Mathematicians' Religious Affiliations and Professional Practices: The Case of Bo

Abstract

Bo’s case is the third of three case studies exploring relationships between the domains of religious belief and mathematical practice among university research professors. As a Buddhist, Bo’s mathematics and religious views are integrated in a surprising epistemology. His epistemology and other relationships are contrasted by those presented in previous case studies of a Jewish professor and a Christian professor, at the same university. While the previous cases highlighted the transfer of methods of practice across domains and the need to reconcile potentially conflicting aspects of the two domains, Bo’s case reminds educators that each student holds her own universe of thought and that mathematics plays a prominent role in developing that universe; or is it “the way of knowing the  universe?”