Huang Yanhong: An Investigation into the Religious Orientation and Funding of the Templeton Foundation

In recent years, a foundation from the United States has frequently appeared within Chinese academic circles: the John Templeton Foundation. Its funding encompasses research projects, training programs, publications, conferences, and subsidies for Chinese scholars to attend international meetings. It funds not only research projects or book publications with explicitly religious themes, but also projects and conferences whose titles appear to have little to do with religion, such as the "International Symposium on the Future Development of Science, Spirits, and Values in Contemporary China" held at Peking University in 2008. In 2012, it awarded its annual Templeton Prize to the Dalai Lama. What exactly is the origin of this foundation? What are its inclinations? What kinds of projects does it primarily fund? What are the evaluations of foreign scholars? These issues are seldom addressed by domestic scholars. This article provides a brief introduction to the aforementioned aspects of the foundation.

I. The History of the Templeton Foundation and the Religious Inclination of the Templeton Prize

The Templeton Foundation was established in 1987 with headquarters in Philadelphia. Its founder, John Templeton (1912–2008), was an investor and a devout Christian. Born in Tennessee in 1912, he graduated from Yale University in 1934 and earned a law degree from Balliol College, Oxford, in 1936. He began his career on Wall Street in 1938 and soon founded several international investment funds. In 1954, he established the Templeton Growth Fund.

In 1972, John Templeton established the Templeton Prize, the world's largest annual monetary award for an individual. It is reportedly intended to recognize those who have made exceptional contributions to affirming life's spiritual dimension. The prize amount currently exceeds £1 million per year, surpassing the individual prize money of the Nobel Prize. The foundation declares this as a way for him to emphasize his own faith, as he believed progress in the spiritual realm is as vital as progress in any other field of human endeavor. When the John Templeton Foundation was established in 1987, it claimed at its inception that it expected to look past dogma and personal religious beliefs to seek those who could answer "the Big Questions" in their own way—individuals who must be innovative, creative, passionate, open-minded, and welcoming of competition and new ideas. In 2008, John Templeton’s obituary was published in the prestigious scientific journal Nature; the report called him a "great admirer of science" and suggested that his love for both science and God prompted him to establish the foundation.

On the Templeton Foundation’s homepage, there is a quote from its founder. Through these words, what we see is a devout Christian, rather than an "admirer of science"—or rather, we see that his admiration for science is entirely derived from faith:

What is the best way to live? How big is God? How does the finite relate to the infinite? What is God’s purpose in creating the universe? How can we be useful to that purpose? Such eternal questions have inspired people in every age, just as they inspire people today, to connect the human soul with philosophy and the love of wisdom. — John Templeton

More than one-third of Templeton Prize winners have been dedicated to the dialogue between science and religion. Aside from a few theologians, the majority are natural scientists. By 2012, the prize money had reached £1.1 million ($1.7 million). In recent years, the foundation has not only frequently funded academic research related to China but also awarded the 2012 Templeton Prize to the Dalai [Lama], demonstrating its interest in China. On May 14, 2012, the Dalai [Lama] accepted the award at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London and delivered a speech. When the Templeton Foundation website posted information about his win, it referred to him as the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism and listed his nationality as Indian. The rationale for the award stated that the Dalai [Lama] is a renowned Tibetan spiritual leader dedicated to compassion among religious faiths, universal ethics, and harmony. The citation also said he has provided spiritual inspiration to millions and maintained a long-standing interest in the intersection of science and religion.

Not only does the awarding of the Templeton Prize reflect the foundation's clear religious inclination, but so too do the research projects it funds.

II. Research Funded by the Templeton Foundation and Its Religious Inclination

The Templeton Foundation claims its core funding areas are science and "the Big Questions," yet its definition of "Big Questions" is highly abstract. In fact, we can understand the inclinations of its research funding simply by looking at the specific projects it supports. Since its founding in 1987, the foundation's annual funding amount has grown continuously; by 2011, its endowment had reached $2.3 billion. The annual project funding is substantial, reaching $66 million in 2010. Regarding project grants, there were 300 applications in 2011, of which 143 were funded, with an average of over $680,000 per project. Of course, 42% of these projects received less than $250,000. By this calculation, project funding in 2011 alone exceeded $97 million.

According to the foundation’s own list of core funding areas, there are eight fields: Science in Dialogue (47 projects), Human Sciences (41), Mathematical and Physical Sciences (39), Freedom and Free Enterprise (39), Philosophy and Theology (35), Character Development (35), Life Sciences (14), Exceptional Cognitive Talent and Genius (7), and Genetics (4).

