Letter from Dr. John M. Templeton, Jr.

Letter from
Dr. John M. Templeton, Jr.
President and Chairman of the Board

hen I succeeded my father as Chairman of the John Templeton Foundation in 2006, I dedicated myself to carrying forward the work he had so energetically begun. It has been a daunting and exciting challenge. With assets now exceeding $1.5 billion, the Foundation is well-equipped to do great things as a philanthropic investor all around the world. In the years ahead, we will greatly expand our grantmaking and program activities. In a spirit of both confidence and humility, we look ahead with anticipation to providing support on an ever larger scale for rigorous, interdisciplinary inquiry into the Big Questions of human nature and purpose. We also will continue to devote our efforts to neglected but vitally important issues like free competition and gifted education and to the reinvigoration of timeless virtues like honesty, love, generosity, reliability, and thrift.
Thirty-six years ago my father founded the Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion (now simply called the Templeton Prize). The key word in that original title was “progress,” and it captures my father’s vision for the entire Foundation. Progress is our overriding goal. Just as progress in healthcare has brought benefits to patients that we could not have imagined even a few decades ago and economic progress has improved the quality of people’s lives and enabled them to develop their talents, so too do we need similar advances in the religious and spiritual dimensions of life.
We recognize, of course, that many scientists, philosophers, and theologians consider this a strange or contrarian notion, but we remain convinced that the methods of scientific inquiry and discovery have a role to play in helping humanity grapple with the deepest human questions, dilemmas, and needs. The resources of modern science can lead us to a better understanding of cultural and spiritual realities that have been taken for granted for centuries. Our motto as a foundation is “How little we know, how eager to learn,” but the modesty of our approach should not obscure the scope of our ambition.
From the beginning, under the guidance of Sir John Templeton, the Foundation committed itself to a genuinely scientific approach to inquiry. As we see it, certain steps are fundamental to the advancement of knowledge in every one of the disciplines and subject areas that we support:
Research. All Templeton grantees pursuing research questions are required to do so in the most rigorous manner possible. Our ideal is cutting-edge, scholarly work, subject to peer review and held to the highest academic standards.
Discovery. It is our hope that the research we fund will lead to discoveries in a wide variety of fields. That is why we try so hard to identify promising scholars and experts, whether young or well-established, whose projects may not yet have found support from the typical sources. They will be the trailblazers.
Progress. The process of discovery sparks, in turn, further questioning and investigation, fuelling debate and still more research. Over time, we believe, such work will have a cumulative effect, expanding our understanding on the full range of Big Questions at the heart of our mission.
During his many years in the investment world, my father was frequently called a “contrarian” by the financial press because he often looked for hidden value in companies that were widely underestimated. He based his investment advice on deep, fundamental research rather than on following the crowd or accepting the conventional wisdom of the experts. In the industry, this approach is referred to as “value investing.” The Foundation shares his commitment to rigor and inquiry in identifying and supporting value.
Serious academic research has increasingly led to exciting discoveries in the areas of interest to the Foundation. Across our core themes—from the science-religion dialogue to purpose and creativity to freedom and character development—the hard sciences are shedding new light. We are very excited by these breakthroughs, and we welcome scientists of all disciplines who have original and serious proposals for research that relates to the wide-ranging interests of Sir John.
Future-mindedness has also always been a core value of the Foundation, and my father gave us the lead in this aspiration. Three years ago, he asked me for some ideas for long-range planning. I gave him some fairly concrete proposals in a five-year timeframe and some promising ideas based on a ten-year outlook. But he said, “No, that’s not what I meant. I want to know what your plans are for 100 years from now.”
I told him that if he looked down upon us a century from now, we would still be devoted to making the Foundation an active agent of progress. But we might be doing different projects within our core purposes. In the past, we have funded research that led to new discoveries related to the rich subject of forgiveness. In the years ahead, we might begin investing in research on other topics that he has emphasized, like gratitude or creativity or infinity.
A fresh endeavor that I want us now to embrace is embodied in two research questions Sir John gave to us some time ago about free enterprise. These are:

Does free enterprise alleviate poverty? The Foundation is already actively involved with a number of groups that deal with this issue. These include Enterprise Africa!, which is exploring enterprise-based solutions to poverty in Africa through small-scale indigenous entrepreneurship, and the Fraser Institute, which has been studying free enterprise in the Arab world. Our challenge is to find new ways to encourage the spread of market principles to the least developed parts of the world.
Is free enterprise a teacher of ethics? Movies and television often portray business people as venal, corrupt, or self-interested, ignoring the many positive things that businesses contribute to our communities. The Foundation is determined to resist this cultural trend. We know that entrepreneurs who are personally involved in creating an ethical framework for their businesses are the ones most likely to meet their customers’ needs. They are also the ones who are going to prosper. Through further research, we hope to learn more about the ways in which free enterprise is a teacher of ethics.

