The Religious Tendency of the Templeton Foundation and an Investigation of Its Funding

In recent years, a foundation from the United States has frequently appeared in Chinese academic circles. This is the John Templeton Foundation. Its funding covers research projects, training programs, publications, conferences, and Chinese scholars attending conferences abroad, among other things. It not only funds research projects or book publications with religious themes but also funds research projects and conferences whose names appear to have little connection with religion, such as the “International Symposium on the Future Development of Science, Spirituality and Values in Contemporary China” held at Peking University in 2008. In 2012, it awarded its annual Templeton Prize

近年来，一个来自美国的基金会频频出现在中国学术界。这就是邓普顿基金会（The John Templeton Foundation）。它的资助遍及研究项目、培训项目、出版、会议以及中国学者出国参加会议，等等。它不仅资助以宗教为主题的研究项目或著作出版，而且还资助名称上看似与宗教没有太大关系的研究项目和会议，如2008年在北京大学召开的“当代中国科学、精神与价值未来发展国际学术研讨会”。2012年，它又将年度邓普顿奖颁发给了达赖喇嘛。这个基金会到底是什么来头？它有何种倾向？它主要资助什么样的项目？国外学者有何评价？这些情况国内学者似乎很少有涉及。本文就对该基金会的上述情况作一简单介绍。

I. The History of the Templeton Foundation and the Religious Tendency of the Templeton Prize

一、 邓普顿基金会的历史与邓普顿奖的宗教倾向

The Templeton Foundation was established in 1987, with its office address in Philadelphia, USA. Its founder was John Templeton (1912–2008), an investor[2]2 A Chinese idiom meaning to pass off something inferior or deceptive under a false front. and a devout Christian. Born in 1912 in Tennessee, USA, he graduated from Yale University in 1934 and earned a law degree from Balliol College, Oxford in 1936. In 1938, he began his career on Wall Street and soon established several international investment funds. In 1954, he founded the Templeton Trust Investment Fund.

邓普顿基金会成立于1987年，办公地址在美国费城，其创办人为约翰·邓普顿（John Templeton，1912~2008），他是一位投资家②，也是一位虔诚的基督徒。1912年，他出生在美国田纳西州，1934年毕业于耶鲁大学，1936年在牛津大学巴里欧学院获得一个法学学位。1938年开始闯荡华尔街，并很快创立了几个国际投资基金。1954年成立了邓普顿信托投资基金。

In 1972, John Templeton created the Templeton Prize, the individual annual prize with the highest monetary value in the world. It is said that this award is intended to reward those who have made outstanding contributions to confirming the spiritual dimension of life. The prize amount now exceeds one million pounds sterling annually, surpassing the individual prize money of the Nobel Prize. The Foundation claims that this is also a way for him to emphasize his faith, because he believes that progress in the spiritual realm is as important as progress in other fields of human endeavor. In 1987, the John Templeton Foundation was established. At its inception, it stated that it hoped to set aside doctrine and personal religious belief, seeking those who could answer "the Big Questions" in their own way—people who must be innovative, creative, passionate, open-minded, and welcoming of competition and new ideas. In 2008, John Templeton's death was reported in the renowned scientific journal *Nature*, which described him as a "great admirer of science" and believed that his love for science and God led him to establish the Templeton Foundation.

1972年，约翰·邓普顿创立了全世界奖金额最高的个人年度奖——邓普顿奖。据称，该奖项是用来奖励那些对确证生命的精神层面做出杰出贡献的人。该奖金数额现为每年逾百万英镑，超过诺贝尔奖的单项奖金。该基金会宣称，这也是他强调自己信仰的一种方式，因为他认为精神领域的进展与人类奋斗的其他领域的进展一样重要。1987年， 约翰·邓普顿基金会成立，成立之初声称，期待该基金会撇开教义和个人的宗教信仰，寻求那些能够用自己的方式来回答“重大问题”（the Big Questions）的人，这些人必须有创新、有创造力、有热情、开明而欢迎竞争和新观念。2008年，约翰·邓普顿的死讯曾刊登在著名的科学期刊《自然》杂志上，该报道称他为一位“伟大的科学崇拜者”，并认为他对科学和上帝的热爱促使他成立了邓普顿基金会。

On the homepage of the Templeton Foundation, a passage from its founder John Templeton is displayed. Through this passage, what we see is a devout Christian, yet we do not see an admiration for science; or rather, what we see is that his admiration for science is entirely derived from his faith.

