$1.6M Religious Prize Awarded to Non-Religious Scientist

ILLINOIS - The winner of one of the world's most lucrative prizes awarded today for work “affirming life's spiritual dimension” comes to Chicago on Monday. Martin Rees, a theoretical astrophysicist who holds one of Cambridge University’s top academic posts and the honorary title of Astronomer Royal, was awarded the 2011 Templeton Prize on Wednesday, less than a week before coming to Chicago to speak at the School of the Art Institute. Dr. John M. Templeton Jr., president and chairman of the John Templeton Foundation, said Rees qualified for the $1.6 million prize, for the spiritual inquiries the milestones in his career have provoked. “The questions Rees raises have an impact far beyond the simple assertion of facts, opening wider vistas than any telescope ever could,” Templeton said. The prize is not always given to a scientist. Novelists and religious leaders have been recipients including Mother Teresa and Billy Graham. [Source: Chicago Tribune]