planck

23 April 1858 – 4 October 1947

^{Unknown author. (circa 1930). Max Planck [Photograph]. Transocean Berlin. https://library.si.edu/image-gallery/73553}

The illustrious Nobel Prize-winning physicist, Max Planck, stands as a towering figure in the annals of science, renowned for his groundbreaking role in the establishment of quantum physics—a pivotal advancement that transformed our understanding of the natural world. A devout Christian, Planck was a dedicated member of the Lutheran Church in Germany, embodying a profound synthesis of faith and scientific inquiry. His contributions not only reshaped the landscape of modern physics but also left an indelible mark on the intellectual heritage of humanity.

“Both religion and science require a belief in God. For believers, God is in the beginning, and for physicists He is at the end of all considerations… To the former He is the foundation, to the latter, the crown of the edifice of every generalized world view.”

“There can never be any real opposition between religion and science; for the one is the complement of the other. Every serious and reflective person realizes, I think, that the religious element in his nature must be recognized and cultivated if all the powers of the human soul are to act together in perfect balance and harmony. And indeed it was not by accident that the greatest thinkers of all ages were deeply religious souls.”

Religion and Natural Science (Lecture Given 1937) Scientific Autobiography and Other Papers, trans. F. Gaynor (New York, 1949), pp. 184

Planck said in 1944,

“As a man who has devoted his whole life to the most clear headed science, to the study of matter, I can tell you as a result of my research about atoms this much: There is no matter as such. All matter originates and exists only by virtue of a force which brings the particle of an atom to vibration and holds this most minute solar system of the atom together. We must assume behind this force the existence of a conscious and intelligent spirit [orig. geist]. This spirit is the matrix of all matter.”

“Das Wesen der Materie” [The Nature of Matter], speech at Florence, Italy (1944) (from Archiv zur Geschichte der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Abt. Va, Rep. 11 Planck, Nr. 1797)

Lord William Kelvin

26 June 1824 – 17 December 1907

^{T. & R. Annan & Sons. (c. 1900). Sir William Thomson, Baron Kelvin, 1824 - 1907. Scientist, resting on a binnacle and holding a marine azimuth mirror [Carbon print, 19.00 x 14.70 cm]. National Galleries of Scotland. https://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/t-r-annan-sons/artist/t-r-annan-sons/pgp-230-1}

Who was noted for his theoretical work on thermodynamics, the concept of absolute zero and the Kelvin temperature scale based upon it. Kelvin was a devout Christian.

“I believe that the more thoroughly science is studied, the further does it take us from anything comparable to atheism.”

“If you study science deep enough and long enough, it will force you to believe in God.”

Sir Joseph John Thomson

18 December 1856 – 30 August 1940

^{Hoppe, E. O. (1920). Intermittent [Photograph]. Hulton Archive.}

Joseph John Thomson was a renowned English physicist who made groundbreaking contributions to the understanding of atomic structure. His discovery of the electron in 1897 revealed that cathode rays consisted of tiny, negatively charged particles with a high charge-to-mass ratio. Thomson also discovered the first evidence of isotopes in a stable element in 1913, while studying canal rays. His work with Francis William Aston on positively charged particles led to the development of mass spectrometry and the mass spectrograph. Thomson’s achievements were recognized with the 1906 Nobel Prize in Physics for his research on the conduction of electricity in gases.

As we conquer peak after peak we see in front of us regions full of interest and beauty, but we do not see our goal, we do not see the horizon; in the distance tower still higher peaks, which will yield to those who ascend them still wider prospects, and deepen the feeling, the truth of which is emphasised by every advance in science, that “Great are the Works of the Lord” (Foley, 1910, p. 456).

Robert Andrews Millikan

March 22, 1868 – December 19, 1953

who won the 1923 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on the elementary charge of electricity and on the photoelectric effect. Millikan was a devout Christian.

