Washington D.C., Jun 10, 2025 /
08:50 am
Harvard professor of mathematics and biology Martin Nowak focused on math as a path to God during a presentation at the 2025 annual conference of the Society of Catholic Scientists in Washington, D.C.
During a June 8 lecture titled “Does Mathematics Lead Us to God?” Nowak said that among other things, math can be viewed as “an argument for the existence of God.”
Referencing St. Augustine, Nowak said math is like “an intelligible object.”
“We judge mathematics in truth by a criterion that is within us. That is, of course, the doctrine of divine illumination. So Augustine says, ‘This is possible because God is the teacher of the soul.’”
“Mathematics is not in meta,” Nowak said. He explained that math is “timeless” and “atemporal.”
“If you accept this … you have made a step toward God.” Because “you are no longer a materialist, you are no longer a naturalist in the sense you’re no longer an atheist.”
Math provides meaning and understanding, according to Nowak. “We walk through life and the world as meaning,” he said. “You need intelligent objects, you need mathematics.”
“It is mathematics that gives meaning … We experience mathematics as we experience love. Mathematics tells us who we are, who the other is. Mathematics tells us what stuff we are made of. Mathematics enables us to see God.”
Nowak’s discussion of math was a hot topic at the conference, especially given recent attention to Pope Leo XIV having earned a degree in mathematics from Villanova University.
“Mathematics is beautiful,” Nowak noted. “If you ask mathematicians what’s the most beautiful thing they have seen in their lives, it’s some mathematical equation.”
“Why is mathematics beautiful?” Nowak asked. He explained it’s beautiful because “God is beautiful.”
“Mathematics is the set of all correct statements,” he continued. “Mathematics is about truth with a capital T.”
“We will never be done with mathematics … because it takes forever to get to know an infinite being, God.”
“I think mathematics helps us to remember that we are eternal objects, that we are not only in time and in space,” Nowak said.
Since God transcends everything, Nowak added, God “cannot be captured or described by mathematics.” Math, he said, has more to do with the “thoughts of God.”
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Tessa Gervasini is a staff reporter for Catholic News Agency.
