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Christian Century, April 19, 2000

Freeman J. Dyson, an eminent physicist and a critic of the growing technological divide between rich and poor, has won the 2000 Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion, the world's most prestigious award in religion. Dyson, 76, becomes the second physicist in two years to win the award, which this year comes with a check for $948,000. He will be formally awarded the prize on May 9 by Prince Philip of Great Britain.

Dyson, a professor emeritus at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, was chosen for the award because of his extensive writing on the meaning of science and its relation to other disciplines, including religion and ethics. He has criticized sections of the scientific community over the development of some forms of technology--such as mobile phones--which he has described as "toys for the rich." He has also criticized costly scientific programs such as the International Space Station, calling it a "welfare program" for the middle class. According to Dyson, the space station's scientific value is negligible. "The scientific community does not want it, nor does the military. The only ones wanting it are those who have constructed it," he said in an interview.

What science and religion ought to be doing, Dyson said, is working together to end existing economic and social inequalities. "To lift up poor countries, and poor people in rich countries, from poverty, to give them a chance of a decent life, technology is not enough," Dyson maintained. "Science and religion should work together to abolish the gross inequalities that prevail in the modern world."

Dyson said he is not a member of a church, but he occasionally attends Presbyterian services in Princeton and admires church leaders and members committed to the cause of peace. But, he added, the U.S. peace movement appears to be "fading" at the moment. -ENI