Robert Andrews Millikan (1868–1953), a prominent American physicist and Nobel laureate, was the son of a Congregational minister and was himself a devout Christian. He frequently wrote and spoke on the compatibility of scientific thought and religious belief. UUDBIn his later life, Millikan argued strongly for a complementary relationship between Christian faith and science, dealing with this in his Terry Lectures at Yale in 1926–27, published as “Evolution in Science and Religion.” WIKIPEDIA He was a Christian theist and proponent of theistic evolution.

“To me it is unthinkable that a real atheist could be a scientist.”

Sir Alexander Fleming

6 August 1881 – 11 March 1955

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Cyril Garnham

15 January 1901 – 25 December 1994

“greatest living parasitologist”

Sir Nevill Francis Mott

30 September 1905 – 8 August 1996

Sir Nevill Francis Mott (1905–1996), a British physicist and Nobel laureate, was a devout Christian who believed in a personal God. He stated, “I believe in God, who can respond to prayers, to whom we can give trust and without whom life on this earth would be without meaning.” LIGHT OF TRUTH At age 80, he was baptized in the Anglican Church. THE WASHINGTON POST He also edited a book titled “Can Scientists Believe?” NOBEL PRIZE His faith was integral to his life and work.

Kurt Friedrich Gödel

April 28, 1906 – January 14, 1978

^{Author Unknown. (1950). Kurt Gödel (left) and Albert Einstein in Princeton, New Jersey [Photograph].}

The Greatest Logician & Analytic Philosopher, Kurt Gödel’s astonishing discovery and proof, published in 1931, that even in elementary parts of arithmetic there exist propositions which cannot be proved or disproved within the system, is one of the most important contributions to logic since Aristotle. Gödel was a Christian. He believed that God was personal, and called his philosophy “rationalistic, idealistic, optimistic, and theological”

“My theory is rationalistic, idealistic, optimistic, and theological” — Kurt Friedrich Gödel

Gödel believed firmly in an afterlife, saying, “Of course this supposes that there are many relationships which today’s science and received wisdom haven’t any inkling of. But I am convinced of this [the afterlife], independently of any theology.” It is “possible today to perceive, by pure reasoning” that it “is entirely consistent with known facts.” “If the world is rationally constructed and has meaning, then there must be such a thing [as an afterlife].”

In an unmailed answer to a questionnaire, Gödel described his religion as “baptized Lutheran (but not member of any religious congregation). My belief is theistic, not pantheistic, following Leibniz rather than Spinoza.” Of religion(s) in general, he said: “Religions are, for the most part, bad—but religion is not”. According to his wife Adele, “Gödel, although he did not go to church, was religious and read the Bible in bed every Sunday morning”.

Wernher von Braun

23 March 1912 – 16 June 1977

The father of space science and the most important rocket scientist involved in the development of the U.S. space program.

“The vast mysteries of the universe should only confirm our belief in the certainty of its Creator. I find it as difficult to understand a scientist who does not acknowledge the presence of a superior rationality behind the existence of the universe as it is to comprehend a theologian who would deny the advances of science.”

“They (evolutionists) challenge science to prove the existence of God. But must we really light a candle to see the sun? They say they cannot visualize a Designer. Well, can a physicist visualize an electron? What strange rationale makes some physicists accept the inconceivable electron as real while refusing to accept the reality of a Designer on the grounds that they cannot conceive Him?”

“God deliberately reduced Himself to the stature of humanity in order to visit the earth in person, because the cumulative effect over the centuries of millions of individuals choosing to please themselves rather than God had infected the whole planet. When God became a man Himself, the experience proved to be nothing short of pure agony. In man’s time-honored fashion, they would unleash the whole arsenal of weapons against Him: misrepresentation, slander, and accusation of treason. The stage was set for a situation without parallel in the history of the earth. God would visit creatures and they would nail Him to the cross!”

