At a ceremony at St. Martin-in-the-Fields on May 14, Czech theologian and philosopher Tomas Halik received the prestigious Templeton Prize – an annual prize for a living person who has made “exceptional contributions to affirming life’s spiritual dimensions.”
Halik’s life has been dedicated to bringing people together to promote inter-religious understanding. “Tomas Halik represents the contemporary global trend of religions to find mutual cooperation and dialogue,” said NYU Prague professor Petr Mucha. “Dialogue is a key word in Tomas Halik’s life. You could call him a ‘Philosopher of Dialogue.’”
In his acceptance speech at the Templeton ceremony, Halik spoke of the dangers of losing site of the Christian concept of loving thy neighbor. The current idea of tolerance is contributing to the failure of multiculturalism in Europe. “Let everyone live as they like, so long as they don’t disturb or restrict others – this is certainly a more humane situation than constant quarrels or permanent warfare, but can it be a lasting solution? That sort of tolerance is fine for people living alongside each other, but not for people living together.”
Halik founded the religious studies program at NYU Prague in 2000 and continues to maintain close ties with NYU. Along with NYU Prague Director Jiri Pehe, he was also one of the initiators of Forum 2000 – an international conference launched by Vaclav Havel in 1997 that brings together political, spiritual and nongovernmental leaders of the world each year.
Tomas Halik has been dedicated to the idea of dialogue since the early years of Communist rule, when he organized secret underground seminars with intellectuals and dissidents such as Vaclav Havel. Dubbed an enemy of the people for criticizing the government, Halik’s seminars undoubtedly contributed to the ultimate fall of the regime.
After the Velvet Revolution, Halik became famous for his initatives promoting dialogue between athiests and people of spiritual backgrounds. He then began organizing inter-religious dialogues, attempting to build bridges between Christians, Muslims, Buddhists Jews and atheists. “By awarding Tomas Halik this prize, the Templeton Foundation is showing their support for the world global inter-religious dialogue,” says Professor Mucha.
Halik plans to use the $1.83 million prize – one of the world’s largest prizes for an individual – to develop his work promoting dialogue with people of other faiths.

Templeton Prize Laureate Tomas Halik with NYU Prague Professor Petr Mucha at the ceremony.
Along with NYU Prague Director Jiri Pehe, he was also one of the initiators of Forum 2000 – an international conference launched by Vaclav Havel in 1997 that brings together political, spiritual and nongovernmental leaders of the world each year.
After the Velvet Revolution, Halik became famous for his initiatives promoting dialogue between atheists and people of spiritual backgrounds. He then began organizing inter-religious dialogues, attempting to build bridges between Christians, Muslims, Jews, Buddhists and atheists.