May 3, 2021
Watch: The World’s Most Interesting Prize
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It’s that time of year again: late this May 2021, the Templeton Prize Team will be announcing the winner of the world’s most interesting prize.
When Sir John Templeton launched the Templeton Prize, he had a vision for an honor unlike any other. He wished to give an award larger than the Nobel Prize to individuals who have shed fresh light on the deepest questions about humanity’s place and purpose in the universe. Prize winners like the 14th Dalai Lama, Dame Cicely Saunders, Francis Collins, and Archbishop Desmond Tutu have come from the fields of science, faith, philosophy, and beyond to live lives of enormous consequence to people all over the globe. The value of the award has been adjusted over the years, and now stands at £1.1 million sterling ($1.5 million USD today).
Since the first Prize was awarded in 1973, Templeton Prize Laureates have hailed from many countries, backgrounds, and belief systems. They include biologists, philosophers, theoretical physicists, Buddhist and Benedictine monks — and one canonized saint. If there is one commonality between every winner of the Prize, it is that they have challenged the status quo to inspire people around the world. With 24 countries represented among its winners, and judges including past U.S. Presidents, royals, and prime ministers, its impact transcends borders. Take a moment to watch a few videos that explore the legacy of these exemplary individuals:
Watch: Testimony from people around the world about the inspiration and impact they’ve witnessed first-hand from Templeton Prize Laureates:
Watch: There’s no other prize in the world that could belong to both Mother Teresa and the brilliant mathematician John D. Barrow:
Watch: What Dame Cicely Saunders and a Soviet dissident share in common:
Watch: Only one prize could belong to both a king and a cosmologist:
Watch: What Does the Dalai Lama Have in Common with an M.D.?