“Although I know of no reference to Christ ever commenting on scientific work, I do know that He said, “Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” Thus I am certain that, were He among us today, Christ would encourage scientific research as modern man’s most noble striving to comprehend and admire His Father’s handiwork. The universe as revealed through scientific inquiry is the living witness that God has indeed been at work.”

Charles H. Townes

July 28, 1915 – January 27, 2015

Nobel Prize for physics, development of the MASER/LASER, University of California, Berkeley

Charles H. Townes (1915–2015), the physicist who co-invented the laser, was a devout Protestant Christian and a member of the United Church of Christ.

BERKELEY NEWS ARCHIVE Townes believed in the compatibility of science and religion, viewing them as parallel pursuits converging toward understanding the universe. TEMPLETON FOUNDATION His work often reflected this perspective, notably in his 1966 essay, “The Convergence of Science and Religion.”

I believe in the concept of God and in His existence.

Manfred Eigen

9 May 1927 – 6 February 2019

Nobel Prize for Chemistry, fast reaction kinetics, Director Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Gottingen

…religion and science neither exclude nor prove one another.

Vera Kistiakowsky

September 9, 1928 – December 11, 2021

Experimental Nuclear Physics, MIT and Mount Holyoke College

Vera Kistiakowsky, an experimental nuclear physicist and professor at MIT, identified as a practicing Christian. She stated, Specific details about her denominational affiliation are not readily available.

I am satisfied with the existence of an unknowable source of divine order and purpose and do not find this in conflict with being a practicing Christian.

“The exquisite order displayed by our scientific understanding of the physical world calls for the divine.”

One physicist who takes the strong anthropic principle seriously, and claims that it is a sign of a God, is Vera Kistiakowsky, a physicist at MIT. She says, “The exquisite order displayed by our scientific understanding of the physical world calls for the divine.” A scientist who seconds that opinion is John Polkinghorne, a particle physicist who gave up his position at Cambridge University and became a priest of the Church of England. He writes that the universe is “not just ‘any old world,’ but it’s special and finely tuned for life because it is the creation of a Creator who wills that it should be so.” Indeed, Isaac Newton himself, who introduced the concept of immutable laws which guided the planets and stars without divine intervention, believed that the elegance of these laws pointed to the existence of God (Kaku, 2005, p. 248).

Werner Arber

3 June 1929

Nobel Prize for Physiology/Medicine, restriction enzymes and molecular genetics, University of Basel. Pope Benedict XVI appointed him as President of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences in January 2011, making him the first Protestant to hold the position:

“I do not think our civilization has succeeded in discovering and explaining all the principles acting in the universe. I include the concept of God among these principles. I am happy to accept the concept without trying to define it precisely. I know that the concept of God helped me to master many questions in life; it guides me in critical situations and I see it confirmed in many deep insights into the beauty of the functioning of the living world.”

John C. Polkinghorne

16 October 1930 – 9 March 2021

Theoretical elementary particle physics, President, Queens College, Cambridge University:

I take God very seriously indeed. I am a Christian believer (indeed, an ordained Anglican priest), and I believe that God exists and has made Himself known in Jesus Christ.

One physicist who takes the strong anthropic principle seriously, and claims that it is a sign of a God, is Vera Kistiakowsky, a physicist at MIT. She says, “The exquisite order displayed by our scientific understanding of the physical world calls for the divine.” A scientist who seconds that opinion is John Polkinghorne, a particle physicist who gave up his position at Cambridge University and became a priest of the Church of England. He writes that the universe is “not just ‘any old world,’ but it’s special and finely tuned for life because it is the creation of a Creator who wills that it should be so.” Indeed, Isaac Newton himself, who introduced the concept of immutable laws which guided the planets and stars without divine intervention, believed that the elegance of these laws pointed to the existence of God (Kaku, 2005, p. 248).

