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| {{Redirect|Religioustolerance||Religious toleration}} | |||
| {{Primarysources|date=December 2008}} | |||
| {{Infobox website | |||
| {{Original research|date=July 2008}} | |||
| ⚫ | | name = Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance (ReligiousTolerance.org) | ||
| {{Redirect|Religioustolerance||Religious toleration}} <!-- Deleted image removed: ] --> | |||
| | logo = ReligiousTolerance.png | |||
| The '''Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance''' ('''OCRT''') is a group in ], ], formed with the stated purpose of promoting ] and providing the public with information about various religions. To accomplish these goals, they maintain a ], '''ReligiousTolerance.org'''<ref></ref>, and give lectures. The group is based in ]. | |||
| | logo_size = 300px | |||
| ⚫ | | url = {{URL|http://www.religioustolerance.org/}} (no longer valid) | ||
| | type = Educational, religious | |||
| | language = English | |||
| ⚫ | | owner = Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance | ||
| | launch_date = {{start date and age|1995}}<ref name="Euth"/> | |||
| | current_status = Inactive (as of early 2023) | |||
| }} | |||
| The '''Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance''' ('''OCRT''') was a group in ] that was dedicated to the promotion of ] through their website, '''ReligiousTolerance.org''' from 1995<ref name=Euth /> to 2023. | |||
| == History of the group and its website == | |||
| ==Members== | |||
| Bruce A. Robinson, who is described as the "chief architect" of the organization, has presented a history of the group and its website in the book ''Religion on the Internet: Research Prospects and Promises'' (edited by ] and ]).<ref name="sra">{{cite book|author=Lewis, James P.|title=Satanism Today: An Encyclopedia Of Religion, Folklore and Popular Culture|url=https://archive.org/details/satanismtodayenc00lewi|url-access=registration|publisher=ABC-Clio Inc|year=2001|pages=, 244|isbn=1-57607-292-4}}</ref> In 2008, the group consisted of an ], an ], a ], a ]n and a ] ].<ref name="Euth">{{cite book|author1=Jennifer Fecio McDougall|author2=Martha Gorman|author3=Carolyn S. Roberts|title=Euthanasia: a reference handbook|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AKaVqvPwkq0C|year=2008|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-59884-121-3|pages=}}</ref> | |||
| Five volunteers make up the group. They identify themselves as "two ] (one ] and the other an ]), one ]n, one ] but unaffiliated Christian, and a ] ]."<ref></ref> They are supported by a part-time office assistant. They outline their goals as follows: | |||
| Feeling that much of the information about religious minorities from the media was inaccurate, the group created its ReligiousTolerance.org website in an attempt to explain the nature of these beliefs.<ref name="Metro">Klein, Sarah (October 25, 2006). , '']''. Retrieved on January 7, 2009.</ref> ], Wicca, other ] religions and ] were some of the first belief systems they focused on.<ref name="Metro"/> The site has hosted over eight thousand articles devoted to the description of numerous religions and religious controversies.<ref name="Euth"/>{{Failed verification|date=December 2011}}<ref name=stover/><ref name="week"/> | |||
| :We are not theologians or religious innovators; we are simply reporters on religion, spirituality, and ethics. We do not create or promote new religious beliefs. Rather, we explain all of the points of view which others teach on topics as varied as abortion access, equal rights for homosexuals, heaven and hell, God, Satan, and hundreds of other social and religious topics.<ref></ref> | |||
| 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, but 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".<ref name="week">Staff (September 15, 2001). "Web Site of the Week", '']''</ref> | |||
| Bruce A. Robinson, the ] of the group, is the founder and coordinator of the OCRT, and the primary author at ReligiousTolerance.org. Robinson is a graduate of the ], with a ] degree in ]. He worked for a large multi-national chemical company for thirty-eight years before early retirement. His professional interests were in the development of ], and involved extensive writing of technical manuals. | |||
| 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.<ref name="Metro"/><ref name="religionnet">{{cite book|author1=Cowan, Douglas E.|author2=Hadden, Jeffrey K|title=Religion on the Internet: research prospects and promises|publisher=Jai|location=Amsterdam|year=2000|pages=312, 311|isbn=0-7623-0535-5}}</ref> In addition to his writings on the website, Robinson has also contributed a chapter on "]" to ''The Encyclopedia of Cults, Sects, and New Religions'' (2001), edited by ].<ref name="sra"/> | |||
| The group receives its main funding from donations, banner ads, commissions from Amazon.com, and donations from authors wishing to reprint material from the site. | |||
| == |
== Reception == | ||
