Prague: Czech priest and intellectual Tomas Halik has won the 2014 Templeton Prize, joining the ranks of past winners such as Desmond Tutu and the Dalai Lama, the organisers of one of the world`s largest annual awards announced Thursday.
The 65-year-old Roman Catholic scholar has scooped the £1.1 million ($1.8 million, 1.3 million euro) prize, the John Templeton Foundation announced at the British Academy in London.
The Templeton Prize honours a living person who has made "an exceptional contribution to affirming life`s spiritual dimension, whether through insight, discovery, or practical works".
It is one of the largest annual monetary awards given to an individual.
Halik pushed for religious and cultural freedoms after the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968 and became a leading advocate of dialogue among different faiths and non-believers.
The Prague philosopher`s many written works in various languages try to give a spiritual diagnosis of modern times.
Halik was at the British Academy for the announcement but the prize will be formally awarded in London in May.
The prize was established in 1972 by John Templeton, the late US-born British global investor and philanthropist.
Other past winners include Mother Theresa, Billy Graham and Alexander Solzhenitsyn.
