Templeton Prize

The Templeton Prize
Awarded for Outstanding contributions in affirming life's spiritual dimension, whether through insight, discovery, or practical works.
Country United States
Presented by Templeton Foundation
First awarded 1973
Website www.templetonprize.org

The Templeton Prize is an annual award granted to a living person who, in the estimation of the judges, "has made an exceptional contribution to affirming life's spiritual dimension, whether through insight, discovery, or practical works". It was established, funded and administered by John Templeton starting in 1972, and then after 1987 by the John Templeton Foundation.[1]

The prize was originally awarded to people working in the field of religion (Mother Teresa was the first winner), but in the 1980s the scope broadened to include people working at the intersection of science and religion.[1] Until 2001, the name of the prize was "Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion", and from 2002 to 2008 it was called the "Templeton Prize for Progress Toward Research or Discoveries about Spiritual Realities".[2][3] Hindus, Christians, Jews, Buddhists and Muslims have been on the panel of judges and have been recipients of the prize.[4]

The monetary value of the prize is adjusted so that it exceeds that of the Nobel Prizes; Templeton felt, according to The Economist, that "spirituality was ignored" in the Nobel Prizes.[5] It has typically been presented by Prince Philip in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace.[6]

The prize has been criticized: British biologist Richard Dawkins said in his book The God Delusion that the prize was given "usually to a scientist who is prepared to say something nice about religion".[7] Sean M. Carroll, a research professor in the Department of Physics at the California Institute of Technology, criticized his colleagues for taking Templeton research grants when they did not support Templeton's beliefs.[8] Martinus J. G. Veltman, the 1999 Nobel laureate in physics, suggested the prize "bridg[ed] the gap between sense and nonsense".[9]

Laureates

Year Laureate Notes Ref(s)
1973 Mother Teresa facing right Mother Teresa Founder, Missionaries of Charity; 1979 Nobel Peace Prize laureate [10]
1974 Frère Roger in a group of people Frère Roger Founder, Taizé Community [11]
1975 Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Former President of India, advocate of non-aggression with Pakistan [11]
1976 Leo Josef Cardinal Suenens Pioneer in the Catholic Charismatic Renewal movement [12]
1977 Chiara Lubich Founder, Focolare Movement [13]
1978 — Thomas F. Torrance Former Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland [12]
1979 Nikkyō Niwano Cofounder, Risshō Kōsei Kai [12]
1980 — Ralph Wendell Burhoe Founder, Zygon (journal) [14]
1981 — Cicely Saunders Founder, hospice and palliative care movement [15]
1982 A black-and-white image of Billy Graham Billy Graham Evangelist [16]
1983 Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn with his mouth open and lower teeth on show Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn Soviet dissident novelist; Nobel laureate [16]
1984 — Michael Bourdeaux Founder, Keston Institute [11]
1985 Sir Alister Hardy Founder, Religious Experience Research Centre [17]
1986 — James I. McCord Former president, Princeton Theological Seminary [18]
1987 Stanley Jaki Benedictine priest; professor of astrophysics, Seton Hall University [16]
1988 — Inamullah Khan Former secretary-general, Modern World Muslim Congress [19]
1989 Carl Friedrich Freiherr von Weizsäcker Physicist and philosopher [12][A]
1989 — George MacLeod Founder, Iona Community [20][A]
1990 — Baba Amte Developer of modern communities for people suffering from leprosy [21][B]
1990 — Charles Birch Emeritus professor, University of Sydney [22][B]
1991 Immanuel Jakobovits, Baron Jakobovits Former Chief Rabbi of Great Britain and the Commonwealth [12]
1992 — Kyung-Chik Han Evangelist and founder, Young Nak Presbyterian Church [23]
1993 Charles Colson Founder, Prison Fellowship [11]
1994 Michael Novak behind a lectern, speaking at the Foreign Press Center in Washington Michael Novak Philosopher and diplomat [11]
1995 Paul Davies Theoretical physicist [24]
1996 Bill Bright Founder, Campus Crusade for Christ [25]
1997 Rev. Pandurang Shastri Athavale Social reformer; philosopher; and founder, Swadhyay Movement [25]
1998 — Sir Sigmund Sternberg Philanthropist; founder, Three Faith Forum [11]
1999 Ian Barbour Professor emeritus of science, technology and society, Carleton College [26]
2000 Freeman Dyson Professor emeritus, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton [26]
2001 — Arthur Peacocke Former dean, Clare College, Cambridge [27]
2002 John Polkinghorne Physicist and theologian [11]
2003 Holmes Rolston III Philosopher [28]
2004 George F. R. Ellis Cosmologist and philosopher [29]
2005 Charles Hard Townes Nobel laureate and physicist [10]
2006 — John D. Barrow Cosmologist and theoretical physicist [30]
2007 Charles Taylor giving a lecture at the New School in 2007 Charles Margrave Taylor Philosopher [7]
2008 Michał Heller Physicist and philosopher [31]
2009 — Bernard d'Espagnat Physicist [32]
2010 Francisco J. Ayala Biologist [33]
2011 Martin Rees, Baron Rees of Ludlow Cosmologist and astrophysicist [34]
2012 The 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso Spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, and 1989 Nobel Peace Prize laureate [35]
2013 Desmond Tutu Nobel laureate, social rights activist and retired Anglican archbishop [36]
2014 Tomáš Halík Roman Catholic priest, theologian, sociologist [37]
2015 Jean Vanier Catholic theologian, humanitarian and founder of L'Arche and Faith and Light [38]
2016 Jonathan Sacks Former Chief Rabbi of Great Britain, philosopher, and scholar of Judaism [39]
2017 Alvin Plantinga American scholar, philosopher, and writer [40]
2018 Abdullah II of Jordan King of Jordan [41]

