Physicist to Donate $1-Million of Award

Ian G. Barbour, an acclaimed physicist and theologian who is this year’s recipient of the $1.24-million Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion, said he will donate $1-million of his award to the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences, in Berkeley, Cal.

Mr. Barbour, a professor emeritus at Carleton College, in Minnesota, has devoted his career to integrating scientific and religious knowledge. He said he chose the center, which is part of the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, because of the work it has done to foster dialogue between scientists and theologians. The gift will establish an endowment to allow the center to continue its work.

The Templeton Prize, considered the world’s largest annual award, is given each year by the John Templeton Foundation to a person who has shown extraordinary originality in advancing the world’s understanding of God or spirituality.

The first prize was given in 1973 to Mother Teresa. Other past recipients include Billy Graham, the evangelist, and Charles Colson, the former Watergate figure who established Prison Fellowship Ministries, which offers religious counseling and other faith-based services to prisoners.