John Templeton and the pursuit of progress
Green Templeton’s Pete Jordan has released God’s Philanthropist: John Templeton and the Pursuit of Progress (Oxford University Press, 2026).
The book introduces readers to the worldview of Sir John Templeton (1912–2008), whose support enabled the inauguration of then-Templeton College in 1984.
God’s Philanthropist focuses on three key areas – religion, political economy, and modern science –and shows how his commitments in these areas shape his philanthropic aspirations. Along the way it identifies major historical influences on Templeton’s thought, from which he created a complex patchwork quilt of ideas.
Pete argues that the worldview that Sir John developed directly informed the instructions he bequeathed to his philanthropic organisations. These instructions represent the institutionalisation of his ideas for achieving material and spiritual progress and reflect his understanding of the domains in which he thought progress most needs to be made.
Pete Jordan is Director of Academic Projects at Green Templeton College, and Research Director, Ian Ramsey Centre for Science and Religion, University of Oxford. He said of the book,
‘God’s Philanthropist grew out of my work advising one of Sir John’s philanthropic foundations, for which I needed a clear understanding of his complex worldview to ensure that aspiring projects seeking the foundation’s funding aligned with his vision for the world.
‘The book is my attempt to identify and historically contextualise the main ingredients of his thinking, and to show how they impact his philanthropic goals, so that others can more easily grasp what he hoped to achieve.
‘Analysing influential philanthropists and their legacies exemplifies the kind of practice-oriented research the college’s emerging Global Philanthropy Initiative could support’.