The so-called "Science in Dialogue" basically refers to the dialogue between science and religion. It either uses the name of science to study religion, compares science and religion, or even disparages science to elevate religion. We can see this simply by looking at the titles of some research projects. For example, one project is titled "The Limits of Scientific Explanation" (which received $2 million in funding); another is titled "Why is knowledge of science a good thing for religious practice and theology?" Additionally, there are some baffling projects like "Genes, God, and Generosity: Yin and Yang in DNA and Culture." In short, not one of these research projects is unrelated to religion or theology.

The so-called "Human Sciences" are also more or less related to religion. For instance, the University of Chicago applied for and received a project titled "Medicine as a Spiritual Practice: A Program for Medical and Religious Clinicians," which was granted over $2.6 million. Duke University received a significant amount for a project titled "A Comparison of Conventional and Religious Spiritual Therapy for Depressed Patients with Chronic Illness."

It can be said that most of these funded projects are related to religion, and their research inclinations are clearly biased toward religion. That is to say, its funding targets are highly imbalanced; only projects that are religion-related and show a clear religious bias find it easy to obtain funding. Consequently, the answers it obtains for the so-called "Big Questions" are naturally one-sided.

While it may be difficult for us to know the details of projects applied for by foreign scholars, we can examine in detail the projects it funds that are closely related to China.

The Templeton Foundation's academic funding activities in China began in 1994. Initially, it funded the "Sino-US Philosophy-Religion Symposium" jointly initiated by the Department of Philosophy at Peking University and "American scholars." In 2002, the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences (CTNS) in the US, with funding from the foundation, held the "Religion and Science" international forum at Peking University and Fudan University. In recent years, the foundation’s funding activities in China have become more active, and its inclinations increasingly apparent. Take two of its funded projects as examples:

1. The "Science, Philosophy, and Belief: Chinese Scholars Program." Launched in 2005, this project was awarded to Calvin College in the US with $2 million in funding. The project’s goal is to "produce a mature institutionalized exchange regarding 'philosophy, science, and belief' in China, to train scholars, strengthen the education of Chinese university students, and sustain and deepen research in China." The specific plan includes: (1) inviting 24 Chinese graduate students and 9 post-doctoral fellows to visit and study at church-affiliated universities and seminaries such as Baylor University, the University of Notre Dame, and Calvin College; (2) providing 10,000 relevant books; (3) holding a series of lectures and seminars, with 12 scholars selected by the Society of Christian Philosophers (SCP) to teach in rotation; (4) selecting 24 Chinese scholars to attend intensive seminars in the West; (5) holding a major conference at Peking University attended by SCP members; and (6) having Peking University Press publish a collection of papers to be widely adopted as textbooks. The project leader also expressed the hope that Chinese intellectuals will make "unique and powerful contributions" in the future. This plan and its goals very clearly manifest a tendency to Christianize Chinese intellectuals.

This project subsequently carried out "Science and Religion" lecture series at Wuhan University and Fudan University. Among the four lecturers at Wuhan University, three were from Calvin College. Although their titles were scientists or philosophers, the content they taught basically used the name of science to teach the substance of theology. The so-called "dialogue between science and religion" is, in reality, the use of theology to interpret science.

Subsequently, a second series of lectures was held at Fudan University, and the collection of papers Science and Religion: A 21st-Century Dialogue was published by Fudan University Press. These speakers repeatedly asserted: on the one hand, scientific research itself does not contain atheism; on the other hand, theism is not only compatible with various scientific theories but can also transcend science, helping people understand the fundamental meaning of the universe and human life. The content of their speeches was filled with Christian theological perspectives, starkly defending theistic and idealist ^[1] positions, and explicitly proposing to use a Christian worldview and outlook on life to shape the souls of the Chinese people.

2. The 2009–2013 "Chinese Religion and Society" Research and Training Program (CSSP). In 2009, Purdue University in the US applied for a project from the Templeton Foundation titled "Chinese Spirituality and Society Program: Launching Research and Training," with funding also near $200,000 (though the research funds they provided to Chinese scholars were only $500,000).

This project not only provided research funding for Chinese scholars’ social science topics on religion and systematic training for researchers, but also offered summer intensive courses for university teachers who teach the sociology of religion. In 2010, it funded 16 individual projects and 2 center projects. Integrated with the project applications, the program held three training workshops. The first was held in the summer of 2010 at Renmin University of China, attended by 30 shortlisted applicants, covering research design and the writing of project application reports; it lasted approximately two weeks, with the project providing room, board, and travel subsidies. The second and third sessions were held at Purdue University in the summers of 2011 and 2012, each lasting one month, attended by 12–15 funded researchers, with expenses also covered by the project. Training included research methods, data collection, data analysis, and journal article writing. Additionally, from 2010 to 2012, summer training sessions for sociology of religion teachers were held for university faculty who already teach or plan to teach sociology of religion. Attendance was limited to 20 people, selected based on personal application and departmental recommendation, with a requirement to participate for three consecutive years. These three-year summer sessions discussed teaching content and methods for introductory, intermediate, and advanced courses in the sociology of religion.

