Can faith and reason exist, free of mutual companionship? If we restrict ourselves to a traditional scientific method when pondering questions of the universe and close the door to theological data and human thought, we may be rendering inaccessible the majority of what exists. As a scientist, I take solace in what we can discover through science and math as we seek to understand the one percent of our physical universe that is accessible. But humans seek to know more, to learn more, to experience more. In this essay, I argue that the synthesis of faith and reason helps us to experience what can be known—in ways that neither faith nor reason alone can. As a Catholic university with a Jesuit and Marymount heritage, Loyola Marymount University (LMU) integrates faith and reason into our core curriculum for many reasons. We speak often about wanting our students to develop as whole persons, to lead lives with and for others, to be educated toward purpose. We also educate them to explore the universe with an open mind and to pursue truth with all their being. Such a pursuit requires fides et ratio, necessary companions that shepherd us in and toward infinite wonder