在邓普顿基金会的主页上，放着其创办人约翰·邓普顿的一段话，通过这段话，我们看到的是一个虔诚的基督徒，却看不到对科学的崇拜，或者说，看到其对科学的崇拜完全是出于信仰的。

What is the best way to live? How great is God? How can finite life connect with the infinite? What is God's purpose in creating heaven and earth? How can we be useful to that purpose? These eternal questions have inspired people in many eras, and they also inspire people today, connecting the human soul with philosophy and the love of wisdom.

生存的最好方式是什么？上帝有多宏大？有限的生命如何与无限相连？上帝创造天地万物的目的是什么？我们要如何才能对其目的有用？这些永恒的问题曾经激励过很多时代人们，同样也激励着今天的人们，将人类的灵魂与哲学和智慧之爱连接起来。

—John Templeton

——约翰·邓普顿

More than one-third of Templeton Prize winners have been dedicated to the dialogue between science and religion. Apart from a few theologians, the majority are natural scientists. By 2012, the prize amount had reached 1.1 million pounds sterling (equivalent to 1.7 million US dollars), surpassing the individual Nobel Prize amount. In recent years, the Foundation has not only frequently funded academic research related to China but also awarded the 2012 Templeton Prize to

邓普顿奖获得者有超过三分之一都是致力于科学与宗教的对话，除了少数几位神学家外，以自然科学家居多。到2012年，该奖项的奖金额已达110万英镑（合170万美元），超过了单项诺贝尔奖金。该基金会近年来不仅频频资助与中国有关的学术研究，还将2012年度邓普顿奖颁发给达赖，足见对中国的兴趣。2012年5月14日，达赖在伦敦圣保罗大教堂接受了该奖，并发表了演讲。邓普顿基金会的网页上刊登达赖喇嘛获奖的信息时，称他为藏传佛教的精神领袖，并将他的国籍写作印度。颁奖理由里称，达赖喇嘛是一位著名的西藏精神领袖，致力于宗教信仰之间的同情、普遍伦理与和谐。颁奖词还说，他对数百万人进行了精神鼓舞，他对科学与宗教之间的结合点保有持久的兴趣。

Not only does the awarding of the Templeton Prize reflect the foundation’s evident religious orientation, but so too do the research projects it funds.

不仅邓普顿奖的颁发体现了该基金会明显的宗教倾向，它资助的研究项目也是如此。

II. Research Funded by the Templeton Foundation and Its Religious Orientation

二、 邓普顿基金会资助的研究及其宗教倾向

The Templeton Foundation claims that its core funding areas are science and “big questions,” but what constitutes a “big question” is described in very abstract terms. In fact, we can roughly understand the orientation of its funded research simply by looking at the specific projects it supports. Since its establishment in 1987, the foundation’s annual grant amounts have grown continuously, reaching a total endowment of $2.3 billion by 2011. The annual amount used for project funding is not insignificant; in 2010 it reached $66 million. In terms of funded projects, in 2011 there were 300 project applications, of which 143 received funding, with an average of over $680,000 per project. Of course, 42% of these projects received grants of less than $250,000. Calculated this way, project funding in 2011 had already exceeded $97 million.

邓普顿基金会宣称他们资助的核心领域是科学与“重大问题”，但是何为“重大问题”，说的非常抽象。其实我们只要通过它资助的具体项目就可以大致了解其资助研究的倾向。自1987年成立以来，该基金会每年资助的金额不断增长，到2011年，捐赠的金额规模已达23亿美元。每年用于项目资助的金额不低，2010年就达6600万。就资助项目来说，2011年共有300个项目申请，其中有143个获得了资助，平均每个项目获资助68万多美元。当然，这些项目中42%的资助额都低于25万。这样算来，2011年的项目资助已达9700多万元。

According to the foundation’s own list of core funding areas, there are the following eight fields: Science in Dialogue (47 projects), Human Sciences (41 projects), Mathematical and Physical Sciences (39 projects), Freedom and Free Enterprise (39 projects), Philosophy and Theology (35 projects), Character Development (35 projects), Life Sciences (14 projects), Exceptional Cognitive Talent and Genius (7 projects), and Genetics (4 projects).

