Tomas Halik, a Czech priest, philosopher, and former political activist with close ties to NYU Prague, won the 2014 Templeton Prize for religious and spiritual progress on Thursday, 13 March. The prize recognizes a living person “who has made exceptional contributions to affirming life’s spiritual dimension, whether through insight, discovery, or practical work.” Founded in 1972 and awarded by the John Templeton Foundation, the prize is one of the largest awards given annually to a single individual.
Halik has long been an advocate for religious freedom and interfaith dialogue. His work has focused on building bridges between people of different faiths and between believers and non-believers. Halik describes his work as aimed at “seekers”, meaning people who are asking questions about religious or spiritual issues. His role as a connecter has been consequential both before and after the 1989 Czech “Velvet Revolution.”
Halik taught at NYU Prague in 2000, when he created the syllabus for the Religion, Culture, and Politics in East Central Europe course that is still taught at NYU Prague by one of Halik’s former students. Even though he is no longer teaching at NYU Prague, he continues to visit the campus to give talks to the community. In early 2001, Halik traveled with NYU Prague Site Director Jiri Pehe to NYU Buenos Aires to participate in an international conference organized by NYU. He has also collaborated with Pehe and other NYU Prague professors on organizing Forum 2000 conferences, an international gathering launched by President Vaclav Havel in 1997.
“Tomas Halik is considered to be one of the top Central European spiritual leaders, and I was fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with him closely when he served as an adviser on interfaith dialogue to President Havel,” said Pehe. “I know I speak for my colleagues on the NYU Prague faculty when I say that we have not only been privileged to work with Tomas on a number of civic and academic projects, but also to call him our friend. The NYU Prague community is very proud of Tomas and sends him our warmest congratulations.”
In winning the $1.8 million Templeton Prize, which has been called the “Nobel Prize for religion,” Halik is in very impressive company. The first prize went to Mother Teresa in 1973. Recent recipients have included Nobel Prize laureates Desmond Tutu (2013) and the Dalai Lama (2012).
>> Read more: Czech priest, philosopher Tomas Halik wins 2014 Templeton Prize (Religion News Service)

Czech priest, philosopher Tomas Halik wins 2014 Templeton Prize