We live in turbulent times. Some of the threats confronting us have a direct impact on the core values of the Templeton Foundation. One of our key themes is freedom. In an American context, freedom entails understanding the overwhelming importance of the First Amendment and other constitutional rights. Yet the fundamental First Amendment right to religious liberty is being challenged by a range of social and legal developments, and similar encroachments on basic religious freedoms are visible elsewhere in the world. Here, too, we are looking for ways to advance the cause of freedom by supporting sophisticated, interdisciplinary research. Our aim is not to politicize religious liberty but rather to create a larger vision in which it might be discussed, better understood, and affirmed.
A related issue of deep concern to us is maintaining the freedom of the John Templeton Foundation and other foundations to define their purposes and to develop independent innovative programs—programs that would never originate from government. This philanthropic freedom is now under assault by various proposed legislative measures. Such encroachments undermine the ability of foundations, whether large or small, to make their invaluable contributions. Foundations provide a crucial laboratory for new ideas on how to meet a range of social, personal, and spiritual needs, and we must ensure that they are allowed to continue their work.
The great challenge facing the John Templeton Foundation and everyone else involved in private philanthropy is to protect and enhance our independence—the necessary condition for our role in bettering the world. It is a serious challenge, but I feel sure that we can rise to it. We must help to foster a culture that recognizes and respects the transformative impact of philanthropic freedom.

Dr. John M. Templeton, Jr.


