John Templeton Foundation

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[[File:John Templeton Foundation logo.jpg|thumb|right|165px|John Templeton Foundation logo]]
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{{cquote|[[Richard Dawkins|Richard]], if you ever fall on hard times...|||[[Daniel Dennett]]<ref>quoted in ''[[The God Delusion]]'' by Richard Dawkins (p. 153)</ref>}}

The '''John Templeton Foundation''' is a fundraising organisation that secures money to advance "progress in [[spiritual]] discoveries".<ref>[http://www.templeton.org/ Templeton Homepage][http://www.templeton.org/sir-john-templeton/philanthropic-vision Philanthropic Vision]</ref> Founded by [[business]]man {{wpl|John Templeton}} {{lived|1912|2008}}, it was subsequently headed by his son, {{wpl|John Templeton Jr.|Jack Templeton}} {{lived|1940|2015}}, who quit his medical practice in 1995 in order to work full-time for the organisation.

The Foundation acts a source of funding for numerous scientific studies to address what it calls the "Big Questions", such as [[genetics]], "cognitive creativity" (whatever that is), and {{wpl|personal development||.}} It is best known for the "Templeton Prize for Progress Toward Research or Discoveries about Spiritual Realities".<ref>https://www.templetonprize.org/</ref>

In practice, it appears to aim to corrupt the public discourse concerning [[science]] in the interests of [[religion]] by swaying academics by offering much more money than they'd get any other way. Anything or anyone funded by Templeton should be viewed in this light. Of late, the Foundation has expanded beyond religion to funding [[climate change denial]].<ref>
[http://whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com/2013/12/26/templeton-funds-climate-change-denialist-groups/ Templeton funds climate-change denialist groups], 26 December 2013 - "[...] a new paper in the journal ''Climate Change'' [...]  shows that Templeton gives substantial sums of money to climate-change denialist organizations. And by 'substantial', I mean more than 20 milliion [sic] dollars over the eight years from 2003-2010."
</ref><ref>
{{cite journal
| last1                 = Brulle
| first1                = Robert
| author-link1          = Robert Brulle
| title                 = Institutionalizing delay: foundation funding and the creation of U.S. climate change counter-movement organizations
| url                   = https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10584-013-1018-7
| journal               = Climatic Change
| publisher             = Springer Science+Business Media
| publication-date      = 21 December 2013
| issue                 = 122
| pages                 = 681-694
| doi                   = 10.1007/s10584-013-1018-7
| issn                  = 1573-1480
| access-date           = 24 May 2022
}}
</ref>

It has also donated to a variety of [[right-wing]] causes in the [[UK]], including the [[Legatum Institute]] ($1.5m), [[Adam Smith Institute]] ($1.4m), and [[Institute of Economic Affairs]] ($497,000).<ref name=guardian>[https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/nov/29/the-us-donors-who-gave-generously-to-rightwing-uk-groups The US donors who gave generously to rightwing UK groups], The Guardian, 29 Nov 2019</ref>

==The Templeton Prize==
The Templeton Prize includes a monetary award of £1,100,000 sterling. It is given to a living person who has made an exceptional contribution to affirming life’s spiritual dimension, whether through insight, discovery, or practical works. The prize has been given annually since 1973, when it misguidedly honored [[Mother Teresa]] for [[charity]] work, despite her [[Mother Teresa#The Missionary Position|actual work]] being to cause misery and suffering to poor and sick people in Calcutta while flying to [[Switzerland]] for her own medical care.

Since then, the prize has been awarded to a variety of [[scientist]]s and [[theologian]]s selected as nominees for their "substantial record<nowiki>[s]</nowiki> of achievement that highlights or exemplifies one of the various ways in which human beings express their yearning for spiritual progress… affirming life's spiritual dimension". Although they claim to award it to anyone of ''any'' [[faith]], any "creed" and "men and women alike" the majority of Templeton laureates are old, male, white and [[Christian]]. The 1992 laureate was Kyung-Chik Han, whose only qualification for the prize was spreading Christianity throughout [[South Korea]]. Since the late 1990s, there is a slight trend toward giving the prize to anyone who is a tenured professor but also goes to church occasionally; it helps if you also write flowery popular-science bestsellers about seeing God in starlight. Martin Rees appears to be the only person with no religious faith to have won it (in 2011), probably as a rebuff to more militant atheists like Richard Dawkins. Arthur Peacocke, who did some work on [[DNA]] in the 1970s, seems to have received the 2001 prize just for being ordained as a minister.