Edward Nelson

May 4, 1932 – September 10, 2014

Edward Nelson (1932–2014) was an American mathematician renowned for his contributions to mathematical physics and logic. He was a professor in the Mathematics Department at Princeton University (New York Encounter, n.d.). Nelson was a devout Christian who believed in, prayed to, and worshipped God (Magis Center, n.d.). He explored the relationship between mathematics and faith, authoring works such as Mathematics and Faith, where he reflected on the human search for truth in mathematics and its connection to faith (Math at Princeton, n.d.). In his essay Confessions of an Apostate Mathematician, Nelson questioned the semantics of mathematics and its existential aspects, contemplating the role of faith in understanding mathematical truths (Math at Princeton, n.d.). Nelson’s philosophical and theological reflections influenced his mathematical work, particularly in areas like internal set theory and non-standard analysis. His perspective was that the dwelling place of meaning is syntax, and that semantics is the home of illusion (Math at Princeton, n.d.).

References for additon

Magis Center. (n.d.). 23 famous scientists who believe in God. Magis Center. Retrieved from https://www.magiscenter.com/blog/23-famous-scientists-who-believe-in-god

Math at Princeton. (n.d.). Mathematics and faith: The reflections of Edward Nelson. Math at Princeton. Retrieved from https://web.math.princeton.edu/~nelson/papers/faith.pdf

Math at Princeton. (n.d.). Confessions of an Apostate Mathematician: Edward Nelson’s philosophical views. Math at Princeton. Retrieved from https://web.math.princeton.edu/~nelson/papers/rome.pdf

New York Encounter. (n.d.). Edward Nelson: A mathematician of faith. New York Encounter. Retrieved from https://www.newyorkencounter.org/edward-nelson

Ulrich Becker

Dec. 17, 1938 March 10 2020

https://news.mit.edu/2020/ulrich-becker-mit-professor-emeritus-physics-dies-0409

Joseph H. Taylor, Jr.

March 29, 1941

Renowned for his extraordinary intellect, he was awarded the 1993 Nobel Prize in Physics for his groundbreaking discovery of the first known binary pulsar, a pivotal contribution that bolstered the Big Bang theory of the universe’s creation. A devout Christian, his brilliance has been recognized through numerous prestigious accolades, including the Dannie Heineman Prize for Astrophysics (1980), the Henry Draper Medal (1985), the Magellanic Premium (1990), the John J. Carty Award (1991), and the Wolf Prize in Physics (1992), and, of course, the Nobel Prize in Physics (1993).

“A scientific discovery is also a religious discovery. There is no conflict between science and religion. Our knowledge of God is made larger with every discovery we make about the world.”

John Erik Fornæss

14 October 1946

Mathematics, Princeton Univ.

I believe that there is a God and that God brings structure to the universe at all levels from elementary particles to human being to superclusters of galaxies.

Francis S. Collins

April 14, 1950

Francis S. Collins, a prominent geneticist and former director of the National Institutes of Health, identifies as a Christian who embraces theistic evolution, viewing scientific understanding as complementary to his faith. Raised in an agnostic family, Collins considered himself agnostic by graduate school. His perspective began to shift after a conversation with a hospital patient prompted him to question his lack of religious views. This led him to investigate various faiths and explore the evidence for and against God, particularly in cosmology. On the recommendation of a Methodist minister, he read Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis, which became foundational in developing his religious views. Collins believes that conversion to Christianity involves more than reason and argument, requiring a “leap of faith” as the final step. After several years of deliberation, he converted to Christianity during a trip to the Cascade Mountains, where a striking image of a frozen waterfall removed his final resistance, leading to his conversion the following morning. Throughout his journey, Collins has been associated with various denominations, including Methodist, Presbyterian, Baptist, and Episcopalian, emphasizing that denominational differences are not essential to him. He is known for advocating the harmony between science and faith, notably through his foundation, BioLogos, which promotes the integration of science and Christian faith (Wikipedia, n.d.).