Letter from Dr. John M. Templeton, Jr. Putting Vision into Action In Memoriam Leadership Team “We remain convinced that the methods of scientific inquiry and discovery have a role to play in helping humanity grapple with the deepest human questions, dilemmas, and needs.”—Dr. John M. Templeton, Jr.	Letter from Dr. John M. Templeton, Jr. President and Chairman of the Board hen I succeeded my father as Chairman of the John Templeton Foundation in 2006, I dedicated myself to carrying forward the work he had so energetically begun. It has been a daunting and exciting challenge. With assets now exceeding $1.5 billion, the Foundation is well-equipped to do great things as a philanthropic investor all around the world. In the years ahead, we will greatly expand our grantmaking and program activities. In a spirit of both confidence and humility, we look ahead with anticipation to providing support on an ever larger scale for rigorous, interdisciplinary inquiry into the Big Questions of human nature and purpose. We also will continue to devote our efforts to neglected but vitally important issues like free competition and gifted education and to the reinvigoration of timeless virtues like honesty, love, generosity, reliability, and thrift. Thirty-six years ago my father founded the Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion (now simply called the Templeton Prize). The key word in that original title was “progress,” and it captures my father’s vision for the entire Foundation. Progress is our overriding goal. Just as progress in healthcare has brought benefits to patients that we could not have imagined even a few decades ago and economic progress has improved the quality of people’s lives and enabled them to develop their talents, so too do we need similar advances in the religious and spiritual dimensions of life. We recognize, of course, that many scientists, philosophers, and theologians consider this a strange or contrarian notion, but we remain convinced that the methods of scientific inquiry and discovery have a role to play in helping humanity grapple with the deepest human questions, dilemmas, and needs. The resources of modern science can lead us to a better understanding of cultural and spiritual realities that have been taken for granted for centuries. Our motto as a foundation is “How little we know, how eager to learn,” but the modesty of our approach should not obscure the scope of our ambition. From the beginning, under the guidance of Sir John Templeton, the Foundation committed itself to a genuinely scientific approach to inquiry. As we see it, certain steps are fundamental to the advancement of knowledge in every one of the disciplines and subject areas that we support: Research. All Templeton grantees pursuing research questions are required to do so in the most rigorous manner possible. Our ideal is cutting-edge, scholarly work, subject to peer review and held to the highest academic standards. Discovery. It is our hope that the research we fund will lead to discoveries in a wide variety of fields. That is why we try so hard to identify promising scholars and experts, whether young or well-established, whose projects may not yet have found support from the typical sources. They will be the trailblazers. Progress. The process of discovery sparks, in turn, further questioning and investigation, fuelling debate and still more research. Over time, we believe, such work will have a cumulative effect, expanding our understanding on the full range of Big Questions at the heart of our mission. During his many years in the investment world, my father was frequently called a “contrarian” by the financial press because he often looked for hidden value in companies that were widely underestimated. He based his investment advice on deep, fundamental research rather than on following the crowd or accepting the conventional wisdom of the experts. In the industry, this approach is referred to as “value investing.” The Foundation shares his commitment to rigor and inquiry in identifying and supporting value. Serious academic research has increasingly led to exciting discoveries in the areas of interest to the Foundation. Across our core themes—from the science-religion dialogue to purpose and creativity to freedom and character development—the hard sciences are shedding new light. We are very excited by these breakthroughs, and we welcome scientists of all disciplines who have original and serious proposals for research that relates to the wide-ranging interests of Sir John. Future-mindedness has also always been a core value of the Foundation, and my father gave us the lead in this aspiration. Three years ago, he asked me for some ideas for long-range planning. I gave him some fairly concrete proposals in a five-year timeframe and some promising ideas based on a ten-year outlook. But he said, “No, that’s not what I meant. I want to know what your plans are for 100 years from now.” I told him that if he looked down upon us a century from now, we would still be devoted to making the Foundation an active agent of progress. But we might be doing different projects within our core purposes. In the past, we have funded research that led to new discoveries related to the rich subject of forgiveness. In the years ahead, we might begin investing in research on other topics that he has emphasized, like gratitude or creativity or infinity. A fresh endeavor that I want us now to embrace is embodied in two research questions Sir John gave to us some time ago about free enterprise. These are: Does free enterprise alleviate poverty? The Foundation is already actively involved with a number of groups that deal with this issue. These include Enterprise Africa!, which is exploring enterprise-based solutions to poverty in Africa through small-scale indigenous entrepreneurship, and the Fraser Institute, which has been studying free enterprise in the Arab world. Our challenge is to find new ways to encourage the spread of market principles to the least developed parts of the world. Is free enterprise a teacher of ethics? Movies and television often portray business people as venal, corrupt, or self-interested, ignoring the many positive things that businesses contribute to our communities. The Foundation is determined to resist this cultural trend. We know that entrepreneurs who are personally involved in creating an ethical framework for their businesses are the ones most likely to meet their customers’ needs. They are also the ones who are going to prosper. Through further research, we hope to learn more about the ways in which free enterprise is a teacher of ethics. We live in turbulent times. Some of the threats confronting us have a direct impact on the core values of the Templeton Foundation. One of our key themes is freedom. In an American context, freedom entails understanding the overwhelming importance of the First Amendment and other constitutional rights. Yet the fundamental First Amendment right to religious liberty is being challenged by a range of social and legal developments, and similar encroachments on basic religious freedoms are visible elsewhere in the world. Here, too, we are looking for ways to advance the cause of freedom by supporting sophisticated, interdisciplinary research. Our aim is not to politicize religious liberty but rather to create a larger vision in which it might be discussed, better understood, and affirmed. A related issue of deep concern to us is maintaining the freedom of the John Templeton Foundation and other foundations to define their purposes and to develop independent innovative programs—programs that would never originate from government. This philanthropic freedom is now under assault by various proposed legislative measures. Such encroachments undermine the ability of foundations, whether large or small, to make their invaluable contributions. Foundations provide a crucial laboratory for new ideas on how to meet a range of social, personal, and spiritual needs, and we must ensure that they are allowed to continue their work. The great challenge facing the John Templeton Foundation and everyone else involved in private philanthropy is to protect and enhance our independence—the necessary condition for our role in bettering the world. It is a serious challenge, but I feel sure that we can rise to it. We must help to foster a culture that recognizes and respects the transformative impact of philanthropic freedom. Dr. John M. Templeton, Jr.