John Templeton Foundation

John Templeton Foundation
Formation1987; 37 years ago (1987)
FounderJohn Templeton
HeadquartersWest Conshohocken, Pennsylvania
Fields
  • Scientific research
  • Religious studies
Official language
English
President
Heather Templeton Dill
Revenue (2016)
$30.2 million[1]
Expenses (2016)$182.2 million[1]
Endowment$3.9 billion[2]
Websitetempleton.org

The John Templeton Foundation (Templeton Foundation) is a philanthropic organization that reflects the ideas of its founder, John Templeton. Templeton became wealthy as a contrarian investor, and wanted to support progress in religious and spiritual knowledge, especially at the intersection of religion and science.[3] He also sought to fund research on methods to promote and develop moral character, intelligence, and creativity in people, and to promote free markets.[4] In 2008, the foundation was awarded the National Humanities Medal.[5] In 2016, Inside Philanthropy called it "the oddest—or most interesting—big foundation around."[6]

Templeton founded the organization in 1987 and headed it as chairman until he died in 2008. Templeton's son, John Templeton Jr., served as its president from its founding until his death in 2015, at which point Templeton Jr.'s daughter, Heather Templeton Dill, became president. The foundation administers the annual Templeton Prize for achievements in the field of spirituality, including those at the intersection of science and religion. It has an extensive grant-funding program (around $150 million per year as of 2016)[7] aimed at supporting research in physics, biology, psychology, and the social sciences as well as philosophy and theology. It also supports programs related to genetics, "exceptional cognitive talent and genius" and "individual freedom and free markets".[4] The foundation receives both praise and criticism for its awards, regarding the breadth of its coverage, and ideological perspectives asserted to be associated with them.

  1. ^ a b "John Templeton Foundation". ProPublica. Archived from the original on 8 August 2020. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  2. ^ "John Templeton Foundation". Templeton.org. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
  3. ^ Bailey, Sarah Pulliam (May 19, 2015). "John Templeton Jr., president of multi-billion dollar foundation invested in science and religion, has died". The Washington Post.
  4. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Nature2011 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "President Bush Awards 2008 National Humanities Medals" (Press release). National Endowment for the Humanities. November 17, 2008.
  6. ^ Williams, Tate (April 5, 2016). "Templeton Remains the Oddest—or Most Interesting—Big Foundation Around". Inside Philanthropy.
  7. ^ "John Templeton Foundation, Full text of "Form 990PF" for fiscal year ending Dec. 2016; Line 25". Pro Publica Inc. November 1, 2017.