Catholics

Gregor Mendel

20 July 1822 – 6 January 1884

Gregor Mendel is often referred to as “the father of modern genetics” due to his groundbreaking research on plant hybridization. In addition to his scientific contributions, Mendel was an Augustinian friar and a Catholic priest. The passage above is an excerpt from an Easter sermon he delivered, which, although undated, was given after he assumed the role of abbot in 1867. This excerpt is published in Folia Mendeliana (1966), Volume 1, by the Moravian Museum in Brünn and was initially made public by the Mendel Museum.

Jesus appeared to the disciples after the resurrection in various forms. He appeared to Mary Magdalene so that they might take him for a gardener. Very ingeniously these manifestation of Jesus is to our minds difficult to penetrate. (He appears) as a gardener. The gardener plants seedlings in prepared soil. The soil must exert a physical and chemical influence so that the seed of the plant can grow. Yet this is not sufficient. The warmth and light of the sun must be added, together with rain, in order that growth may result. The seed of supernatural life, of sanctifying grace, cleanses from sin, so preparing the soul of man, and man must seek to preserve this life by his good works. He still needs the supernatural food, the body of the Lord, which received continually, develops and brings to completion of the life. So natural and supernatural must unite to the realization of the holiness to the people. Man must contribute his minimum work of toil, and God gives the growth. Truly, the seed, the talent, the grace of God is there, and man has simply to work, take the seeds to bring them to the bankers. So that we “may have life, and abundantly” (Mendel, 1966).

Louis Pasteur

27 December 1822 – 28 September 1895

^{Nadar, P. (c. 1895). Studio portrait of Louis Pasteur [Photograph]. Photo by Paul Nadar.}

Louis Pasteur (27 December 1822 – 28 September 1895) was a pioneering French chemist, pharmacist, and microbiologist, widely recognized as the founder of microbiology and immunology. A devout Christian, Pasteur made significant contributions to the principles of vaccination, microbial fermentation, and pasteurization, the latter of which bears his name. His groundbreaking research transformed the understanding of disease causation and prevention, establishing the foundations of hygiene, public health, and modern medicine. Pasteur’s development of vaccines for rabies and anthrax is credited with saving millions of lives. He is celebrated as a key figure in the field of bacteriology, often referred to as the “father of microbiology” alongside Robert Koch and Antonie van Leeuwenhoek.

Posterity will one day laugh at the foolishness of modern materialistic philosophers. The more I study nature, the more I stand amazed at the work of the Creator. I pray while I am engaged at my work in the laboratory — As quoted in The Literary Digest (18 October 1902)

Le premier regard de l’homme jeté sur l’univers n’y découvre que variété, diversité, multiplicité des phénomènes. Que ce regard soit illuminé par la science, — par la science qui rapproche l’homme de Dieu [Science brings men nearer to God], — et la simplicité et l’unité brillent de toutes parts (Leahy, 2007, p. 61).

Nikola Tesla

10 July 1856 – 7 January 1943

^{Sarony, N. (c. 1890). Nikola Tesla at age 34 [Photograph]. Tesla Museum, Belgrade, Serbia. https://radiographics.rsna.org}

The inventor and futurist scientist known for numerous inventions, but best known for his contributions to the design of the modern alternating current (AC) electrical supply system. Tesla was the winner of: Edison Medal (1916); Elliott Cresson Medal (1894); John Scott Medal (1934). Tesla was of Eastern Orthodoxy.

“The gift of mental power comes from God, Divine Being, and if we concentrate our minds on that truth, we become in tune with this great power.”

My Inventions (1919) “My Inventions” first published in Electrical Experimenter magazine (1919); republished as My Inventions : The Autobiography of Nikola Tesla (1983)

Chapter 5 : The Influences That Shape Our Destiny

The gift of mental power comes from God, Divine Being, and if we concentrate our minds on that truth, we become in tune with this great power. My Mother had taught me to seek all truth in the Bible.

