Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Encyclopedia
The Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance (OCRT) are a small group in Kingston, Ontario
dedicated to the promotion of religious tolerance through their website, ReligiousTolerance.org.
and Douglas E. Cowan
). In 1995, Robinson set out to create an organization that promotes religious tolerance, comprising people from as many different religious backgrounds as possible. The group was reported in 2007 to consist of an Agnostic
, an Atheist
, a Christian
, a Wicca
n, and a Zen
Buddhist
.
Feeling that much of the information spread about religious minorities was inaccurate, the group created its ReligiousTolerance.org website in an attempt to explain the nature of these beliefs. Satanism, Wicca, other Neopagan religions and New Age were some of the first belief systems they focused on. The site hosts over six thousand articles devoted to the description of numerous religions and religious controversies, and features advertisements.
The group has stated that religious tolerance does not mean having to accept that the beliefs of others are true, or will lead to the same God. Rather, it means according to others the right to choose their beliefs without being oppressed or discriminated against: "We can believe that members of another religious group are hopelessly deluded, and still support their right to enjoy religious freedom."
Having originally begun as an informal group, the Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance were registered as a sole proprietorship in 1996, one year after the website had first been made available online. In addition to his writings on the website, Robinson has also contributed a chapter on "Satanic Ritual Abuse
" to The Encyclopedia of Cults, Sects, and New Religions (2001), edited by James R. Lewis.
lists ReligiousTolerance.org among recommended secondary research sources on new religious movements, to be used in concert with movement and countermovement sources. Rebecca Moore, a scholar teaching Religious Studies at San Diego State University
, described the ReligiousTolerance.org website as a "massive education program". She expressed regret that her students dismissed the site at first because it supported itself with advertising. A 2005 online literacy guide (IssueWeb: A Guide and Sourcebook for Researching Controversial Issues on the Web) lists ReligiousTolerance.org as a suggested research resource on abortion
, assisted suicide
, religious tolerance, gay rights and hate group
s/hate crime
s. The New York Times noted in 2002 that access to the site was blocked to Internet users in Saudi Arabia
. Google has assigned ReligiousTolerance.org a Page Rank of 7.
Kingston, Ontario
Kingston, Ontario is a Canadian city located in Eastern Ontario where the St. Lawrence River flows out of Lake Ontario. Originally a First Nations settlement called "Katarowki," , growing European exploration in the 17th Century made it an important trading post...
dedicated to the promotion of religious tolerance through their website, ReligiousTolerance.org.
History of the group and its website
Bruce A. Robinson, who is described as the "chief architect" of the organization, presents a history of the group and its website in the book Religion on the Internet: Research Prospects and Promises (edited by Jeffrey K. HaddenJeffrey K. Hadden
Jeffrey K. Hadden was an American professor of sociology who began teaching at the University of Virginia in 1972. Hadden earned his Ph.D...
and Douglas E. Cowan
Douglas E. Cowan
Douglas E. Cowan is a Canadian academic in religious studies and the sociology of religion and currently holds a teaching position at Renison College, University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada...
). In 1995, Robinson set out to create an organization that promotes religious tolerance, comprising people from as many different religious backgrounds as possible. The group was reported in 2007 to consist of an Agnostic
Agnosticism
Agnosticism is the view that the truth value of certain claims—especially claims about the existence or non-existence of any deity, but also other religious and metaphysical claims—is unknown or unknowable....
, an Atheist
Atheism
Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities. In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities...
, a Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
, a Wicca
Wicca
Wicca , is a modern Pagan religious movement. Developing in England in the first half of the 20th century, Wicca was popularised in the 1950s and early 1960s by a Wiccan High Priest named Gerald Gardner, who at the time called it the "witch cult" and "witchcraft," and its adherents "the Wica."...
n, and a Zen
Zen
Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism founded by the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma. The word Zen is from the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese word Chán , which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyāna, which can be approximately translated as "meditation" or "meditative state."Zen...
Buddhist
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
.
Feeling that much of the information spread about religious minorities was inaccurate, the group created its ReligiousTolerance.org website in an attempt to explain the nature of these beliefs. Satanism, Wicca, other Neopagan religions and New Age were some of the first belief systems they focused on. The site hosts over six thousand articles devoted to the description of numerous religions and religious controversies, and features advertisements.
The group has stated that religious tolerance does not mean having to accept that the beliefs of others are true, or will lead to the same God. Rather, it means according to others the right to choose their beliefs without being oppressed or discriminated against: "We can believe that members of another religious group are hopelessly deluded, and still support their right to enjoy religious freedom."
Having originally begun as an informal group, the Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance were registered as a sole proprietorship in 1996, one year after the website had first been made available online. In addition to his writings on the website, Robinson has also contributed a chapter on "Satanic Ritual Abuse
Satanic ritual abuse
Satanic ritual abuse refers to the abuse of a person or animal in a ritual setting or manner...
" to The Encyclopedia of Cults, Sects, and New Religions (2001), edited by James R. Lewis.
Reception
Elizabeth D. Hutchison, in Dimensions of Human Behavior, described Ontario Consultants for Religious Tolerance as "an agency that promotes religious tolerance as a human right". In Teaching New Religious Movements (2007), David G. BromleyDavid G. Bromley
David G. Bromley is a professor of sociology at Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA and the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA. He has written extensively about "cults", new religious movements, apostasy, and the anti-cult movement.- Education and career :Bromley received his...
lists ReligiousTolerance.org among recommended secondary research sources on new religious movements, to be used in concert with movement and countermovement sources. Rebecca Moore, a scholar teaching Religious Studies at San Diego State University
San Diego State University
San Diego State University , founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, is the largest and oldest higher education facility in the greater San Diego area , and is part of the California State University system...
, described the ReligiousTolerance.org website as a "massive education program". She expressed regret that her students dismissed the site at first because it supported itself with advertising. A 2005 online literacy guide (IssueWeb: A Guide and Sourcebook for Researching Controversial Issues on the Web) lists ReligiousTolerance.org as a suggested research resource on abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
, assisted suicide
Assisted suicide
Assisted suicide is the common term for actions by which an individual helps another person voluntarily bring about his or her own death. "Assistance" may mean providing one with the means to end one's own life, but may extend to other actions. It differs to euthanasia where another person ends...
, religious tolerance, gay rights and hate group
Hate group
A hate group is an organized group or movement that advocates and practices hatred, hostility, or violence towards members of a race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation or other designated sector of society...
s/hate crime
Hate crime
In crime and law, hate crimes occur when a perpetrator targets a victim because of his or her perceived membership in a certain social group, usually defined by racial group, religion, sexual orientation, disability, class, ethnicity, nationality, age, gender, gender identity, social status or...
s. The New York Times noted in 2002 that access to the site was blocked to Internet users in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
. Google has assigned ReligiousTolerance.org a Page Rank of 7.