| In ''Dimensions of Human Behavior'', Elizabeth D. Hutchison described Ontario Consultants for Religious Tolerance as "an agency that promotes religious tolerance as a ]".<ref name="Hutch">Hutchison, Elizabeth D. (2003). ''Dimensions of Human Behavior'', SAGE, {{ISBN|0-7619-8765-7}}, p. 266.</ref> In ''Teaching New Religious Movements'' (2007), ] has listed ReligiousTolerance.org among recommended secondary research sources on ] to be used in concert with movement and countermovement sources.<ref>Bromley, David G. (2007). ''Teaching New Religious Movements'', Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|0-19-517729-0}}, p. 296.</ref> Rebecca Moore, a scholar teaching Religious Studies at ], described the ReligiousTolerance.org website as a "massive education program" and she expressed regret that her students dismissed the site at first because it supported itself with advertising.<ref name=stover>Stover, Mark (2001). ''Theological Librarians and the Internet'', Haworth Press, {{ISBN|0-7890-1342-8}}, p. 145.</ref> A 2005 online literacy guide (''IssueWeb: A Guide and Sourcebook for Researching Controversial Issues on the Web'') has listed ReligiousTolerance.org as a suggested research resource on ], ], religious tolerance, ] and ]s/]s.<ref>Diaz, Karen R.; O'Hanlon, Nancy (2005). ''IssueWeb: A Guide and Sourcebook for Researching Controversial Issues on the Web'', ], {{ISBN|1-59158-078-1}}, pp. 40, 55, 67, 120, 143.</ref> The '']'' noted in 2002 that access to the site was blocked to Internet users in ].<ref>] (January 11, 2002). , ''New York Times''.</ref> | |||
| The group started ReligiousTolerance.org in 1995 to counter what they perceive as a proliferation of misinformation about various religions and a lack of religious tolerance on the ]. The site contains essays on a variety of topics related to ], ], ], ], and ]. The group states that they attempt to write accurate, impartial, and balanced essays<ref></ref>, that reference reliable sources. The site keeps a record of notable errors and corrections on an errata page.<ref></ref> Robinson writes the vast majority of these essays. | |||
| The website has not been online since some time in 2023 and it is not known if the organization is still active today. | |||
| The Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance designed their site for a ]n audience. Though the group is based in Canada, they make a conscious effort to follow ]. | |||
| ⚫ | == References == | ||
| By 2008-APR, the web site contained 4,304 essays and received about 1.5 million visitors a month.<ref></ref> | |||
| ⚫ | {{reflist|colwidth=45em}} | ||
| == |
== External links == | ||
| * (No longer valid) | |||
| On almost all the site's articles on Scientology Al Buttnor is listed as author or co-author. Buttnor is the Director of Public Affairs and Human Rights for the Church of Scientology Toronto.<ref>]: ''''</ref> On one page where Robinson is listed as the author,<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.religioustolerance.org/scientol3.htm |title = Resolution of religious Intolerance towards the Church of Scientology |accessdate = 2007-08-20 |author = B.A. Robinson |date = ] |publisher = Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance|quote=Today the religiosity of Scientology has become }}</ref> most of the text is identical with an official Church of Scientology site.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.scientology-europe.org/en_US/europe/pg001.html |title = The Growth of Scientology throughout Europe |accessdate = 2007-08-20 |author=European Office for Public Affairs and Human Rights|year = 2005 |publisher = Church of Scientology International|quote=Today the religiosity of Scientology has become }}</ref> | |||
| ⚫ | ] | ||
| ==Controversy== | |||
| ] | |||
| ReligiousTolerance.org addresses controversial subjects such as ], ], and ]. The site attempts to discuss all sides of these issues and how they relate to various faiths. It is a relatively large website, consisting of over 4,200 essays. During the week ending ], about a half million visitors downloaded almost two million essays. It has been online since early 1995.<ref></ref> | |||
| ] | |||
| A number of web rating groups, such as ] and ], once banned the site for its controversial subject matter. These bans have since been lifted. The site remains banned by at least one government, ].<ref></ref> | |||
| In 2006 the Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance decided to "bend the rules" and make an exception to their overall policy of providing information about various religions in a neutral and tolerant way. They presented an argumentative essay donated by Vladimir Tomek titled "Changing Holy Books, In Order to Modify Beliefs and Alter Behaviors".<ref name="tomek"></ref> The report argues from a ] viewpoint for the alteration of holy texts. For example the ] could be altered by downplaying or ignoring those biblical passages that justify genocide; oppression of women; human slavery; execution of Witches, homosexuals and religious minorities; physically abusing children, etc. Their argument is explained at the top of the essay: "To break the spiral of violence and intolerance in the world, we need to eliminate the sanctification of wrong attitudes and evil deeds which are contained in our 'sacred texts.'" The essay argues against ], concentrating on ]. The authors explain their reasons for singling out Christianity and the Bible: "We will primarily cite Christian examples here because it is the main religion in North America, which is our main service area." They acknowledge the essay's potential for sparking controversy, writing that they "realize that believers who regard their holy text as God's word might interpret this essay as an attack on their beliefs." They caution, "If you are easily distressed, we recommend that you not read this essay. Alternately, you may wish to submit your own rebuttal in the form of an essay for our visitors' essay section."<ref name="tomek"/> | |||