Alfred Werner

12 December 1866 – 15 November 1919

under construction

Deists

Albert Einstein

14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955

^{Halsman, P. (1947). Albert Einstein [Silver gelatin print photograph]. Princeton, NJ.}

Einstein’s theory of general relativity comprises the finalization of Newton’s assumption of gravitation and further encompasses Mach’s vision of the relativity of all motion; his theory of special relativity incorporates the finalization of the work of Maxwell and Lorentz. While Einstein didn’t believe in a personal God, he did believe in a God. Einstein (called himself a “Leibnizian,” and was also a Spinozist)

“The more I study science, the more I believe in God.”

“The fanatical atheists are like slaves who are still feeling the weight of their chains which they have thrown off after hard struggle. They are creatures who – in their grudge against traditional religion as the ‘opium of the masses’ – cannot hear the music of the spheres.”

“I’m not an atheist, and I don’t think I can call myself a pantheist. We are in the position of a little child entering a huge library filled with books in many languages. The child knows someone must have written those books. It does not know how. It does not understand the languages in which they are written. The child dimly suspects a mysterious order in the books but doesn’t know what it is. That, it seems to me, is the attitude of even the most intelligent human being toward God.” (Albert Einstein, as cited in Antony Flew’s book, There Is A God: How the World’s Most Notorious Atheist Changed His Mind.)

“I want to know how God created this world. I am not interested in this or that phenomenon, in the spectrum of this or that element. I want to know his thoughts; the rest are details.”

“As a child I received instruction both in the Bible and in the Talmud. I am a Jew, but I am enthralled by the luminous figure of the Nazarene . . . . No one can read the Gospels without feeling the actual presence of Jesus. His personality pulsates in every word. No myth is filled with such life. Jesus is too colossal for the pen of phrase-mongers, however artful. No man can dispose of Christianity with a bon mot.” (Albert Einstein, as cited in “What Life Means to Einstein,” The Saturday Evening Post, October 26, 1929.)

“Everyone who is seriously involved in the pursuit of science becomes convinced that a spirit is manifest in the laws of the Universe–a spirit vastly superior to that of man, and one in the face of which we with our modest powers must feel humble.”

“In view of such harmony in the cosmos which I, with my limited human mind, am able to recognize, there are yet people who say there is no God. But what really makes me angry is that they quote me for the support of such views.” (Clark, Ronald W. (1971). Einstein: The Life and Times. New York: World Publishing Company)

Ernst Boris Chain

19 June 1906 – 12 August 1979

Winner of the 1945 Nobel Prize in Medicine and Physiology

“To postulate, as the positivists of the end of the 19th century and their followers here have done, that the development and survival of the fittest is entirely a consequence of chance mutations, or even that nature carries out experiments by trial and error through mutations in order to create living systems better fitted to survive, seems to me a hypothesis based on no evidence and irreconcilable with the facts.”

Christian B. Anfinsen Jr.

March 26, 1916 – May 14, 1995

under construction

Michio Kaku

January 24, 1947

Theoretical physicist and string theory pioneer.

“I have concluded that we are in a world made by rules created by an intelligence. Believe me, everything that we call chance today won’t make sense anymore. To me it is clear that we exist in a plan which is governed by rules that were created, shaped by a universal intelligence and not by chance.”

“Physics says nothing about where the laws of physics themselves come from. So the cosmological proof of Saint Thomas Aquinas concerning the First Mover or First Cause is left relevant even today.” — The God Equation

Miscellaneous

Erwin Schrödinger

12 August 1887 – 4 January 1961

Winner of the 1933 Nobel Prize in Physics “for the discovery of new productive forms of atomic theory.”

