TEMPLETON PRIZE 2014

Czech priest and intellectual Tomas Halik has won the 2014 Templeton Prize, joining the ranks of past winners such as Desmond Tutu and the Dalai Lama.

Tomas Halik (65) is a person, whose work is aimed at seekers, the segment of those asking questions about religious and spiritual issues but unaffiliated with religion or atheism.

Halik pushed for religious and cultural freedoms after the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968 and became a leading advocate of dialogue among different faiths and non-believers.The Prague philosopher's many written works in various languages try to give a spiritual diagnosis of modern times.

Since 1997 Halik has taught the sociology of religion at Charles University in Prague.  He authored numerous books like Patience With God and Night of the Confessor.

In 2011 he received honorary title Man of Reconciliation 2010 and he also received The Knight’s cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland in 2012.  

Halik was at the British Academy for the announcement but the prize will be formally awarded in London in May.

TEMPLETON PRIZE 2014

• The award was established in 1972 by the late Sir John Templeton. The Prize is a monetary award of 1.1 million Euros and is the largest annual award in terms of cash in the world.
• It honours a living person for his exceptional contribution of affirming life’s spiritual dimension, whether through insight, discovery, or practical work.
• The first winner of Templeton was Mother Teresa in 1973. The two recent winners were Nobel Peace Prize laureates Desmond Tutu in 2013 and the Dalai Lama in 2012.