Desmond Tutu Wins 2013 Templeton Prize

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Templeton Prize

04 Apr, 2013, 04:01 GMT

PHILADELPHIA and LONDON, April 4, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

Revered religious leader is a moral voice for love, peace and justice

Desmond Tutu, the former Anglican archbishop of Cape Town, has won the 2013 Templeton Prize for his lifelong work in advancing spiritual principles such as love and forgiveness which have helped to liberate people around the world.

     (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130228/606584-a )
     (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130228/606584-b )

Valued at £1.1 million (about $1.7 million or €1.3 million), the Templeton Prize has been the world's largest annual monetary award given to an individual for the past 40 years. Tutu joins a distinguished group of 42 former recipients. Last year's Templeton Prize Laureate was the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader.

The Prize celebrates each year a living person who has made an exceptional contribution to affirming life's spiritual dimension, whether through insight, discovery, or practical works. Desmond Tutu will receive the Templeton Prize at a ceremony in London on Tuesday 21st May.  

Tutu said in response to receiving the Prize in a video at http://www.templetonprize.org, "When you are in a crowd and you stand out from the crowd it's usually because you are being carried on the shoulders of others.  I want to acknowledge all the wonderful people who accepted me as their leader at home and so to accept this prize in a representative capacity."

Established in 1972 by the late global investor and philanthropist Sir John Templeton, the Templeton Prize is a cornerstone of the John Templeton Foundation's international efforts to serve as a philanthropic catalyst for discoveries relating to the Big Questions of human purpose and ultimate reality.

Notes to Editors

The qualities sought in a Templeton Prize nominee include creativity and innovation, rigor and impact. The judges seek, above all, a substantial record of achievement that highlights or exemplifies one of the various ways in which human beings express their yearning for spiritual progress. Nominations are encouraged in:

  • Research in the human sciences, life sciences, and physical sciences
  • Scholarship in philosophy, theology, and other areas of the humanities
  • Practice, including religious leadership, the creation of organisations that edify and inspire, and the development of new schools of thought
  • Commentary and Journalism on matters of religion, virtue, character formation, and the flourishing of the human spirit