Templeton Prize

The Templeton Prize[1] was founded in 1972 by the late Sir John Templeton, and honors a living person who has made exceptional contributions to the spiritual dimension of the world. The prize "celebrates no particular faith tradition or notion of God, but rather the quest for progress in humanity’s efforts to comprehend the many and diverse manifestations of the Divine."[2] This prize has been given to scientists, philosophers, theologians, members of the clergy, philanthropists, writers, and reformers, and perhaps anyone who creates a significant order of religious movement(s) in the human world.

## Criticism[edit]

The Templeton Foundation has been criticized by young-Earth creationists, such as Answers in Genesis, for giving money to organizations that promote theistic evolution.[3][4] They have also criticized the organization for giving the prize to those who support theistic evolution.[5]

## Recipients[edit]

1973: Mother Teresa
1974: Brother Rodger
1975: Sir Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
1976: Leo Joseph Suenens
1977: Chiara Lubich
1978: Thomas Torrance
1979: Nikkyo Niwano
1980: Ralph Wendell Burhoe
1981: Dame Cicely Saunders
1982: Billy Graham
1983: Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
1984: Michael Bourdeaux
1985: Sir Alister Hardy
1986: James McCord
1987: Stanley L. Jaki
1988: Inamullah Kahn
1989: Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker, George MacLeod,
1990: Louis Charles Birch, Baba Amte
1991: Immanuel Jakobovits
1992: Kyung-Chik Han
1993: Charles W. Colson
1994: Michael Novak
1995: Paul Davies
1996: Bill Bright
1997: Pandurang Shastri Athavale
1998: Sir Sigmund Sternberg
1999: Ian Barbour
2000: Freeman Dyson
2001: Arthur Peacocke
2002: John C. Polkinghorne
2003: Holmes Rolston III
2004: George F. R. Ellis
2005: Charles H. Townes
2006: John D. Barrow
2007: Charles Taylor
2008: Michael Heller
2009: Bernard d’Espagnat
2010: Francisco J. Ayala
2011: Martin J. Rees
2012: The 14th Dalai Lama
2013: Desmond Tutu
2014: Tomáš Halík
2015: Jean Vanier
2016: Jonathan Sacks
2017: Alvin Plantinga
2018: Abdullah II of Jordan, King of Jordan
2019: Marcelo Gleiser
2020: Francis Collins

## References[edit]

1. ↑ Templeton Prize Website
2. ↑ see ref. 1
3. ↑ Skinner, Melissa. "Funding Darwin in the Church." Answers Magazine, May–June 2017.
4. ↑ Turpin, Simon (March 28, 2017). Templeton Foundation Sponsors God and the Big Bang for School Children in UK. Answers in Genesis. Retrieved April 29, 2017.
5. ↑ Templeton Award-winner Denies Intelligent Design. Answers in Genesis. Retrieved April 29, 2017.