Review by Choice Review
This edited volume consists of papers contributed by various academicians. Though the papers all fit under the title's umbrella, they fail to provide a balanced survey of the varied religious views mathematicians have held over the millennia. The introduction notes that "the material covered in this book is biased towards Western Christendom." As such, the volume may comfort today's Christian mathematicians and hence find a home in colleges with a Christian religious affiliation. But lack of breadth prevents it from being a valuable sourcebook for those with a dispassionate interest in relations between mathematics and diverse religions throughout history. Almost no space is devoted to instances in which religion or religious institutions caused difficulties for scientists. Indeed, according to one contributor, "the warfare [between science and religion] thesis has been long discredited in the history of science, although it seems to enjoy an undiminished popularity in other discourses." The fact that surveys show the percentage of today's mathematicians who believe in a God is less than 15 percent is not mentioned. These comments are not meant to denigrate the value of the individual papers; some of them are interesting. They simply do not offer a whole greater than their pieces. Summing Up: Optional. Only comprehensive mathematics collections serving upper-division undergraduates and above. --Craig Bauer, York College of Pennsylvania
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