Although the project allows applicants to design their own research scripts, the requirements for applicant eligibility and research themes suggest otherwise. The eligibility criteria explicitly state that "the project research must be an empirical study of religion and spirituality in China (Mainland)." The research themes comprise four areas: (1) religion and entrepreneurship; (2) social capital and religious capital; (3) religion and the construction of civil society; and (4) research on religious market theory: red, black, and gray religious markets ^[2]. From the setting of these themes, one can clearly sense a value orientation ^[3] that affirms and extols religion. The primary setup of this project’s research tasks is to conduct surveys in Mainland China to understand the distribution of religion and its corresponding spheres of influence.

III. Criticisms of the Templeton Foundation’s Funding Bias in Western Academia

The religious orientation of the Foundation has drawn criticism from many foreign scholars. In 2010, when evolutionary geneticist Francisco Ayala received the Templeton Prize for his "exceptional contribution to affirming life's spiritual dimension," the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) published the award announcement. This move was attacked by several scientists, sparking a debate. Some criticisms were relatively mild. Sean Carroll, a cosmologist from the California Institute of Technology, stated: "The Templeton Foundation is sincere, they are pro-science, but they also want to see science and religion reconciled. That’s not evil or megalomaniacal, but it’s just wrong. It’s a category error. I don’t want the National Academy of Sciences to issue a formal statement of atheism; they don’t need to take a side. The best thing the Academy could do is steer clear." Others offered sharper commentary. For instance, the famous evolutionary biologist and atheist Richard Dawkins claimed that the NAS publishing the award announcement was nothing short of "self-humiliation." Previously, in his 2006 book The God Delusion, Dawkins attacked the Templeton Foundation, alleging it was "corrupting" science. As early as a 2002 television program, Dawkins called for the founding of an "anti-Templeton" organization, stating he would act if his book became a bestseller. Consequently, in 2006, he launched the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science.

In 2011, the journal Evolutionary Psychology published a review specifically questioning the Templeton Foundation. The article pointed out that the Foundation claims one of its major goals is to establish a closer relationship between science and religion. For many scientists, this is anathema. From their perspective, science and religion are incompatible, and any relationship between the two can only be built on falsehoods and ignorance. While some scientists seeking to reconcile their religious beliefs with scientific understanding welcome this, others welcome scientific funding—regardless of whether it is religious or not—no matter the source (even if the fund only partially supports scientific research). The article listed five points questioning the Foundation's integrity: (1) Since its inception, the Foundation has openly declared itself a pro-religion organization; (2) There is a clear tendency toward cronyism in the Foundation's organizational structure and award granting; (3) Respondents for the Foundation’s so-called "Big Questions" are mostly its own consultants and grantees, yet it implies the proportions are balanced; (4) The Foundation often funds activities by prestigious foreign organizations without letting participants or audiences know the source of funding; (5) Both the Foundation and its chairman have a history of funding anti-science activities and organizations ^[4].

It is evident that the author is criticizing the practice of "hanging a sheep's head while selling dog meat" ^[5] and its deleterious effects on the academic community. Although the Templeton Foundation attempts to construct a neutral image between religion and science, its actual purpose is nothing more than using the influence of science and established scientists to apologize for religion. Generally speaking, however, the scientific community possesses a relatively mature system of judgment and evaluation mechanisms, as well as a strong capacity for error correction. Therefore, to truly gain a foothold in science, it is not enough to rely solely on funding biased toward religious research. What is more worrying is the field of humanities and social sciences. It so happens that several grants carried out by the Foundation in China are within the humanities and social sciences. It supports pro-religion research and training programs, funds the convening of conferences such as "Dialogue Between Science and Religion," and sponsors the publication of related essay collections. These activities have already exerted a significant influence in China. What kind of impact this will have on Chinese academia cannot but command our serious attention.

Notes:

① The materials regarding the Templeton Foundation in this article are sourced from the Foundation’s website (http://www.templeton.org/) and the websites of the universities and research institutions mentioned. ② Forbes once called him the "father of global investing" and "one of the most successful fund managers in history." ③ Bains, S. “Questioning the Integrity of the John Templeton Foundation.” Evolutionary Psychology. 2011. 9(1): 92-115.