| ==Criticism== | |||
| The group suggests that their atheist, agnostic, and Wiccan authors are particularly well qualified to discuss religious tolerance and intolerance because their religious beliefs are, and have been, the focus of a great deal of intolerance in North America.<ref></ref> | |||
| The (an organization which describes itself as "an online Christian ministry with a two-fold purpose: (1) to provide Christians with apologetics research resources on cults, sects, other religious movements, doctrines and practices, and (2) to help non-Christians find relevant information on the same subjects) characterizes ReligiousTolerance.org as "pluralistic" and unbalanced.<ref name="apolo">{{Citation | |||
| |url=http://www.apologeticsindex.org/o00.html#ocrt | |||
| ⚫ | | |
||
| |publisher=Anton and Janet Hein-Hudson | |||
| |accessdate=2007-10-16 | |||
| }}</ref> | |||
| {{Cquote|Unfortunately, while you'll find an extensive collection of documented, cross-referenced information, many articles are not as balanced as advertised. The site promotes pluralism, and has a decidedly dim view of the anti-cult and counter-cult movements. It prefers to believe cult-apologists, and promotes many of their arguments. In public and private messages, staff and supporters of the Scientology-backed CAN, refer people to the site rather than their own}} | |||
| The ReligiousTolerance.org staff has written an essay countering the Apologetics Index.<ref>{{Citation | |||
| |url=http://www.religioustolerance.org/ccmcrit.htm OCRT reaction to Apologetics Index listing | |||
| |title=Counter-cult Movement; One CCM group's criticism of this web site | |||
| |publisher=OCRT | |||
| |accessdate=2007-10-16}}</ref> | |||
| ⚫ | ==References== | ||
| ⚫ | {{reflist}} | ||
| ==External links== | |||
| ⚫ | |||
| ⚫ | ] | ||
| ] | ] | ||
| ] | ] | ||
| ] | |||
| ⚫ | |||
Latest revision as of 11:54, 21 October 2024
"Religioustolerance" redirects here. For other uses, see Religious toleration. | |
| Type of site | Educational, religious |
|---|---|
| Available in | English |
| Owner | Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance |
| URL | www |
| Launched | 1995; 30 years ago (1995) |
| Current status | Inactive (as of early 2023) |
The Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance (OCRT) was a group in Kingston, Ontario that was dedicated to the promotion of religious tolerance through their website, ReligiousTolerance.org from 1995 to 2023.
History of the group and its website
Bruce A. Robinson, who is described as the "chief architect" of the organization, has presented a history of the group and its website in the book Religion on the Internet: Research Prospects and Promises (edited by Jeffrey K. Hadden and Douglas E. Cowan). In 2008, the group consisted of an Agnostic, an Atheist, a Christian, a Wiccan and a Zen Buddhist.
Feeling that much of the information about religious minorities from the media 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 has hosted over eight thousand articles devoted to the description of numerous religions and religious controversies.
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, but 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.
Reception
In Dimensions of Human Behavior, Elizabeth D. Hutchison 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. Bromley has listed 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" and 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) has listed ReligiousTolerance.org as a suggested research resource on abortion, assisted suicide, religious tolerance, gay rights and hate groups/hate crimes. The New York Times noted in 2002 that access to the site was blocked to Internet users in Saudi Arabia.
The website has not been online since some time in 2023 and it is not known if the organization is still active today.
References
- ^ Jennifer Fecio McDougall; Martha Gorman; Carolyn S. Roberts (2008). Euthanasia: a reference handbook. ABC-CLIO. pp. 222. ISBN 978-1-59884-121-3.
- ^ Lewis, James P. (2001). Satanism Today: An Encyclopedia Of Religion, Folklore and Popular Culture. ABC-Clio Inc. pp. 242, 244. ISBN 1-57607-292-4.
- ^ Klein, Sarah (October 25, 2006). "The kinder, gentler Satanist. The devil sells out, moves to suburbia and dons a fluffy bunny suit", Metro Times. Retrieved on January 7, 2009.
- ^ Stover, Mark (2001). Theological Librarians and the Internet, Haworth Press, ISBN 0-7890-1342-8, p. 145.
- ^ Staff (September 15, 2001). "Web Site of the Week", The Dallas Morning News
- Cowan, Douglas E.; Hadden, Jeffrey K (2000). Religion on the Internet: research prospects and promises. Amsterdam: Jai. pp. 312, 311. ISBN 0-7623-0535-5.
- Hutchison, Elizabeth D. (2003). Dimensions of Human Behavior, SAGE, ISBN 0-7619-8765-7, p. 266.
- Bromley, David G. (2007). Teaching New Religious Movements, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-517729-0, p. 296.
- Diaz, Karen R.; O'Hanlon, Nancy (2005). IssueWeb: A Guide and Sourcebook for Researching Controversial Issues on the Web, Libraries Unlimited, ISBN 1-59158-078-1, pp. 40, 55, 67, 120, 143.
- Kristof, Nicholas D. (January 11, 2002). Can This Marriage Be Saved?, New York Times.
External links
- ReligiousTolerance.org (No longer valid)