In its own words:

{{Quotebox|How might humankind's spiritual information and advancement increase by more than a hundredfold? This is the challenge presented by the Templeton Prize. Just as knowledge in science, [[medicine]], [[cosmology]] and other disciplines has grown exponentially during the past century, the Templeton Prize honors and encourages the many entrepreneurs trying various ways for discoveries and breakthroughs to expand human perceptions of divinity and to help in the acceleration of divine creativity.<br><br>
'''Their various methods, particularly through scientific research''', serve to supplement the wonderful ancient scriptures and traditions of all the world's religions. Many honors and titles and prizes have been given for many centuries and will be given in the future for good works, reconciliation, saintliness or for relief of poverty and sickness. But these very worthy endeavors are not the purpose of the Templeton Prize.<br><br>
Instead, this award is intended to encourage the concept that resources and manpower are needed to accelerate progress in spiritual discoveries, which can help humans to learn more than a hundredfold more about divinity. We hope that by learning about the lives of the awardees, millions of people will be uplifted and inspired toward research and more discoveries about aspects of divinity. The Prize is intended to help people see the infinity of the Universal Spirit still creating the galaxies and all living things and the variety of ways in which the Creator is revealing himself to different people. We hope all religions may become more dynamic and inspirational.}}

Laureates include:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Awardee
! Notes
|-
|1973
|[[Mother Teresa]]
|style="width: 75%;"|extremely dubious humanitarian, who later won a Nobel Peace Prize and [[Catholic]] sainthood
|-
|1974
|"Frère" Roger Schütz
|[[Switzerland|Swiss]] Christian [[monk]], [[Ecumenism|ecumenicist]], founder of Taizé Community. Stabbed to death in 2005
|-
|1975
|Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
|formerly President of [[India]] (a largely ceremonial position), promoted peace with [[Pakistan]]
|-
|1976
|Leo Joseph Suenens
|Roman Catholic who brought in charismatic/[[Pentecostal]] elements
|-
|1977
|Chiara Lubich
|Italian Catholic writer and founder of Focolare Movement, an ecumenical but largely Roman Catholic lay group
|-
|1978
|Thomas F. Torrance
|Scottish minister, theologian, and translator of Karl Barth
|-
|1979
|Nikkyō Niwano
|[[Japanese]] [[Buddhist]], a peace activist and promoter of inter-faith niceness; co-founder of Buddhist group Risshō Kōsei Kai
|-
|1980
|Ralph Wendell Burhoe
|American academic and failed weatherman active in the whole science-religion business
|-
|1981
|Cicely Saunders
|English founder of {{wpl|hospice}} movement
|-
|1982
|[[Billy Graham]]
|notorious American preacher
|-
|1983
|Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
|[[Soviet Union|Soviet Russian]] dissident, famous for saying "Men have forgotten God; that's why all this has happened."<ref>[https://www.nationalreview.com/2018/12/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn-men-have-forgotten-god-speech/ ‘Men Have Forgotten God’: Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s 1983 Templeton Address], National Review, Dec 2012</ref>
|-
|1984
|Michael Bourdeaux
|founded the {{wpl|Keston Institute||,}} which studied religion in [[communism|communist]] countries
|-
|1985
|Sir Alister Hardy
|marine biologist who sailed on expeditions to [[Antarctica]] in the 1920s; in retirement founded the Religious Experience Research Centre which collects accounts of religious experiences, and is now based at University of Wales Trinity Saint David in Lampeter, [[Wales]]<ref>[https://www.uwtsd.ac.uk/library/alister-hardy-religious-experience-research-centre/ Alister Hardy Religious Experience Research Centre], University of Wales Trinity Saint David, accessed Sept 17, 2020</ref>
|-
|1986
|James I. McCord
|of Princeton Theological Seminary, and subject of the world's shortest Wikipedia page<ref>[https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=James_I._McCord&oldid=974786998 James I. McCord], Wikipedia, revision 974786998, 25 August 2020</ref>
|-
|1987
|Stanley Jaki
|Benedictine priest and [[astrophysicist]], noted for work on [[philosophy of science]] (aren't they all)
|-
|1988
|Inamullah Khan
|they gave it to a [[Muslim]]! Albeit one who promotes ecumenical understanding; he was also an activist for [[Kashmir]]
|-
|1989
|George MacLeod
|founder of Iona community in [[Scotland]], a nice place on an island for religious people to think about stuff
|-
|1990
|Baba Amte
|cared for those with [[leprosy]]
|-
|1991
|{{wpl|Immanuel Jakobovits}}
|former head of British Orthodox Ashkenazi [[Jews]]; proposed that if [[homosexuality]] was proven to have a genetic cause, then [[genetic engineering]] should be used to eliminate gays