按基金会自己列出的核心资助领域来看，有如下八个领域：对话中的科学（Science in Dialogue，47个），人类科学（Human Sciences，41个），数学与物理科学（Mathematical and Physical Sciences，39个），自由与自由企业（Freedom and Free Enterprise，39个），哲学与神学（Philosophy and Theology，35个），个性开发（Character Development，35个），生命科学（Life Sciences，14个），异常认知的才能与天赋（Exceptional Cognitive Talent and Genius，7个），遗传学（Genetics，4个）。

The so-called “Science in Dialogue” essentially refers to dialogue between science and religion, either using the name of science to study religion, comparing science and religion, or even denigrating science while elevating religion. We can see this just by looking at the names of some of these research projects. For example, one research project is titled “The Limits of Scientific Explanation” (this project received $2 million in funding), and another is titled “Why Having Knowledge of Science Is a Good Thing for Religious Practice and Theology.” There are also some inexplicable research projects such as “Genes, God, and Generosity: Yin and Yang in DNA and Culture.” In short, not a single one of these research projects is unrelated to religion or theology.

所谓“对话中的科学”，基本上都是指科学与宗教的对话，要么是借科学之名来研究宗教，要么是对比科学和宗教，有的甚至是贬低科学抬高宗教。我们只要看看其中的一些研究项目的名称就能看出来。如一项研究项目的名称为“科学解释的有限性”（该项目获得200万美金的资助），还有一项题为“为何具备对科学的知识对宗教实践和神学来说是一件好事？”此外，还有一些莫名其妙的研究项目“基因，神与慷慨：DNA和文化中的阴阳”。总之，这些研究项目没有一项不与宗教或神学相关的。

The so-called Human Sciences are also more or less related to religion. For instance, the University of Chicago applied for and received a project titled “For Medicine as a Spiritual Practice: A Program on Clinical Scholars of Medicine and Religion,” which received over $2.6 million in funding. Another project, obtained by Duke University with a substantial amount of funding, is titled “A Comparison of Routine Treatment and Religious-Spiritual Treatment for Depressed Patients with Chronic Illness.”

所谓人类科学，也多多少少与宗教相关。如芝加哥大学申请获得一个项目名称为“为了医学作为一种精神实践：关于医学与宗教临床学者的计划”，该项目获得了260多万美元的资助；还有一项杜克大学获得的经费数额不低的项目，其名称为“抑郁症患者并伴随慢性疾病的常规治疗与宗教精神治疗之比较”。

It can be said that the majority of these funded projects are related to religion, and their research orientation is clearly biased toward religion. That is, its funding targets are very unbalanced; only those projects that are related to religion and have a clearly pro-religion research orientation are likely to receive funding. Consequently, the answers it obtains to the so-called “big questions” are naturally one-sided as well.

可以说，这些资助项目中大部分都与宗教相关，而且其研究倾向明显是偏宗教的。也就是说，它的资助对象非常不平衡，只有那些和宗教相关并研究倾向明显偏宗教的项目才会容易获得资助。这样，它得到的对所谓“重大问题”的答案自然也是片面的。

If the projects applied for by foreign scholars are difficult for us to understand in detail, we can thoroughly examine the projects it has funded that are closely related to China.

如果说外国学者申请到的这些项目我们难以详细了解，那我们可以详细地考察它资助的与中国密切相关的项目。

The Templeton Foundation’s academic funding activities in China began in 1994. Initially, it funded the “Sino-American Philosophy and Religious Studies Symposium” jointly initiated by the Department of Philosophy at Peking University and “American scholars.” In 2002, the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences in the United States, with funding from the Foundation, held international forums on “Religion and Science” at Peking University, Fudan University, and elsewhere. In recent years, the Foundation’s funding activities in China have become more active, and its tendency has become increasingly evident. Let us take two projects it has funded as examples.

