Bronze-level articleTempleton Foundation

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==Liberal Christians==
 
==Liberal Christians==
A good part of the time the Templeton Foundations looks like Liberal Christians who support ideas like [[Theistic evolution]] and that at least parts of [[theism]] and [[Christianity]] can be reconciled with science.  Some serious scientists feel that the Foundation can do harm as it tries to spread the misleading idea that [[faith]] ie what people believe without scientific proof can be compatible with [[science]] despite science needing objective proof.
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A good part of the time the Templeton Foundations looks like Liberal Christians who support ideas like [[Theistic evolution]] and that at least parts of [[theism]] and [[Christianity]] can be reconciled with science.  Some serious scientists feel that the Foundation can do harm as it tries to spread the misleading idea that [[faith]] (i.e. what people believe without scientific proof) can be compatible with [[science]] despite science needing objective proof.
  
 
==See also==
 
==See also==

Revision as of 13:28, 21 November 2012

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Richard, if you ever fall on hard times...
Daniel Dennett[1]

The Templeton Foundation[2] is a supposedly philanthropic organisation focusing on the crossover of religion and science, founded by Sir John Templeton (1912-2008). It is currently headed by his son, Dr. Jack Templeton, who quit his medical practice in 1995 in order to work full time for the organisation. Although it acts a source of funding for numerous science causes (that answer what it calls the "Big Questions") such as genetics, and more personal stuff such as "cognitive creativity" and personal development, it is probably best known for the Templeton prize - which is basically a big wad of cash[3] given to any famous scientist that will say something nice about God.[4]

Contents

The Templeton Prize

The Templeton Prize has been going since 1983 when it was awarded to Mother Teresa for her services to pretending to help poor people. The Templeton's slight rivalry with the Nobel Foundation can be seen clearly, as they like pointing out how they gave their Prize to Mother Teresa at least 6 years before the secular Scandinavian one. Since then, it has been awarded annually to a variety of scientists and theologians, and basically anyone who has spent their time "affirming life's spiritual dimension". Although they claim to award it to anyone of any faith, any "creed" and "men and women alike" the vast, vast majority of Templeton laureates are white, wrinkled with age, male and Christian. The 1992 laureate was Kyung-Chik Han, whose only qualification for the prize was spreading Christianity throughout South Korea. Since the late 90s, there's been a slight trend to award the prize to anyone who is a qualified and tenured professor but also goes to church occasionally - Arthur Peacock, who did some work on DNA in the 1970s, seemed to have received the prize in 2001 just for being ordained as a minister. It is possible that the Templeton prize is the antithesis of the concept of Non-Overlapping Magisteria.

In its own words:

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.

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.

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.

Money talks

There are concerns that recipients of large sums of money from the Templeton Foundation (recipients of the prise or other recipients) are expected in return to write what the foundation likes and may alter what they say and write so as to please the donors.

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.
[5]

Another critic, P Z Myers fears the Templeton Foundation blur the edges between science and superstition. Templeton give some of their largess to people and groups with good scientific credentials, Templeton sponsors scientific conferences. Then the Templeton name is connected with well-respected scientists, and respected scientific conferences. Further Templeton appears on the advertising of scientific magazines. All this offers spurious scientific respectability to other parts of the Templeton agenda that are closer to Pseudoscience.

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.
[6]

Jerry Coyne, also a Prominent New Atheist fears the Templeton Foundation can weaken respect for the Scientific method.

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.
[7]

Well as shown above not all can be bought.

Other Templeton work

The Great Prayer Experiment

One of the Foundation's most famous investigations was into the "Therapeutic Effects of Intercessory Prayer". It found no beneficial correlation between prayer and health. And they were really looking.

Core themes

In keeping with Sir John Templeton's intent, his Foundation serves as a philanthropic catalyst for research and discoveries relating to what scientists and philosophers call the Big Questions. We support work at the world's top universities in such fields as theoretical physics, cosmology, evolutionary biology, cognitive science, and social science relating to love, forgiveness, creativity, purpose, and the nature and origin of religious belief. We also seek to stimulate new thinking about wealth creation in the developing world, character education in schools and universities, and programs for cultivating the talents of gifted children.

(emphasis added)

An interesting comment[8] from a beneficiary of the foundation includes:

By all accounts, Sir John [Templeton] is a charming, open-minded man, who emphasizes the importance of humility in all spheres of life. But at 93, he has yielded the day-to-day leadership of the foundation to his son John Jr., a pediatric surgeon who quit his practice in 1995 to become the organization's president. An evangelical Christian, "Jack" is the chairman of Let Freedom Ring Inc., which raises funds for conservative causes. He has reportedly contributed to both presidential campaigns of George Bush, whose relations with the scientific community are arguably the worst of any president in history.
My conversations with the faithful deepened my appreciation of why some intelligent, well-educated people embrace religion. One reporter discussed the experience of speaking in tongues, and another described having an intimate relationship with Jesus. My convictions did not change, but others' did. At least one fellow said that his faith was wavering as a result of Dawkins's dissection of religion. And if the Templeton Foundation can help bring about even such a tiny step toward my vision of a world without religion, how bad can it be?

The Templeton Foundation tries to reconcile science and religion but when the scientific method is applied to religion the truth tends to come out and faith sometimes wavers. Richard Dawkins helped bring about this wavering but so did the results of the prayer study.

Liberal Christians

A good part of the time the Templeton Foundations looks like Liberal Christians who support ideas like Theistic evolution and that at least parts of theism and Christianity can be reconciled with science. Some serious scientists feel that the Foundation can do harm as it tries to spread the misleading idea that faith (i.e. what people believe without scientific proof) can be compatible with science despite science needing objective proof.

See also

Footnotes

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