fiit-broschuere2024 - Flipbook - Seite 62
Perhaps the greatest research organizational success of Heidelberg
Theology was the worldwide announcement of an Award for Theological Promise. The prize is awarded to the ten best doctoral theses or first
book publications after the doctoral thesis on the general topic of “God
and Spirituality – broadly understood.” In the early years, the prize was
called the John Templeton Award for Theological Promise. When the
Templeton Foundation was unable to award the prize beyond five years
due to its statutes, Manfred Lautenschläger and his foundation took
over the sponsorship in 2013. The eleventh Manfred Lautenschläger
Award for Theological Promise will be presented in the Alte Aula of the
University on May 10, 2024.
Applications come from the best universities in the world, not only
from the disciplines of theology and religious studies. Applications
are attracted from Egyptology, classics, philosophy, psychology, political ethics, Jewish studies, and Hebrew Bible. They are evaluated three
times by twenty renowned colleagues from the Board of Evaluators,
who come from fifteen countries and various disciplines. The prize enjoys an extraordinarily high reputation; 90 percent of the 140 prizewinners to date already hold a professorship.
The international reputation of Heidelberg and its university as a result of this award cannot be overestimated. After the festive event in
the Alte Aula with a keynote speech, the presentation of the certificates
and the ten cheques for € 3,000 each, a colloquium of the prizewinners
with Heidelberg colleagues and some evaluators on the young scientists’ next research projects takes place over two days at the IWH. On
the day in between, Sunday, there is an optional ecumenical service in
St. Peter’s Church in Heidelberg, followed by an excursion to Schwetzingen Castle Park and a reception on the balcony of Heidelberg Castle
in the evening, followed by a festive dinner.
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