邓普顿基金会在中国进行学术资助活动始于1994年。最初，它资助北京大学哲学系与“美方学者”共同发起的“中美哲学-宗教学研讨会”。2002年，美国神学与自然科学研究中心携该基金会的资助，在北京大学、复旦大学等地召开了“宗教与科学”国际论坛。近年来，该基金会在中国的资助活动更加活跃，倾向也日趋明显。以其资助的两个项目为例来看。

1. The “Science, Philosophy, and Faith: Chinese Scholars Program” project. This project was launched in 2005, awarded to Calvin College in the United States, with a project budget of $2 million. The project’s goal was “to generate in China a mature exchange system concerning ‘philosophy, science, and faith,’ to train scholars, to strengthen education for Chinese university students, and to maintain and deepen research in China.” Specific measures included: (1) inviting 24 Chinese graduate students and 9 postdoctoral fellows to study and visit church-affiliated universities and seminaries such as Baylor University, the University of Notre Dame, and Calvin College; (2) providing 10,000 relevant books; (3) holding a series of lectures and seminars, with 12 scholars selected by the Society of Christian Philosophers to teach in rotation; (4) selecting 24 Chinese scholars to attend intensive seminars in the West; (5) holding a major conference at Peking University with members of the Society of Christian Philosophers in attendance; (6) publishing a collection of papers through Peking University Press, to be widely adopted as a textbook. The project leader also expressed the hope that Chinese intellectuals would make “unique and powerful contributions” in the future. This plan and its objectives have already very clearly revealed a tendency toward Christianizing Chinese intellectuals.

1. “科学、哲学和信仰：中国学者计划”项目。这个项目于 2005年启动，由美国加尔文学院获得，项目经费为200万美元。该项目的目标是，“在中国产生一个成熟的有关‘哲学、科学和信仰’的交流体制，用以训练学者，强化对中国大学生的教育，并维持和深化在中国的调研。”具体方案包括：（1）邀请24位中国研究生和9位博士后到贝勒大学、圣母大学和加尔文学院等教会大学和神学院访问学习；（2）提供一万册的有关图书；（3）召开一系列讲座和研讨会，由基督教哲学家协会选派12位学者轮流执教;（4）选24位中国学者到西方开密集研讨会；（5）在北京大学召开重要会议，基督教哲学家协会成员到场；（6）由北京大学出版社出版论文集，并作为教科书广泛采用。该项目负责人还表示，期望中国的知识分子会在今后做出“独特而有力的贡献”。这个方案和目标已经非常明显地显现出要使中国知识分子基督教化的倾向。

This project successively conducted a series of lectures on “Science and Religion” at Wuhan University and Fudan University. Among the four lecturers at Wuhan University, three came from Calvin College. Although their titles were scientist or philosopher, the content of their lectures was essentially theology disguised under the name of science. The so-called “dialogue between science and religion” was in fact an interpretation of science through theology.

该项目先后在武汉大学和复旦大学开展了“科学和宗教”系列讲座。在武汉大学的四位讲授者中有三位来自加尔文学院，虽然他们的头衔是科学家或哲学家，但他们讲授的内容基本上都是假科学之名讲神学之实。所谓的“科学与宗教的对话”，实际上是用神学诠释科学。

Subsequently, a second series of lectures was held at Fudan University, and a collection of papers titled *Science and Religion: A Dialogue for the Twenty-First Century* was published by Fudan University Press. These lecturers repeatedly asserted: on the one hand, scientific research itself does not necessarily entail atheism; on the other hand, theism can not only adapt to various scientific theories but also transcend science, helping people understand the fundamental meaning of the universe and human life. The content of their speeches was filled with Christian theological viewpoints, very clearly defending theism and idealist positions, and explicitly proposing to shape the souls of the Chinese people with a Christian worldview and outlook on life.

