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- The Oracle Institute is a 501(c)(3) educational charity founded in 2004 by Laura M. George and located in Independence, Virginia. Oracle operates a multi-faith spirituality school, an award-winning publishing house, the Peace Pentagon HUB and conference center, and programs that support pluralistic and progressive values. Oracle's stated purpose is to serve as "An Advocate for Peace and a Vanguard for Conscious Evolution," and its formal mission statement is an adaptation of Thomas Jefferson's Act for Religious Freedom. Oracle's spirituality school offers courses, conferences, and retreats which focus on the five primary religions (Hinduism, Judaism, Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam), indigenous wisdom traditions, New Age philosophies, peace-building, social justice, and sustainability. In 2015, