Who says science and religion don't mix? Take your pick of these excellent quotes from Nobel laureates and pioneers in science:

Nicolaus Copernicus (16th century), astronomer and the first in-depth proponent of heliocentrism: "Who could live in close contact with the most consummate order and divine wisdom and not feel drawn to the loftiest aspirations? Who could not adore the architect of all these things?"

Johannes Kepler (17th century), one of history's greatest astronomers: "My Lord and my Creator! I would like to proclaim the magnificence of your works to men to the extent that my limited intelligence can understand."

Isaac Newton (18th century), founder of classical theoretical physics: "The admirable arrangement and harmony of the universe could only have come from the plan of an omniscient and omnipotent Being."

Carl Linnaeus (18th century), founder of systematic botany: "I have seen the eternal, infinite, omniscient, omnipotent God pass close by, and I knelt prostrate in adoration."

Thomas A. Edison (20th century), the prolific inventor who held 1200 patents: "My utmost respect and admiration to all the engineers, especially the greatest of them all: God."

Robert Millikan (20th century), great American physicist, Nobel Prize 1923: "I can assert most definitely that the denial of faith lacks any scientific basis. In my view, there will never be a true contradiction between faith and science."

Albert Einstein (20th century), founder of modern physics and 1921 Nobel Prize: "Everyone who is seriously committed to the cultivation of science becomes convinced that in all the laws of the universe is manifest a spirit vastly superior to man, and to which we with our powers must feel humble."

Erwin Schrödinger (20th century), discoverer of wave mechanics, Nobel Prize 1933: "The finest masterpiece is the one made by God, according to the principles of quantum mechanics … "

Charles Townes (20th century), physicist, shared the 1964 Nobel Prize for discovering the principles of the laser: "As a religious man, I feel the presence and intervention of a Creator beyond myself, but who is always nearby … intelligence had something to do with the creation of the laws of the universe."

Allan Sandage (21st century), astronomer, Crafoord Prize (equivalent of the Nobel Prize): "I was practically an atheist in my childhood. Science was what led me to the conclusion that the world is much more complex than we can explain. I can only explain the mystery of existence to myself by the Supernatural."