随后，在复旦大学举办了第二个系列演讲，并由复旦大学出版社出版论文集《科学与宗教：二十一世纪对话》。这些演讲者反复申明：一方面，科学研究本身并不会包含无神论；另一方面，有神论不仅可以和各种科学理论相适应，而且还能超越科学，帮助人们理解宇宙和人生的根本意义。他们演说的内容充满了基督教神学观点，非常鲜明地捍卫有神论和唯心主义立场，并明确提出要用基督教的世界观和人生观塑造中国人的灵魂。

2. The 2009–2013 “Chinese Religion and Society” Research and Training Project (CSSP). In 2009, Purdue University in the United States applied to the Templeton Foundation for a project titled “Chinese Spirituality and Society Project: Launching Research and Training,” with a budget also of nearly $2 million (the research funds they provided to Chinese scholars were only $500,000).

2. 2009—2013“中国宗教与社会” 研究和培训项目（CSSP)。2009年，美国普渡大学从邓普顿基金会申请到一个项目，题为《中国人的灵性与社会项目：研究和培训的启动》，经费也是近200万美元（他们给中国学者的研究经费仅为50万）。

This project not only provided research funding for Chinese scholars’ social-scientific topics on religion and systematic training for researchers, but also offered summer training courses for university teachers who were offering or planning to offer courses in the sociology of religion. In 2010, it funded 16 individual projects and 2 center projects. Alongside the project applications, this project held three training workshops. The first was held in the summer of 2010 at Renmin University of China, attended by 30 shortlisted applicants. The content included research design and writing project application reports, lasting approximately two weeks, with the project covering accommodation, meals, and travel subsidies for participants. The second and third workshops were held in the summers of 2011 and 2012 at Purdue University, each lasting one month, attended by 12–15 funded researchers, with costs also covered by the project. Training content included research methods, data collection, data analysis, and writing journal articles. In addition, from 2010 to 2012, summer training courses for teachers of the sociology of religion were held. Participants were university teachers who were already offering or planning to offer courses in the sociology of religion, with no more than 20 people selected based on individual applications and recommendations from their departments and universities, requiring three consecutive years of attendance. The three-year summer teacher training courses were to discuss the teaching content and methods for introductory, intermediate, and advanced courses in the sociology of religion.

该项目不仅为中国学者的宗教社会科学课题提供研究经费，对研究人员进行系统培训，还为开设宗教社会学课程的大学教师提供暑期进修班。2010年资助了16个个人课题，2个中心课题。与课题申请配套，本项目举办了三期培训工作坊。第一期于2010年暑期在中国人民大学举办，由入围的30位申请者参加，内容包括研究设计及课题申请报告的写作，为期大约两周，由该项目提供参加工作坊的食宿费用和旅费补贴。第二及第三期于2011及2012年暑期在普渡大学举办，每期一个月，由获资助的12-15位研究者参加，费用也是由项目提供。培训内容包括研究方法、资料收集、数据分析、以及期刊论文的写作。此外，在2010到2012年暑期举办宗教社会学教师进修班，参加人员为已经或计划开设宗教社会学课程的大学教师，人数不超过20人，将根据本人申请和校系推荐择优录取，要求连续三年参加。三年的暑期教师进修班将分别研讨宗教社会学初级、中级、高级课程的教学内容和教学方法。

Although the project allowed applicants to design their own research projects, the eligibility requirements and research topic stipulations were not so permissive. The eligibility requirements explicitly stated: “The research must be an empirical study of religion and spirituality in China (mainland).” The research topics included four aspects: (1) religion and entrepreneurship; (2) social capital and religious capital; (3) religion and the construction of civil society; (4) research on the religious market theory: red, black, and gray religious markets. From the setup of these topics, one can clearly sense that its value orientation is to affirm and extol religion. The setup of the project’s research topics was mainly to conduct surveys in mainland China, to understand the distribution of religion in mainland China and its corresponding influence.

