ISSUE

WINTER 2019–2020

THE SCIENCE OF FAITH

DESPITE SOME CENTURIES-OLD MISSTEPS, the Catholic Church is a supporter of science, not its enemy – yet there’s a widespread notion that faith and physics are at odds with one another. We spoke with Prof. Stephen Barr, president of the Society of Catholic Scientists, to better understand the coexistence of God and the Big Bang.

Archways: Four centuries ago, leaders of the Church in Rome condemned Galileo for supporting the theory that the Earth revolves around the Sun. Is Catholicism anti-science?

Prof. Stephen Barr: The condemnation of Galileo was a blunder, of course, but did not reflect an “anti-science” attitude. It was an aberration in an otherwise glorious 800-year history of the Church’s interaction with science. Catholic priests were among the founders of entire branches of modern science: Blessed Nicolas Steno in geology; Angelo Secchi in astrophysics; Gregor Mendel in genetics. The Big Bang theory of cosmology was the brainchild of the Catholic priest-physicist Georges Lemaître. Marin Mersenne, the first person to measure the speed of sound, was a priest, as were Giuseppe Piazzi, who discovered the first asteroid, and Francesco Grimaldi, who discovered the phenomenon of diffraction of light. The list goes on and on.

AW: Albert Einstein once dismissed all religion as “an incarnation of primitive superstition,” and Stephen Hawking was an atheist. Does modern physics make religion untenable? Do we have to choose between pursuing science or following faith?

SB: Certainly not. Until about the mid-19th century, most of the great modern scientists were believing Christians – including, by the way, Galileo. Kepler announced his discovery of the laws of planetary motion with a prayer: “I thank you, Lord God our Creator, that you have allowed me to see the beauty in your work of creation.” These scientists saw their discoveries as showing forth the greatness of God’s handiwork. One finds a lot more atheism now among scientists – and nonscientists – than in the past. Nevertheless, many scientists remain religious, including the 1,000-plus members of the Society of Catholic Scientists (SCS), which was founded in 2016. The Society gave its 2018 St. Albert Award to Juan Maldacena, whom many regard as the greatest theoretical physicist of his generation. He is a member of SCS.

AW: Most contemporary physicists believe that our universe developed through a complex sequence of random events, beginning with the Big Bang billions of years ago. How can that be reconciled with the notion that God created the world and has a plan for His people?

SB: Random events play an important role in the universe, but the universe also has a profound and pervasive order that is described by exact mathematical laws. What is randomness? Very roughly, things are random when there is no reason for them to exhibit a predictable systematic pattern. Think of throwing a pair of dice many times or dealing a sequence of cards from a well-shuffled deck. The cards dealt are “random,” and yet God knows from all eternity what is “in the cards.” This is something St. Thomas Aquinas wrote about long before modern science. Book 3, chapter 74 of his Summa Contra Gentiles is entitled “Divine providence does not exclude fortune and chance.”

AW: In the world of scientific research, is there any prejudice or discrimination against scientists who declare themselves to be Christians or believers of any other faith?

SB: There is some, but you are just as likely to encounter anti-religious bigotry in an English or history department as in a physics department. I am told it is worse in biology than physics – probably because biologists are always having to contend with fundamentalists over evolution. My advice to those at an early and vulnerable stage of their scientific careers is to be prudent about how and to whom they go about declaring their faith. I would also advise them to join SCS for fellowship, encouragement and advice.

AW: Finally, how can a nonscientist respond to the person at a party – a neighbor, a brother-in-law – who says, “I read that Einstein said there is no God. Why should I believe you over Einstein?”

SB: There is a strange tendency to think that great scientists are also sages. I think this began with Einstein, and in recent times Stephen Hawking achieved similar oracular status. But brilliance in physics, like brilliance in chess or mathematics, is a very specialized kind of intelligence, which has nothing to do with wisdom, virtue, philosophical depth or even common sense. Some great scientists, like Hawking, have been atheists; others, like Newton, were devout Christians. (Einstein’s views are actually quite hard to pin down.) To the brother-in-law who rejects God because Einstein did, I would say simply: “It’s up to you whether or not to worship God, but you should certainly not worship Einstein or make an idol or oracle out of him.” And – the brother-in-law should take note here! – Einstein himself would have heartily agreed.

 

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RECOMMENDED READING LIST

 

Modern Physics and Ancient Faith
Stephen M. Barr
In this in-depth exploration, Professor Barr demonstrates that the discoveries of modern science align better with Catholic teachings than with atheism or materialism.
Univ. of Notre Dame Press, 2016

The Believing Scientist: Essays on Science and Religion
Stephen M. Barr
Twenty-seven articles about the relation of science and faith, evolution, mind and soul, the Big Bang and creation, and other topics.
Eerdmans, 2016

Faith, Science and Reason: Theology on the Cutting Edge (2nd edition)
Christopher T. Baglow
Written as a textbook for Catholic schools, this wonderful volume covers a wide range of topics, including evolution, human origins, how to read Scripture properly, the Big Bang and cosmology.
Midwest Theological Forum, 2019

The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence of Belief
Francis S. Collins
A renowned scientist (the leader of the Human Genome Project) tells the emotionally powerful story of his adult conversion to Christianity. Though Collins is not Catholic, his book is aligned with Catholic doctrine except for some statements about bioethics in the appendix.
Free Press, 2007

God’s Mechanics: How Scientists and Engineers Make Sense of Religion
Br. Guy Consolmagno, S.J.
The director of the Vatican Observatory, “Brother Guy,” offers helpful insights and uncovers many parallels between science and faith.
Jossey-Bass, 2008