QUANTUM LEAP OF FAITH: UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS CHEMIST RECONCILES SCIENCE, RELIGION

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - As the Passover and Easter holidays turn our attention toward religious faith, many people may feel more strongly the conflict between a scientific understanding of the world and their spiritual beliefs. But a University of Arkansas chemist claims such a conflict may no longer exist. His evidence - science, itself.

Dr. Lothar Schafer, distinguished professor of chemistry, teaches his students that new understandings about the nature of matter, energy and particle interaction have altered the scientific view of the universe in a way that may offer hope to people with troubled faith.

Where classical science often forced people to choose between a religious covenant or a scientific world view, recent discoveries in quantum physics make it possible to reevaluate the relationship between these two institutions.

"Such a reappraisal can now be given, but with the result that a life with values and meaning is not in conflict with the principle of objectivity as the sole source of true knowledge," said Schafer.

In 1997 Schafer wrote a book on the subject, entitled "In Search of Divine Reality: Science as a Source of Inspiration." Published by the University of Arkansas Press, the book has since been selected as a text for Christian education study groups across the nation. It has met wide acclaim among scientists, philosophers and theologians, even inspiring comments from such prominent figures as John Polkinghorne.

The schism between science and religion opened in the 17^th century with the advent of Newtonian physics. This scientific system taught that reality could be explained in terms of moving particles that acted in accordance with strict, physical laws.

As a result, reality became defined and confined by the workings of the material world, leaving no room to support a spiritual understanding of the universe.

"Nevertheless, discoveries in the realm of quantum physics, now indicate that interactions between elementary particles - and, in fact, the particles themselves - may not be strictly material in nature," said Schafer.

This claim is illustrated by a phenomenon called wave-particle duality. When the elementary components of matter are observed, they always appear as particles. However, when not observed, they act like waves, extending through space.

In other words, elementary particles exist as waves - but only when we’re not looking. According to Schafer, this indicates that these sub-atomic specks react to information. They "know" when they are being observed.

Since the only other known entity that reacts to information is the human mind, Schafer concludes that the components that make up the physical world possess mind-like qualities.

"We can say that some of the properties of electrons are mind-like because they react to information," said Schafer, "From there to the idea that there is a universal mind, well that requires an additional step that you may make if you choose to. The important thing is that this opens up the possibility for a divine presence in a way that classical science never allowed."

In addition, the fact that the very particles that compose matter can also exist as non-material waves signifies that the basis of the physical world is, at least in part, non-material. Such a finding suggests that the material world has a transcendental quality - something normally classified as "spiritual" and therefore non-scientific.

Schafer furthermore cites experiments which indicate that particles which at one time interacted with each other can instantaneously affect each other’s state even when separated by great distances.

Sub-atomic particles possess a quality called spin - indicating the direction in which they rotate along an axis. When two particles interact, they form a state in which their spins align so that when one axis is up, the other is always down.

If such particles are separated, researchers find that the particles continue to counter-align themselves regardless of the distance between them.

This phenomenon is called non-locality, and it suggests that communication between particles can create instantaneous effects even over vast distances - distances as great as from one point in the universe to any other point.

"Thus it appears that something that happens in the depth of the universe might have an immediate effect right here and right now," said Schafer. "If the universe is such a network of long-distance connections, it is more likely than not that it will include us - human beings - in this network. If it is mind-like then it is more likely than not that it will communicate with our minds."

Thus, not only do the theories of quantum physics help reconcile the conflict between science and spirituality, but they enable human beings to see themselves as an integral part of a much larger, inter-connected system - the universe.

"It is a wonderful experience when you are a scientist as I am - to realize that the conflict between science and spirituality has become outdated. All of a sudden there’s a chance and perhaps even a suggestion that there is a universal mind, that there is some divine presence, that we are on-line to something," he said. "In the classical sciences there was no possible connection."

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