Faith and formulas: What it means to be religious at a STEM school

Discussions of faith may seem out of place in an environment where equations and evidence dominate. UW, a leading hub for research and engineering, thrives on experimentation and logic. Yet beneath the surface of coding marathons and lab reports, another quieter story unfolds: the lives of students who carry both their religion and reason into the same classroom.

For some, that is not a paradox but a conversation. It’s the art of balancing faith in one hand and formulas in the other, and discovering that both can lead to truth, just by different routes.

Faith as reinforcement, not opposition

“I use science and objective measures in STEM not as a means of contradiction, but as reinforcement of my beliefs,” says Rayyan Syed, a third-year health science student. “As a religious person, it’s important to affirm that there are things you simply won’t understand and that’s not a bad thing. It’s beautiful.”

Syed describes how diving deeper into scientific study has actually strengthened his spirituality, rather than diminished it. “Just recently I found myself researching evolutionary biology — one of the more polarizing topics in this context. Instead of trying to make it fit into my religious framework, I simply affirm that for me, God is the Creator. However His creation manifests, we’re just observers of a small part of it.” 

That acceptance, he explains, doesn’t come from ignoring science but from understanding the limits of human knowledge. “The key thing is acquiring enough confidence in your beliefs to be able to say, ‘I don’t know.’ The more you study STEM, the more you realize that everything around you could only have been a perfect orchestration of a higher power.” For Syed, faith doesn’t obstruct learning, it enriches it, offering meaning to the scientific pursuit itself. 

Carrying faith through a scientific world 

Raised in Islam, Mydah Irfan, a third-year health science student, believes that the key to facing ideas that may seem contradictory is staying rooted in personal values while remaining open minded. “The most important thing is to remain true to what you were taught growing up,” she explains. Rather than rejecting new teachings, Irfan views them as opportunities to reflect, find meaning, and even strengthen her faith. She emphasizes that Islam encourages learning and reflection, allowing students to recognize similarities across belief systems and apply positive lessons from different teachings into their own lives. 

For many students, navigating faith in a scientific environment is not a solitary journey. Community plays an essential role in bridging the two worlds. Irfan also highlights the importance of religious communities on campus, especially at a research-heavy school like UW. Groups such as the Muslim Student Association (MSA) and campus mosques create spaces where students can explore the connections between science and spirituality. “There is just so much overlap,” she notes, especially within Islamic teachings, where scientific concepts frequently echo religious principles. Beyond spiritual support, these communities also adapt to students’ demanding academic schedules by creating events that fit the pace of STEM life.

Balancing belief and inquiry

For Haseeb Ghauri, a third-year health sciences student, the relationship between faith and science at Waterloo has been simple. While many expect tension between religion and a STEM education, Ghauri states, “Up until now, I’ve personally found no problems with what I’ve been taught in health studies in regard to my religion. Nothing has seemed overly contradictory to me.” His coursework in anatomy, genetics, and sociology has not challenged his religious identity, but instead added more depth to his understanding of the human body and society. To him, faith and education exist in separate but complementary spaces, each offering insight without competing for authority. 

Faith in action — finding purpose in study

Turaab Chaudhry, an economics student in his fourth year, says that studying in a STEM environment has not weakened his religious principles. Instead, it has actually clarified them. “Schools don’t necessarily tell us to act on these contradictory beliefs,” he explains, “but rather just teach us about them. That actually helps. It allows us to understand why certain actions are prohibited in Islam.”

Chaudhry provides an example on how school and faith go hand in hand: “I didn’t fully understand what interest was or why it’s considered haram [forbidden], but after learning about the concept in school, I was able to see why it is considered haram and why Allah has prohibited it. Learning about it academically helped me appreciate the wisdom behind that rule.” For Chaudhry, education becomes a lens of understanding, not conflict. Knowledge reinforces his awareness of the ethical dimension within faith, that divine commandments often align with moral and social good, even when viewed through a rational lens.

Faith-based communities at UW

Across campus, religious organizations like the MSA, Campus Ministry, Catholic Mass at St. Jerome’s University, Chinese Christian Fellowship, and Sikh Students’ Association create environments where students can share this intersection of belief and academics.

At UW, where students often balance demanding labs, classes, co-ops, and research projects, these groups offer more than just spiritual spaces — they provide emotional and social grounding. For some people, it is also a safe haven. “The Muslim community here is really active and welcoming,” Chaudhry says. “The MSA does a great job bringing people together. They hold Friday prayers, Qur’an circles, and fun events during Ramadan. There are prayer rooms all around campus, so it’s easy to pray between classes.” He adds that these spaces go beyond ritual to build connection and resilience. “It’s a great way to meet other Muslim students and stay connected to your faith while studying.”

Syed echoes this sentiment: “The religious communities are peculiar in the best way. People from completely different scientific disciplines end up asking the same philosophical questions. These groups remind you of what your values are and help you stay grounded.” Such communities remind students that faith doesn’t isolate them but connects them across boundaries of study and culture.

Beyond the lab: Faith as purpose

In a place where productivity and innovation dominate the conversation, spirituality invites a moment of reflection. For some, it’s about grounding themselves amid the relentless pace of deadlines and experiments. For others, it’s about recognizing that science and religion, far from being rivals, are both searches for truth, one through reason, the other through revelation.

Faith, for these students, isn’t about rejecting evidence. It’s about seeing the meaning behind it. It asks not just how the universe works, but why it exists in the first place. As Irfan puts it, “Faith is a compass in a crowded academic world. It is what keeps me grounded when answers feel incomplete and questions grow louder. Faith allows new ideas to sit beside the old truth.” For Ghauri, faith is not undone by microscopes or lecture halls. It deepens there. “In quiet moments between classes and late nights of studying, belief does not fade but takes a new shape. I have found no problem with what I have been taught in my program that clashes with my religion.” To him, science of the body and the study of society do not erase faith, but gently expand on it. 

A quiet coexistence

While UW may not always openly engage with faith, the presence of these communities quietly challenges the assumption that belief and science cannot coexist. They show that the spiritual and the scientific can thrive side by side, each expanding the other’s horizon. Students like Syed, Ghauri, Irfan, and Chaudhry are living proof that even in the most analytical environments, faith can flourish. Their stories reveal a generation unafraid to question, reflect, and reconcile. They find harmony between the microscope and the spiritual practices, the lab and the lecture hall, the formula and the faith. At a STEM school, religion may not always be the loudest voice in the room but it is often the one that asks the deepest questions.