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Prof. Tomáš Halík was awarded the 2014 Templeton Prize

(This article expired 20.03.2015.)

Prof. Tomáš Halík was awarded the 2014 Templeton Prize for his lifetime contribution affirming the life's spiritual dimension and fight for the intellectual and cultural freedoms in then communist Czechoslovakia. Prof. Halík promoted democracy and human rights for a long time before the year 1989, when the process of democratic transition started.

Prof. Tomáš Halík

Prof. Tomáš Halík is a professor of the philosophy and the sociology of religion at the Charles Univerzity (Faculty of Arts) in Prague, since 1990 President of the Czech Christian Academy and since 2004 pastor of the Academic Parish. His books have received many foreign awards and also have been published in many other countries; in English, German, French, Spanish or Portuguese. The translation e.g. in Chinese is in course of publication.

Previous winners of the Prize include Mother Teresa, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Desmond Tutu and Dalai Lama. The Prize was established by the investor and philanthropist Sir John Templeton. Templeton was convinced that at least some money should be given to affirming life’s spiritual dimension, not only to the medical or agricultural research. This is the main reason, why the Prize is honored with the £1.1 million. The Prize is awarded on the decision of a panel of nine judges from various world religions, who are elected by the important members of the religious and academic institutions.

Prof. Tomáš Halík has received Templeton Prize especially for his initiatives supporting the dialogue among churches as well as among believers and-non believers. He is well known in many countries. He says that he would like to use the money for the related activities and also for some charitable institutions for the people in need. The Prize is usually formally awarded at a public ceremony in the Buckingham Palace, but this year it will be held in St. Martin in the Fields Church in May.

More on the Templeton Prize.