|-
|1992
|Kyung-Chik Han
|Korean Christian who founded some churches
|-
|1993
|[[Charles Colson]]
|criminal associate of [[Richard Nixon]], one of the Watergate Seven and instigator of the Hard Hat Riot in 1970; proposed firebombing the Brookings Institution. After going to jail for his role in the [[Watergate scandal]], he discovered Christianity and devoted himself to [[Proselytization|proselytizing]] to [[prison]]ers
|-
|1994
|{{wpl|Michael Novak}}
|American diplomat and writer. Flitted between the right wing of the [[Democratic Party]] (where he was involved with [[Red Scare|red-scare]] organisations like the Coalition for a Democratic Majority) and endorsing [[Republicans]] while claiming to be a lifelong Democrat
|-
|1995
|Paul Davies
|British physicist, did work on [[quantum|quantum field theory]] and [[cosmology]], proposed a one-way mission to [[Mars]], and wrote many pop science books. Not opposed to God
|-
|1996
|Bill Bright
|founder of [[Campus Crusade for Christ]] (now Cru)
|-
|1997
|Pandurang Shastri Athavale
|Swadhyay Movement
|-
|1998
|{{wpl|Sigmund Sternberg}}
|Scrap metal dealer and philanthropist, founded the Three Faith Forum to promote ecumenical understanding
|-
|1999
|Ian Barbour
|academic who wrote on relationship between science and religion, which is meat and drink to the Templeton dudes
|-
|2000
|[[Freeman Dyson]]
|legendary physicist who sadly became a [[global warming denialist]]
|-
|2001
|Arthur Peacocke
|[[biologist]], self-described [[panentheist]], proposer of [[theistic evolution]]
|-
|2002
|[[John Polkinghorne]]
|physicist and [[Anglican]] priest. Bingo!
|-
|2003
|Holmes Rolston III
|[[philosopher]] noted for work on environmental ethics; also an expert on mosses
|-
|2004
|George F. R. Ellis
|cosmologist, [[Quaker]], opposed [[apartheid]]
|-
|2005
|Charles Hard Townes
|physicist known for work on masers and for religiosity
|-
|2006
|John D. Barrow
|respected cosmologist, physicist, [[mathematician]], and author of pop science books; co-wrote ''The Anthropic Cosmological Principle'' with [[Frank Tipler]]
|-
|2007
|Charles Taylor
|Quebecker philosopher, writing on political philosophy, intellectual history, and how French and English-speaking Canadian communities can coexist without killing each other
|-
|2008
|Michał Heller
|[[Poland|Polish]] philosopher and physicist
|-
|2009
|Bernard d'Espagnat
|French academic who studied philosophical aspects of [[quantum theory]]
|-
|2010
|Francisco J. Ayala
|[[evolutionary biologist]] and briefly a priest
|-
|2011
|{{wpl|Martin Rees}}
|British cosmologist. Unusually for winners, he is an [[atheist]] although one who's nice to Christians and not in the snarky [[Richard Dawkins]] mold
|-
|2012
|Tenzin Gyatso
|Buddhist leader; 14th [[Dalai Lama]]
|-
|2013
|Desmond Tutu
|[[South African]] Anglican archbishop and [[human rights]] activist
|-
|2014
|Tomáš Halík
|[[Czech]] priest and theologian
|-
|2015
|{{wpl|Jean Vanier}}
|[[French]] activist for people with [[disabilities]], founder of L'Arche. In 2020, a year after his death, it was revealed that he had [[Rape|sexually abused]] six (non-disabled) women and used his theological skills to come up with "highly unusual spiritual or mystical explanations used to justify these behaviours"<ref>[https://www.larche.org.uk/news/inquiry-statement L’Arche International inquiry into historic sexual abuse by Jean Vanier], L'Arche, 2020</ref>
|-
|2016
|Jonathan Sacks
|British Orthodox Jewish leader and occasional speechwriter for [[Mike Pence]]<ref>[https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/you-were-never-my-chief-rabbi-bruv You were never my Chief Rabbi, bruv], David Rosenberg, Morning Star Online</ref>
|-
|2017
|[[Alvin Plantinga]]
|philosopher known for arguing that God exists, attempting to solve problem of [[free will]], etc.
|-
|2018
|Abdullah II of [[Jordan]]
|one of the less objectionable Middle Eastern leaders; he has improved human rights, but journalists and protestors are still detained, the [[death penalty]] remains, unmarried women are separated from their children, and non-Jordanians are discriminated against<ref>[https://www.amnesty.org/en/countries/middle-east-and-north-africa/jordan/report-jordan/ Jordan], Amnesty International, accessed Sep 16, 2020</ref>
|-
|2019
|Marcelo Gleiser
|[[Brazilian]]-born physicist who got the prize for pop science books with twee titles like ''The Dancing Universe: From Creation Myths to the Big Bang''
|-
|2020
|{{wpl|Francis Collins}}
|American [[geneticist]], former head of the [[Human Genome Project]]; author of ''The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief''
|-
|2021
|{{wpl|Jane Goodall}}
|Primatologist, [[anthropologist]], conservationist, and activist; seen as the world's foremost expert on [[chimpanzee]]s
|-
|2022
|{{wpl|Frank Wilczek}}
|Theoretical physicist and author; awarded the [[Nobel Prize]] in [[Physics]] in 2004
|}