Footnotes

A. a Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker and Lord MacLeod of Fuinary were jointly awarded the prize in 1989.[42]
B. b Baba Amte and Charles Birch were jointly awarded the prize in 1990.[42]

References

General

  • "Previous winners". Templeton Foundation. Retrieved 3 July 2007.

Specific

  1. 1 2 Waldrop, M. Mitchell (17 February 2011). "Religion: Faith in science". Nature. 470 (7334): 323–325. doi:10.1038/470323a.
  2. ↑ Enman, Charles (8 July 2008). "Templeton dies". Ottawa Citizen. Canada.com. Archived from the original on 9 May 2012. Retrieved 9 July 2009.
  3. ↑ Crewe, Daniel (15 March 2003). "Just because science looks forward, religion isn't backward". The Times. Retrieved 2 July 2009.
  4. ↑ "Judges". Templeton Foundation. Retrieved 2 July 2009.
  5. ↑ "Obituary – John Templeton". The Economist. 17 July 2008. Retrieved 2 July 2009.
  6. ↑ Schneider, Nathan (3 June 2010). "God, Science and Philanthropy | The Nation". The Nation.
  7. 1 2 Jeffries, Stuart (8 December 2007). "Is that all there is?". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 July 2009.
  8. ↑ "The Devout Donor". Business Week. 28 November 2005. Retrieved 2 July 2009.
  9. ↑ Veltman, Martinus. Facts and mysteries in elementary particle physics. World Scientific Publishing Company. p. 286. ISBN 981-238-149-X.
  10. 1 2 "US scientist wins religion prize". BBC News. 9 March 2005. Retrieved 2 July 2009.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Akbar, Arifa (15 March 2007). "Philosopher wins £800,000 award for spiritual focus". The Independent. Retrieved 2 July 2009.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 Templeton, John. The Humble Approach: Scientists Discover God. Templeton Foundation Press. pp. 170–172. ISBN 1-890151-17-3.
  13. ↑ "Lubich, Chiara – Italian Roman Catholic lay leader". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 2 July 2009.
  14. ↑ Saxon, Wolfgang (16 May 1997). "Ralph Wendell Burhoe, 85; Reconciled Science and Faith". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 July 2009.
  15. ↑ Clark, David. Cicely Saunders – Founder of the Hospice Movement: Selected Letters 1959–1999. Oxford University Press. p. 131. ISBN 0-19-856969-6.
  16. 1 2 3 "British physicist wins religious prize". BBC News. 14 March 2002. Retrieved 2 July 2009.
  17. ↑ Hood Jr., Ralph. The Psychology of Religion. The Guilford Press. p. 248. ISBN 1-57230-116-3.
  18. ↑ Berger, Joseph (27 February 1986). "Princeton theologian wins Templeton Prize of $250,000". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 July 2009.
  19. ↑ Steinfels, Peter (30 October 1988). "Religion Notes; Prize Winner, Accused Of Bias, Collects Award". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 July 2009.
  20. ↑ MacLeod, George. Daily Readings with George Macleod. Fount. p. 15. ISBN 0-00-627513-3.
  21. ↑ Pandya, Haresh (17 February 2008). "Baba Amte, 93, Dies; Advocate for Lepers". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 July 2009.
