Templeton Religion Trust

The Center for Open Science (COS) has become a leader in recognizing the need for fundamental change in how research is done. As an organization of both visionaries and implementers, it’s playing a proactive role in making change happen. It is COS’s mission to promote openness, integrity, and reproducibility in researchers’ everyday practices, which requires behavior change at scale. That behavior change starts with adoption of registration of the analysis plan and continues with sharing of research data, materials, code, and research findings. The intended goal is to improve the credibility of research, foster intellectual humility among researchers, and, ultimately, accelerate the discovery of knowledge, solutions, and cures. Learn more: https://bit.ly/3xxbLYz

“Speaking as a member of the majority faith in America, there is a responsibility to defend the conscience rights of others, even though we may disagree on ultimate questions. These same is true in every society. If Christians became vocal advocates for their own rights and the rights of everyone everywhere, it could bring new energy and momentum to the cause." - Grantee Knox Thames Learn more: https://bit.ly/3N0hfza

Grantee Simone Schnall is exploring how aesthetic experiences, like engaging with art, can shift people from daily concerns to a “transcendent mindset” that fosters abstract thinking, benevolence, and value-based behavior. This project investigates whether exposure to art can inspire people to act more morally and selflessly, akin to how witnessing an act of kindness triggers “moral elevation.” Through lab and museum-based experiments, her team measures how art affects cognition and behavior, suggesting that encounters with art might motivate collective actions for the greater good. This work aims to substantiate art’s societal value, advocating for its potential to inspire prosocial behaviors essential for tackling global challenges. Learn more: https://bit.ly/3YgIsTj

ECLAS’ leadership conferences provide a space for learning and open discussion with the aim of nurturing science-engaged theology. Senior leaders’ conferences are open to church leaders of any Christian denomination, and the leaders of para-church organizations. Learn more: https://bit.ly/404klba

“Some topics are easy to talk about. Even in the most ideologically and demographically diverse contexts, we are able to dialogue constructively about unimportant topics — the weather, trendy restaurants, Netflix,” grantee John Tomasi notes. “But differences of opinion become more challenging when the topic matters. This is why campus controversies today tend to focus on difficult issues like racial justice, gender equality, and religion.” Facing such thorny topics, many campuses have become hotbeds of hostility. However, lack of debate can be as harmful to education as toxic conflict. The bedrock idea of Heterodox Academy(HxA) is to fix the problem from within by providing professors with tools, resources, and a supportive network. HxA launched a three-year project to provide the resources professors need to confidently articulate and practice intellectual pluralism — in their classrooms and throughout their campuses. Learn more: https://bit.ly/4cqHppo

“Islam not only does not forbid studying evolution or any other theory. It welcomes new knowledge and deals with it objectively. Muslims are called upon to engage with science, philosophy and art with confidence and open minds.” As the pace of discovery continues to accelerate, taking science seriously, grantee Nidhal Guessoum believes, is essential for people of all faiths. Learn more about Guessoum's series on Youtube: https://bit.ly/3C1ixHV

Experimental psychologist and grantee Simone Schnall is asking questions about what type of chain reaction might be possible when we have “aesthetic experiences.” Can people be moved by art, beyond their current personal concerns, to the needs of others (and Schnall hopes, even future generations)? Can they be enabled through art to connect with higher values, and even to put these values into action? Learn more: https://bit.ly/3YgIsTj

Grantee Jer Clifton contends that humans have different fundamental beliefs about the world we all inhabit. And those beliefs can be a principal cause of why we think and behave very differently. “You and I could be sitting next to each other. We could be from the same town. We could even be siblings who grew up with the same parents,” he says. “And yet we could dramatically disagree about the sort of world this is.” Since 2014, Clifton has been leading a breakthrough research effort to uncover and classify people’s fundamental world beliefs. He’s labeled these beliefs “Primals” because they are so fundamental, potentially influencing virtually everything we do. Learn more: https://bit.ly/48VlPsb

What if horror can convey religious knowledge and understanding? What if horror can make us more spiritually attuned? Learn more: https://bit.ly/4dWiriC

Religious persecution is a growing global crisis, with millions suffering daily due to their beliefs. From terrorism and genocides to cultural extremism, religion often gets implicated in political conflicts, turning communities against each other. Grantee Knox Thames, a former U.S. State Department advisor, argues that every religious group faces persecution somewhere in the world. Traditional methods to combat this crisis are failing, but Thames believes innovative approaches can promote pluralism and religious freedom. His project emphasizes "Covenantal Pluralism," encouraging respect and protection for all beliefs. By advocating for religious literacy and engaging sacred sites as symbols of inclusion, Thames aims to foster deeper understanding and collaboration to defend the rights of all religious communities. Learn more: https://bit.ly/3N0hfza