John Polkinghorne

Who is John Polkinghorne?

The Rev Dr John Charlton Polkinghorne, KBE, FRS is an English theoretical physicist, theologian, writer, and Anglican priest. A prominent and leading voice explaining the relationship between science and religion, he was professor of Mathematical physics at the University of Cambridge from 1968 to 1979, when he resigned his chair to study for the priesthood, becoming an ordained Anglican priest in 1982. He served as the president of Queens' College, Cambridge from 1988 until 1996.

Polkinghorne is the author of five books on physics, and 26 on the relationship between science and religion; his publications include The Quantum World, Quantum Physics and Theology: An Unexpected Kinship, Exploring Reality: The Intertwining of Science and Religion, and Questions of Truth. The Polkinghorne Reader provides key excerpts from Polkinghorne's most influential books. He was knighted in 1997 and in 2002 received the £1 million Templeton Prize, awarded for exceptional contributions to affirming life's spiritual dimension.