  22. ↑ "Emeritus Professor Louis Charles Birch". University of Sydney. Retrieved 2 July 2009.
  23. ↑ Brozan, Nadine (12 March 1992). "Chronicle". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 July 2009.
  24. ↑ Niebuhr, Gustav (9 March 1995). "Scientist Wins Religion Prize Of $1 Million". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 July 2009.
  25. 1 2 Niebuhr, Gustav (6 March 1997). "Leader of Spiritual Movement Wins $1.2 Million Religion Prize". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 July 2009.
  26. 1 2 Connor, Steve (23 March 2000). "£600,000 prize for physicist who urges ethics in science". The Independent. Retrieved 2 July 2009.
  27. ↑ Niebuhr, Gustav (9 March 2001). "Religion Prize Won by Priest Much Involved With Science". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 July 2009.
  28. ↑ Sewell, Helen (19 March 2003). "Environmentalist wins $1m prize". BBC News. Retrieved 2 July 2009.
  29. ↑ Howse, Christopher (20 March 2004). "Sacred mysteries". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2 July 2009.
  30. ↑ "British scientist wins $1m prize". BBC News. 15 March 2006. Retrieved 2 July 2009.
  31. ↑ Hall, John (12 March 2008). "Cosmologist wins world's largest monetary award". The Independent. Retrieved 2 July 2009.
  32. ↑ Gledhill, Ruth (16 March 2009). "Bernard d'Espagnat wins £1m Templeton Prize". The Times. Retrieved 2 July 2009.
  33. ↑ Dean, Cornelia (25 March 2010). "Biologist Wins Templeton Prize". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 March 2010.
  34. ↑ Satter, Raphael (6 April 2011). "UK Astrophysicist Wins $1.6 Million Religion Prize". ABC News. Retrieved 6 April 2011.
  35. ↑ "Dalai Lama Wins 2012 Templeton Prize". Philanthropy News Daily. 30 March 2012. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  36. ↑ "Archbishop Desmond Tutu wins £1.1m Templeton Prize". BBC News. 4 April 2013. Retrieved 4 April 2013.
  37. ↑ Bingham, John (13 March 2014). "Czech priest and former dissident Tomáš Halík wins £1.1m Templeton prize". The Telegraph. Retrieved 13 March 2014.
  38. ↑ Blumberg, Antonia (19 June 2015). "For Jean Vanier, Templeton Prize Winner, Loving People With Disabilities Is A Religious Experience". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  39. ↑ Cooper, Georgina (2 March 2016). "Former British chief rabbi wins $1.5 million Templeton Prize". Reuters. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  40. ↑ Shortt, Rupert. "Alvin Plantinga and the Templeton Prize". Times Literary Supplement. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  41. ↑ "King announced 2018 Templeton Prize Laureate for interfaith, intrafaith harmony efforts". The Jordan Times. 28 June 2018. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  42. 1 2 "Previous winners". Templeton Foundation. Retrieved 3 July 2007.

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