The purpose of the Templeton Foundation is to blur the line (in people's minds) between science and religion. I'm sure you know it goes: Science and religion are Different Ways Of Knowing The Same Truth, Blah Blah Blah™.

A few years ago they were fairly straightforward about it (it was practically spelled out on their website), but after being subjected to a lot of criticism by secular scientists and philosophers, they've been going about it much more sneakily. They sponsor respectable events and fund respectable science to earn credibility, and spend that credibility on stuff like this and other sneaky attempts to make it seem like among first-rate scientists/philosophers/epistemic authority figures, there's only a small minority that views religion as utter hogwash. There's also the Templeton Prize, that rewards scientists who've said something appropriately respectful about religion, and many other lesser brib... I mean gifts. All of this hidden behind an interest in what they call "The Big Questions", by which they mean, "Questions to which the answer is God".