虽说该项目让申请者自行设计研究项目，然而其申请资格和研究主题的要求却并不如此。在申请资格中明确规定，“课题研究必须是对于中国（大陆）宗教与灵性的实证研究”。研究主题包括四个方面：（1）宗教与企业家精神；（2）社会资本与宗教资本；（3）宗教与公民社会的建设；（4）宗教市场论研究：红色、黑色及灰色宗教市场。从这些主题的设置就可以明显地感觉到它在价值取向上是肯定和颂扬宗教的。该项目研究课题的设置主要是对中国大陆进行调查，了解大陆宗教的分布及其相应的影响力状况。

III. Criticism from Western Academia of the Tendency in Templeton-Funded Research

三、 西方学界对邓普顿资助研究倾向的批评

The religious tendency of this Foundation has already drawn criticism from many foreign scholars. In 2010, when evolutionary geneticist Francisco Ayala received the Templeton Prize for “special contributions to affirming the spiritual dimension of life,” the U.S. National Academy of Sciences published the award notice, which drew criticism from some scientists and sparked a controversy. Some criticisms were relatively mild. Sean Carroll, a cosmologist from the California Institute of Technology, said: “The Templeton Foundation is sincere; they support science, while at the same time hoping to see a reconciliation between science and religion. This is not evil, nor arrogant, but it is simply wrong, a complete mistake. I am not asking the National Academy of Sciences to issue an official atheist statement; they do not need to take a position. The best way for the Academy is to keep its distance.” Additionally, there were more pointed comments. For example, the famous evolutionary biologist and atheist Richard Dawkins said that the National Academy of Sciences publishing the award notice was “an embarrassment.” Earlier, in his 2006 book *The God Delusion*, Dawkins had attacked the Templeton Foundation, saying it was corrupting science. As early as a 2002 television program, Dawkins called for the establishment of an “anti-Templeton” organization and said that if his book sold well, he would act. Thus, in 2006, he founded the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science.

该基金会的宗教倾向已受到不少外国学者的批评。2010年，进化遗传学家弗朗西斯科·阿亚拉(Francisco Ayala)因为在“肯定生命的精神层面有特殊贡献”获得邓普顿奖时，美国科学院公布了获奖通知，为此遭到一些科学家的抨击，而引发了一场争论。有些批评是比较温和的。来自加州理工学院的宇宙学家西恩卡罗尔说：“邓普顿基金会是出于真诚的，他们赞成科学，同时又希望看到科学与宗教能够调和。这并不邪恶，也不狂妄，但就是不对，这完全就是一个错误。我并不是要美国科学院发布一则无神论的正式声明，他们也并不需要选择一种立场，科学院能选择的最好方式就是敬而远之。”此外，还有一些更加尖锐的评论。如著名的进化生物学家、无神论者理查德·道金斯就说美国科学院公布获奖通知简直就是“自取其辱”。此前，道金斯在2006年出版的《上帝的迷思》一书中就抨击过邓普顿基金会，说它腐化（corrupting）了科学。早在2002年的一次电视节目中，道金斯就呼吁成立一个“反邓普顿”（anti-Templeton）的组织，并说如果他的书畅销的话，他就行动。于是2006年，他发起成立了“为理性与科学的道金斯基金会”（The Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science）。

In 2011, *Evolutionary Psychology* published a commentary that openly questioned the Templeton Foundation. The article pointed out that the Templeton Foundation claims one of its important goals is to establish a closer relationship between science and religion. For many scientists, this is a curse. Because in the view of many scientists, science and religion are incompatible, and any relationship between them can only be built on falsehood and ignorance. For some scientists who wish to reconcile their religious beliefs with their scientific understanding, it is welcome; there are also scientists who, regardless of religion, welcome any source of funding for science (even if the foundation only partially funds scientific research). The article raised five points questioning the integrity of the foundation: (1) from its inception, the foundation publicly declared itself a pro-religion organization; (2) the foundation’s organizational structure and award-granting process show a clear tendency toward nepotism; (3) those surveyed by the foundation for so-called “big questions” are mostly the foundation’s own advisors and grantees, yet the foundation implies the proportions are balanced; (4) the foundation often funds activities at prestigious organizations abroad without letting participants and audiences know the source of the funding; (5) the foundation and its chairman have a history of funding anti-science activities and organizations. [1]1 Bains, S. “Questioning the Integrity of the John Templeton Foundation”. *Evolutionary Psychology*. 2011. 9(1): 92-115.