==Money talks==
There are concerns that the Templeton Foundation is attempting to subvert scientific process by giving large sums of money with [[ideological]] strings attached.
{{quotebox|One Templeton official made what I felt were inappropriate remarks about the foundation's expectations of us fellows. She told us that the meeting cost more than $1-million, and in return the foundation wanted us to publish articles touching on science and religion. But when I told her one evening at dinner that — given all the problems caused by religion throughout human history — I didn't want science and religion to be reconciled, and that I hoped humanity would eventually outgrow religion, she replied that she didn't think someone with those opinions should have accepted a fellowship. So much for an open exchange of views.<ref>[http://www.edge.org/3rd_culture/horgan06/horgan06_index.html The Templeton Foundation: A Skeptic's Take by John Horgan]</ref>}}
Another critic, [[Paul Zachary Myers|P Z Myers]] fears the Templeton Foundation blurs the edges between science and [[superstition]].
{{quotebox|They have an agenda, and it is one of the most corrupting and untrustworthy causes of all, religion. They already know the answer, and they only want to pay for results that can be interpreted to bolster their unsupportable claims. Even if they are not asking that anyone fake evidence, we know that any line of inquiry that leads away from their desired answer will be abandoned, even if it is leading to the right answer. They are antithetical to good science.  Such an organization exists: the Templeton Foundation. And, boy are they loaded, with a massive endowment and the willingness to throw large sums of money around. Scarily huge sums — the kind of money that will tempt even the most principled scientist to compromise a little bit.<ref>[http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2009/05/07/the-templeton-conundrum/#more:// The Templeton conundrum]</ref>}}
To some extent the Foundation spreads its largess to people and groups with good scientific credentials, is connected with well-respected scientific conferences, and advertises in scientific magazines. This tends toward giving spurious scientific respectability to its [[pseudoscience|pseudoscientific]] agenda of fostering "spiritual discoveries." 

[[Jerry Coyne]], also a prominent [[New Atheism|New Atheist]], criticized the Templeton Foundation's attempt to reconcile science and religion as harming science itself:
{{quotebox|Templeton's mission is a serious corruption of science. Like a [[homeopathic]] remedy, it dilutes the core of the scientific enterprise, which has achieved its successes by holding doubt as a virtue and [[faith]] as a vice. The situation in religion is precisely the opposite, which is why [[theology]] remains mired in the [[Middle Ages]]. Trying to find accord between science and faith is like trying to harmonise [[astrology]] and [[astronomy]], or [[medicine]] and homeopathy. It's a mug's game, one kept going largely by Templeton's constant infusions of cash.<ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/blog/2011/apr/06/prize-mug-martin-rees-templeton Martin Rees and the Templeton travesty]</ref>}}

It has also funded climate change denialism, donating money to British right-wing lobbyist/thinktank the [[Institute of Economic Affairs]], despite the IEA's long history of attacks on climate change science and environmentalism.<ref>[http://conservativetransparency.org/top/?recipient=6230&yr=&yr1=1996&yr2=2013&submit= Top Supporters of Institute of Economic Affairs], Conservative Transparency, accessed 29 Aug 2022; [https://web.archive.org/web/20181121180515/http://conservativetransparency.org/top/?recipient=6230&yr=&yr1=1996&yr2=2013&submit= archive.org backup]</ref><ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/oct/10/thinktank-climate-science-institute-economic-affairs Revealed: top UK thinktank spent decades undermining climate science], ''The Guardian'', 10 Oct 2019</ref>

==The Great Prayer Experiment==
{{main|Study of the Therapeutic Effects of Intercessory Prayer}}
One of the Foundation's most famous investigations was into the "Therapeutic Effects of [[Prayer|Intercessory Prayer]]".  It found no beneficial correlation between prayer and health. Unfortunately for the Foundation, it had already been publicised widely enough that they couldn't just leave it in the [[publication bias|file drawer]].

==References==
{{reflist|2}}


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[[Category:Religion]]

Categories: Organizations, Religion