“Science is a game – but a game with reality, a game with sharpened knives. If a man cuts a picture carefully into 1000 pieces, you solve the puzzle when you reassemble the pieces into a picture; in the success or failure, both your intelligences compete. In the presentation of a scientific problem, the other player is the good Lord. He has not only set the problem but also has devised the rules of the game – but they are not completely known, half of them are left for you to discover or to deduce. The uncertainty is how many of the rules God himself has permanently ordained, and how many apparently are caused by your own mental inertia, while the solution generally becomes possible only through freedom from its limitations. This is perhaps the most exciting thing in the game.”

Charles Darwin

12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882

“Another source of conviction in the existence of God, connected with the reason and not with the feelings, impresses me as having much more weight. This follows from the extreme difficulty or rather impossibility of conceiving this immense and wonderful universe, including man with his capacity of looking far backwards and far into futurity, as the result of blind chance or necessity. When thus reflecting I feel compelled to look to a First Cause having an intelligent mind in some degree analogous to that of man; and I deserve to be called a Theist.” — Charles Darwin, the founder of evolutionary biology, as quoted in his autobiography.

“The question of whether there exists a Creator and Ruler of the Universe has been answered in the affirmative by some of the highest intellects that have ever existed.” — Charles Darwin, the founder of evolutionary biology, as cited in his book Descent of Man.

“To suppose that the eye with all its inimitable contrivances for adjusting the focus to different distances, for admitting different amounts of light, and for the correction of spherical and chromatic aberration, could have been formed by natural selection, seems, I confess, absurd in the highest degree… The difficulty of believing that a perfect and complex eye could be formed by natural selection, though insuperable by our imagination, should not be considered subversive of the theory.” — Charles Darwin

“If it could be demonstrated that any complex organ existed which could not possibly have been formed by numerous, successive, slight modifications, my theory would absolutely break down.” — Origin of Species

Galileo Galilei

Astronomer, physicist, engineer, mathematician and philosopher who made fundamental contributions to the sciences of motion, astronomy, and strength of materials and to the development of the scientific method. His formulation of (circular) inertia, the law of falling bodies, and parabolic trajectories marked the beginning of a fundamental change in the study of motion.

“Mathematics is the language in which God has written the universe”

“I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with senses, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use …” — Letter to the Grand Duchess Christina (1615)

Nature … is inexorable and immutable; she never transgresses the laws imposed upon her, or cares a whit whether her abstruse reasons and methods of operation are understandable to men. For that reason it appears that nothing physical which sense-experience sets before our eyes, or which necessary demonstrations prove to us, ought to be called in question (much less condemned) upon the testimony of biblical passages which may have some different meaning beneath their words. For the Bible is not chained in every expression to conditions as strict as those which govern all physical effects; nor is God any less excellently revealed in Nature’s actions than in the sacred statements of the Bible. — Letter to the Grand Duchess Christina (1615)

Surely, God could have caused birds to fly with their bones made of solid gold, with their veins full of quicksilver, with their flesh heavier than lead, and with their wings exceedingly small. He did not, and that ought to show something. It is only in order to shield your ignorance that you put the Lord at every turn to the refuge of a miracle. — Notes in a copy of Jean-Baptiste Morin’s “Famous and ancient problems of the earth’s motion or rest, yet to be solved” (published 1631), as quoted in The Crime of Galileo (1976) by Giorgio De Santillana, p. 167

“… So help me God, and these His Holy Gospels, which I touch with my hands.” — Recantation (22 June 1633) as quoted in The Crime of Galileo (1955) by Giorgio de Santillana, p. 312.

Philosophy is written in this grand book, which stands continually open before our eyes (I say the ‘Universe’), but can not be understood without first learning to comprehend the language and know the characters as it is written. It is written in mathematical language, and its characters are triangles, circles and other geometric figures, without which it is impossible to humanly understand a word; without these one is wandering in a dark labyrinth. — Il Saggiatore, 1623

To give us the science of motion God and Nature have joined hands and created the intellect of Galileo. — Paolo Sarpi, Editor’s Preface to Dialogues and Mathematical Demonstrations Concerning Two New Sciences by Galileo (1638) Crew and De Salvio translation (1914)

Nicolaus Copernicus

The mathematician and astronomer (1473-1543) who formulated a heliocentric model of the universe, as cited in The Language of God by Francis Collins. (“Heliocentric” places the sun, rather than the Earth, at the center of the universe).

