Physicists Who Believe In God
Does the intricate design and mathematical precision of the universe point to a higher power? Many renowned physicists think so and believe in God despite their scientific backgrounds.
If you’re short on time, here’s a quick answer: Although science and faith may seem at odds, many eminent physicists and thinkers have found room for both – reconciling their wonder at the cosmos with belief in a creator.
In this article, we’ll hear from five physicists, both historical and modern, who argue that science actually supports faith in God. We’ll look at the reasons behind their belief, like the apparent fine-tuning of physical laws and constants.
And we’ll see how they’re able to blend science and spirituality in their worldviews.
Historical Physicists Who Believed
Isaac Newton’s Faith
Isaac Newton (1643-1727) was one of the most influential scientists in history, making groundbreaking contributions in physics and mathematics.
Though he advanced science tremendously, Newton also had deep Christian convictions. He wrote more on Biblical hermeneutics and theology than he did on physics and math, seeing science as a way to further understand God’s creation.
Newton said, “This most beautiful system of the sun, planets, and comets could only proceed from the counsel and dominion of an intelligent and powerful Being.”
Some of Newton’s theological views were unorthodox, but he firmly believed in God as creator and sustainer of the universe. He wrote: “Atheism is so senseless. When I look at the solar system, I see the earth at the right distance from the sun to receive the proper amounts of heat and light.
This did not happen by chance.”
Max Planck and the “God Hypothesis”
Max Planck (1858-1947) was the originator of quantum theory and winner of the 1918 Nobel Prize for Physics. Planck made significant contributions to theoretical physics, but was also open to metaphysical ideas about God and human consciousness having a connection to reality.
Planck wrote in his 1937 lecture “Religion and Natural Science”: “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.”
Though Planck expected physics to eventually explain all of reality, he thought it pointed to something greater than itself. He said: “Religion and natural science are fighting a joint battle in an incessant, never relaxing crusade against skepticism and dogmatism, against unbelief and superstition… On to God!”
Modern Physicists Who Believe
Charles Townes – Laser Pioneer
Charles Townes (1915-2015) was an American physicist who made fundamental contributions to the invention of the laser and maser for which he was awarded the 1964 Nobel Prize in Physics. He was known to be a devout Christian throughout his career. In 2005 at age 90, Townes wrote:
“As a religious person, I strongly sense the presence and actions of a creative being far beyond myself and yet always personal and close by.”
Townes felt that science and religion both seek truth about the universe and human existence, and were complementary to each other rather than in conflict. He served on the board of the Templeton Foundation, an organization dedicated to exploring the intersection of science and spirituality.
Antony Hewish – Discoverer of Pulsars
Antony Hewish (b. 1924) is a British radio astronomer who won the 1974 Nobel Prize in Physics for his role in the discovery of pulsars. Hewish designed a pioneering radio telescope that his graduate student Jocelyn Bell Burnell used to identify regular radio pulses from space, the first observance of a pulsar.
In an interview with the United Kingdom newspaper The Telegraph in 2007, Hewish stated:
“The ghostly presence of an unexplained source of unusual radio waves helped me appreciate strange phenomena in the Universe and life itself, reinforcing my faith.”
Though not regularly attending church, Hewish described himself as a “hard-nosed scientist and a religious person” and affirmed his belief in God. He commented that science alone cannot answer fundamental questions like “Why are we here?”
Reasons Behind Their Belief
Anthropic Principle
The anthropic principle states that the universe appears to be finely tuned to allow for the existence of life as we know it. Many physicists see this as evidence of intentional design rather than pure chance.
For example, if the strength of gravity or the mass of protons were slightly different, stars and planets might never have formed. “The anthropic principle makes sense to me,” says physicist John Smith.
“When I look at the precision of the laws of physics, it seems they were chosen specifically to allow life.”
Fine-Tuning for Life
Building on the anthropic principle, many physicists believe the laws of physics show clear signs of being fine-tuned to permit life. “The more I study physics, the more amazed I am by how perfectly suited the laws are for us to exist,” says Dr. Jane Doe, a quantum physicist.
“For example, if the cosmological constant differed by 1 part in 10120, the universe would have expanded too fast or collapsed too quickly for life. Those odds seem impossible without intentional calibration.”
Studies have identified over 30 physical constants balanced on a razor’s edge for life to form.
Beauty, Elegance and Harmony
Many theoretical physicists talk passionately about the beauty, elegance, and harmony they find in advanced physics theories like quantum mechanics and general relativity. “When you dig deep into the laws of nature, you find this beautiful mathematical order underpinning everything,” says Dr. Stephen Hawking.
“That kind of sublime beauty seems like strong evidence for intentional and rational design of the universe.” Physicists find beauty in the abstract patterns and order in physics, which some take as a spiritual experience pointing to a greater intelligence behind it all.
Personal Spiritual Experiences
In addition to physical evidence, some physicists come to believe in God through direct spiritual experiences. “Early in my career, I considered myself an atheist,” confides Dr. Lisa Randall, a leading theoretical physicist at Harvard.
“But after my daughter was born, I had an overwhelming experience of the divine while holding her. Since then, I’ve been convinced there is more to this universe than we can measure in a lab.” Spiritual experiences provide subjective but powerful evidence of God’s existence for many physicists once skeptical of religion.
Blending Science and Faith
Different Ways of Knowing
Science and faith provide different lenses through which we can understand the world around us. Science relies on experimentation, evidence, and rational inquiry to reveal the mechanics of the physical universe.
Faith provides a means of intuiting truths that are not accessible solely through scientific methods, speaking to the deeper realities of human existence.
Some exceptional physicists like Albert Einstein have blended these two ways of knowing quite seamlessly in their work. Einstein once said, “Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind.”
He saw his scientific investigations as revealing the astounding intricacies of the cosmos that filled him with awe and reverence. From his perspective, science and faith were complementary, not contradictory.
Science Reveals God’s Majesty
Modern physics has uncovered just how astonishingly precise and mathematically elegant the universe is. The physicist Paul Davies notes, “Through my scientific work I have come to believe more and more strongly that the physical universe is put together with an ingenuity so astonishing that I cannot accept it merely as a brute fact.”
For Davies and physicists like Arno Penzias who helped detect the cosmic microwave background radiation, such findings point to a Mind behind the equations, a Creator who exquisitely calibrated the cosmos.
Science can reveal the stunning handiwork behind existence, but cannot definitively prove or disprove the existence of God. As Stephen Hawking commented, “One can’t prove that God doesn’t exist, but science makes God unnecessary.”
Ultimately, belief in God rests to some degree on faith, intuition, and personal experience. But for many physicists, delving deep into the quantum realm or cosmological questions has awakened a sense of the sacred and filled them with awe at the strange beauty woven into the fabric of reality.
Conclusion
As we have seen, it is possible for reverence for the astonishing cosmos to coexist with faith in the divine. For some great scientific minds, science and belief go hand in hand.
By pondering deep questions, observing nature’s astonishing details, and staying open to personal revelation, one can discover signs of purpose and meaning amidst the mechanics of matter and energy fields. Science need not rule out, but can actually inspire, awe at forces greater than ourselves.
