Sir John M. Templeton, Philanthropist, Dies at 95

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One response to “Sir John M. Templeton, Philanthropist, Dies at 95”

1. 

   William Apel

   July 10, 2008

   This is what Rev. Robert Sirico of the Acton Institute said about John Templeton:
   The Acton Institute has always been humbled by the fact that Sir John and the Templeton Foundation were, from the beginning of Acton’s work, deeply interested in and supportive of our activities. Religion was something that fascinated Sir John all his life. Indeed, he even considered entering the ministry at a young age. Sir John was passionate about doing what he thought he was called to do. Revealingly, Sir John stated in a 2000 interview with Religion & Liberty that he agreed with the proposition that “by being a good businessman, [the business leader] did as much good for the poor as some philanthropists.” In short, business was, for Sir John, a genuine vocation, one which he combined with a vocation of lifelong philanthropy. Commenting on the notion of entrepreneurship, Sir John once remarked: “Entrepreneurs find better and better ways to produce and to serve. Again, just as the priesthood is a faithful Christian ministry, so, too, is every useful occupation.”
   Given his interests, it came as a surprise to no one that Sir John was committed to fostering meaningful dialogue between the worlds of theology, business, and market economics. The award of the 1994 Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion to Michael Novak, the theologian whose work has done so much to enhance understanding of business and free markets among religious leaders of all faiths and confessions, partly reflected, I have often thought, in Sir John’s abiding belief that there was nothing fundamentally incompatible between the truths of faith and the truths contained in the science of economics. He was convinced that humanity needed the realms of faith and economic liberty to come together. As Sir John once said in another interview with one of the very first editions of Religion & Liberty (1991):
   Economic systems based on atheism have failed. Religion teaches the infinite worth of each individual. Religion causes each individual to want to serve others. An increasing part of God’s ongoing creative process is to encourage each individual to be purposeful and creative. The free market system removes limitations and thereby encourages amazing and increasingly varied forms of creativity. Religion teaches love and brotherhood and truth and diligence which tend to cause accelerating creativity and productivity. Fortunes built on force or on inheritance can be harmful; but fortunes built on superior service are beneficial to rich and poor alike.

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