“To know the mighty works of God, to comprehend His wisdom and majesty and power; to appreciate, in degree, the wonderful workings of His laws, surely all this must be a pleasing and acceptable mode of worship to the Most High, to whom ignorance cannot be more grateful than knowledge.”

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References

Baggot, J. (1991, September 21). The myth of Michael Faraday: Michael Faraday was not just one of Britain’s greatest experimenters. A closer look at the man and his work reveals that he was also a clever theoretician. New Scientist, (1787). https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg13117874-600-the-myth-of-michael-faraday-michael-faraday-was-not-just-one-of-britains-greatest-experimenters-a-closer-look-at-the-man-and-his-work-reveals-that-he-was-also-a-clever-theoretician/

Campbell, L., Garnett, W., & Rautio, J. C. (2020). The life of James Clerk Maxwell (Illustrated ed.). Independently published. (Original work published 1882)

Faraday, M. (1859). Experimental researches in chemistry and physics. Richard Taylor and William Francis.

Faraday, M. (1999). The philosopher’s tree: A selection of Michael Faraday’s writings (P. Day, Ed.). Institute of Physics Publishing.

Foley, A. L. (1910). Recent developments in physical science. The Popular Science Monthly, 76, 456.

Jean, R. V., & Barabé, D. (1998). Symmetry in plants. World Scientific Pub Co Inc.

Kaku, M. (2005). Parallel worlds: A journey through creation, higher dimensions, and the future of the cosmos. Doubleday.

Kaku, M. (2021, July 29). Dr. Michio Kaku answers physics questions from Twitter. WIRED. https://www.wired.com/video/watch/tech-support-dr-michio-kaku-answers-physics-questions-from-twitter

Leahy, M. P. (2007). Letter to an atheist. Harpeth River Press.

Leibniz, G. W. (1951). Leibniz selections (P. Wiener, Ed.). Charles Scribner’s Sons. (Original work published 1677)

Leibniz, G. W. (1993). Discours de métaphysique et correspondance avec Arnauld (G. Le Roy, Introduction & Commentary). Librarie Philosophique J. Vrin. (Original work published 1686)

Leibniz, G. W. (2007). Theodicy: Essays on the goodness of God, the freedom of man and the origin of evil (A. Farrer, Ed.; E. M. Huggard, Trans.). BiblioBazaar. (Original work published 1710)

Maxwell, J. C. (2011). The scientific papers of James Clerk Maxwell (W. D. Niven, Ed.). Cambridge University Press.

Mendel, G. (1966). Excerpt from a sermon on Easter. In Folia Mendeliana (Vol. 1). Moravian Museum.

Nadar, P. (c. 1895). Studio portrait of Louis Pasteur [Photograph]. Photo by Paul Nadar. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a6/Louis_Pasteur%2C_foto_av_Paul_Nadar%2C_Crisco_edit.jpg

Newton, I. (1934). Mathematical principles of natural philosophy and his system of the world (A. Motte, Trans.). University of California Press. (Original work published 1686)

Shalev, B. A. (2002). 100 years of nobel prizes (2nd ed.). Americas Group.

Strickland, L. (2006). The shorter Leibniz texts: A collection of new translations (Illustrated ed.). Bloomsbury Academic.

Strickland, L. (2014). Leibniz’s Monadology: A new translation and guide (Originally published in 1714). Edinburgh University Press.

Thompson, M. S. (2009). The Fire l’ the Flint. Four Courts.

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Together in action, united in spirit, aligned in purpose. Ordo Dei Invictus.