Questioning the Integrity of the John Templeton Foundation

Bains, Sunny

doi:10.1177/147470491100900111

Cited by 14 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…Focused on developing the characteristics and virtues of schoolchildren to improve their educational and future career achievements, character education has received growing interest and investment over the past 15 years, thanks largely to its promotion from foundations, think tanks and entrepreneurs (Allen & Bull, 2018). At the centre of the network, the authors identified considerable influence of the John Templeton Foundation, an organization that has been criticized for pursuing a neoliberal agenda, funding ‘pseudo‐science’ and supporting research denying the existence of climate change (Bains, 2011; Coyne, 2011). Given the neoconservative ideals of this foundation, the character education agenda it supports is informed by, and therefore promotes, neoliberal values such as individualism and the free market economy (Allen & Bull, 2018).…”

Section: Examining Themes and Issues In The Philanthrocapitalism Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

‘You've Been Framed’: A critical review of academic discourse on philanthrocapitalism

Haydon

Jung

Russell

2021

Int J Management Reviews

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Philanthrocapitalism—the strategic application of market methods and motives for philanthropic purposes—plays increasingly prominent roles in policy design and implementation at national and international levels. Notwithstanding philanthrocapitalism's growing significance, relevant scholarly discourse remains limited and fragmented. Drawing together diverse debates, our paper systematically reviews and synthesizes academic literature on philanthrocapitalism. Alongside raising questions about the casting and practice of philanthropy, the 186 relevant publications included in our review indicate a strong emphasis of philanthrocapitalism in the areas of education, international development, healthcare and agriculture. Across these, we identify and discuss the importance of three cultural frames: (1) development challenges being framed as scientific problems; (2) beneficiaries being framed as productive entrepreneurs; and (3) philanthropy being framed as social investment. Outlining and critically examining these issues, this work contributes: a comprehensive analysis of key debates and issues; strengthened conceptual clarity and nuance through an evaluative exploration of the multiple interpretations of philanthrocapitalism; and a future research agenda to address persisting knowledge gaps and refine focus.

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Section: Examining Themes and Issues In The Philanthrocapitalism Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

‘You've Been Framed’: A critical review of academic discourse on philanthrocapitalism

Haydon

Jung

Russell

2021

Int J Management Reviews

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…To a large degree, accommodationism is financially supported by the largesse of the John Templeton Foundation, which annually dispenses $70 million in grant money to scientists and theologians, much of it to projects-usually grouped under the rubric of "Big Questions"-meant to reconcile science and faith (Bains 2011). It also annually awards a Templeton Prize of 1 million British pounds (deliberately made larger than the Nobel Prize) to honor "a living person who has made an exceptional contribution to affirming life's spiritual dimension, whether through insight, discovery, or practical works" (Templeton Foundation 2011).…”

Section: Solutionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Science, Religion, and Society: The Problem of Evolution in America

Coyne¹

2012

Evolution

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American resistance to accepting evolution is uniquely high among First World countries. This is due largely to the extreme religiosity of the United States, which is much higher than that of comparably advanced nations, and to the resistance of many religious people to the facts and supposed implications of evolution. The prevalence of religious belief in the United States suggests that outreach by scientists alone will not have a huge effect in increasing the acceptance of evolution, nor will the strategy of trying to convince the faithful that evolution is compatible with their religion. Because creationism is a symptom of religion, another strategy to promote evolution involves loosening the grip of faith on America. This is easier said than done, for recent sociological surveys show that religion is highly correlated with the dysfunctionality of a society, and various measures of societal health show that the United States is one of the most socially dysfunctional First World countries. Widespread acceptance of evolution in America, then, may have to await profound social change. K E Y W O R D S :Creationism, education, evolutionary biology, religion, sociology.

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“…He became a tax exile in the Bahamas, reportedly saving himself $100 million (Mayer, 2016). He thereby became a British subject and was knighted by Margaret Thatcher (Bains, 2011). However, the Foundation has contributed $20.2 million to climate change denial, 10 has links to the neoliberal Mont Pèlerin Society (Allen and Bull, 2018; Ball et al, 2011; Mirowski and Plehwe, 2015), and to right-wing US think tanks such as the Cato Institute, the Heritage Foundation, the Mercator Centre and to the billionaire Koch brothers, leading providers of ‘dark money’ to the far Right (Mayer, 2016).…”

Section: The Character Education Movementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Critiquing – and Rescuing – ‘Character’

Sayer

2020

Sociology

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The article looks at how sociology might regard the concept of ‘character’, both in terms of the way it is used in public discourse and in its own accounts of social life. In the former, the concept is likely to be regarded with suspicion, especially where it is used to explain individuals’ life outcomes in a way that ignores social structures and depoliticizes inequalities. Such usages are to be found in political discourse on welfare and in the character education movement as a solution to problems of ‘social mobility’. Yet if character refers to individuals’ settled dispositions to act in certain ways, then it has some affinities with the Bourdieusian concept of habitus. The article argues both for developing the critique of ideological uses of the concept and for considering how it might be used in ways that do not misrepresent its explanatory and normative significance.

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Questioning the Integrity of the John Templeton Foundation

Cited by 14 publications

References 3 publications

‘You've Been Framed’: A critical review of academic discourse on philanthrocapitalism

‘You've Been Framed’: A critical review of academic discourse on philanthrocapitalism

Science, Religion, and Society: The Problem of Evolution in America

Critiquing – and Rescuing – ‘Character’

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