2011年，《进化心理学》（Evolutionary Psychology）专门发表一篇评论，公开质疑邓普顿基金会。该文指出，邓普顿基金会声称其重要目标之一就是要在科学与宗教之间建立更紧密的关系。而对很多科学家来说，这是一个诅咒。因为在很多科学家看来，科学和宗教是不相容的，两者的关系只能建立在作假和无知的基础上。而对某些想调和自己的宗教信仰和科学理解的科学家来说，是欢迎的；还有一些科学家，不管宗教不宗教，只要是科学资助（哪怕是该基金只有部分资助科学研究），不管什么来源，他们都欢迎。该文列举了5点对该基金会的正直性提出了质疑：（1）该基金会成立之初就公开宣称自己是一个亲宗教的组织；（2）基金会的组织结构和奖项授予方面有明显的任人唯亲倾向；（3）基金会所谓“重大问题”的受调查者多为该基金会的顾问和受资助人，却暗示在比例上是平衡的；（4）基金会经常资助国外一些有声望的组织开展活动，却不让参与者和观众知道资金的来源；（5）该基金会及其主席，都曾有过资助反科学活动和组织的历史。③

Thus, what this author criticizes is this behavior of “hanging up a sheep’s head and selling dog meat” [2]2 A Chinese idiom meaning to pass off something inferior or deceptive under a false front., and its harmful influence on academia. Although the Templeton Foundation attempts to establish for itself an image of neutrality between religion and science, its actual purpose is merely to use science and the influence of established scientists to defend religion. However, overall, the scientific community has a relatively mature evaluation system and assessment mechanisms, as well as a strong capacity for self-correction. Therefore, to truly gain a foothold in science, relying solely on funding for religion-biased research is still insufficient. What is more worrying is the field of humanities and social sciences. Coincidentally, many of the foundation’s grants in China are in the humanities and social sciences. It supports pro-religion research and training programs, funds conferences such as “Dialogue between Science and Religion” and the publication of related essay collections, and so on, which have already had a considerable impact in China. The kind of influence it will have on China’s academic circles cannot but arouse our serious concern.

可见，这位作者批评的是这种挂着羊头卖狗肉的行为，及其对学界的坏影响。尽管邓普顿基金会企图为自己建立一个在宗教和科学之间中立的形象，但实际上它的目的不过是用科学和已确立地位的科学家的影响力为宗教辩护。然而，总的来说科学界有比较成熟的评判体系和评价机制，也有较强的纠错能力，所以，要在科学上真正站住脚，光靠资助进行偏宗教的研究还是不够的。更令人担心的是人文社会科学领域。恰好，该基金会在中国开展的多项资助都是在人文社会科学领域。它支持亲宗教的研究和培训项目，资助《科学与宗教的对话》等会议的召开和相关论文集的出版，等等，已经在中国造成了不小的影响。它将对中国的学界产生何种影响，不能不引起我们的严重关注。

Notes:

注释：

[1]1 Bains, S. “Questioning the Integrity of the John Templeton Foundation”. *Evolutionary Psychology*. 2011. 9(1): 92-115. All materials in this article concerning the Templeton Foundation come from the Templeton Foundation website: http://www.templeton.org/ and the websites of the universities and research institutions mentioned.

① 本文有关邓普顿基金会的材料均来自邓普顿基金会的网站：http://www.templeton.org/和提到的大学和研究机构的网站。

[2]2 A Chinese idiom meaning to pass off something inferior or deceptive under a false front. *Forbes* magazine once called him “the father of global investing” and “one of the most successful fund managers in history.”

② 福布斯资本家杂志曾称他为“全球投资之父”及“历史上最成功的基金经理之一。

[3] Bains, S. “Questioning the Integrity of the John Templeton Foundation”. *Evolutionary Psychology*. 2011. 9(1): 92-115.

③ Bains, S. “Questioning the Integrity of the John Templeton Foundation”. Evolutionary Psychology. 2011. 9(1): 92-115.

Online editor: Jia Fei

网络编辑：嘉扉