John Templeton Foundation
The John Templeton Foundation is a philanthropic organization that funds inter-disciplinary research surrounding scientific, religious and spiritual 'discovery'.
The Foundation was established by John Templeton in 1987.[1] In a 1995 memo, Templeton stated:
- 'The main purpose of the John Templeton Foundation is to encourage the top 1/10 of 1% of people and thereby encourage all people to think that progress in spiritual information is possible, desirable, can be done and will be done.'[2]
Mission
According to its website, the mission of the foundation is to 'serves as a philanthropic catalyst for discoveries relating to the deepest and most perplexing questions facing humankind' [3], and 'aims to advance human well-being by supporting research on the Big Questions, and by promoting character development, individual freedom, and free markets' [4].
Activities
The Templeton Foundation supports a broad range of activities aimed at finding common ground between science and religion. These include funding for prizes, including the 'Templeton Prize for Progress Toward Research or Discoveries about Spiritual Realities', academic programs, publications, broadcasts, lectures, conferences, and research on topics such as the neurobiology and genetics of religious belief; the evolutionary origins of altruism; and the medical benefits of prayer, church attendance, and forgiveness.
Grants
Templeton has repeatedly funded the counter-extremism think tank, the Quilliam Foundation: according to expenditure responsibility statements, grants were issued to Quilliam from 2011 to 2014 for 'promoting freedom of religion, speech and association through strengthening PAK democratic culture', and for 'reconciling Islamic theology with modern political and scientific ideas, promoting community. [5]
Templeton has also funded several conservative, free market think-tanks including the Hudson Institute, the Cato Institute and Atlas Economic Research Foundation.
| Grant recipients of the John Templeton Foundation in $ USD [6] | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Organisation | 2009 | 2010 | 2011[7] | 2012[8] | 2013[9] | 2014[10] | 2015 | Total 2009-2015 | ||
| Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty | - | - | 210,000 | 299,445 | 70,000 | 335,000 | - | 914,445 | ||
| American Islamic Congress | - | - | 156,005 | 326,147 | 30,483 | 82,200 | - | 438,830 | ||
| Aspen Institute | - | - | - | 150,000 | 15,000 | - | - | 165,000 | ||
| Atlas Economic Research Foundation | - | - | 1,172,486 | 1,206,755 | 15,000 | 376,414 | - | 2,770,655 | ||
| Cato Institute | - | - | - | - | 207,000 | 23,000 | - | 230,000 | ||
| Center for Strategic and International Studies | - | - | - | - | 71,999 | 23,999 | - | 95,998 | ||
| Fraser Institute | - | - | - | - | - | 186,290 | - | 186,290 | ||
| FreedomWorks | - | - | - | - | 689,873 | 76,652 | - | 766,525 | ||
| Hudson Institute | - | - | 280,250 | 176,000 | 76,834 | 134,886 | - | 667,970 | ||
| Institute for Humane Studies | - | - | - | 739,410 | 332,734 | 240,308 | - | 1,312,452 | ||
| LibForAll | - | - | 74,983 | - | 236,012 | 472,016 | - | 783,011 | ||
| Manhattan Institute | - | - | - | 1,500,000 | 450,000 | 450,000 | - | 2,400,000 | ||
| Philanthropy Roundtable | - | - | 650,000 | 300,000 | 200,000 | 150,000 | - | 1,300,000 | ||
| Quilliam Foundation | - | - | 174,248 | 399,647 | 578,928 | 371,388 | - | 1,524,191 | ||
People
In 1995, John Templeton yielded the presidency of the foundation to his son Jack Templeton, a former paediatric surgeon. Jack was the chairman of Let Freedom Ring, Inc, which financed various conservative causes. He also contributed to both campaigns of former US president George Bush. [11]
Jack Templeton died in 2015, after which his daughter Heather Templeton Dill took over leadership of the foundation.
Contact
- John Templeton Foundation
- 300 Conshohocken State Road
- Suite 500
- West Conshohocken, PA 19428 USA
- Telephone: (610) 941-2828
- Fax: (610) 825-1730
Notes
- ↑ Foundation at a Glance, John Templeton Foundation, accessed 31 October 1987.
- ↑ Nathan Schneider, God, Science and Philanthropy, The Nation, 3 June 2010.
- ↑ Our Mission, John Templeton Foundation website, accessed 10 March 2017.
- ↑ Home, John Templeton Foundation website, accessed 10 March 2017.
- ↑ John Templeton Foundation, form 990, 2014
- ↑ Data compiled from yearly 990 forms
- ↑ John Templeton 2011 990 Form
- ↑ John Templeton 2012 990 Form
- ↑ John Templeton 2013 990 Form
- ↑ John Templeton 2014 990 Form
- ↑ John Horgan, The Templeton Foundation: A skeptic's take, Edge, 4 April 2006, accessed 10 March 2017.
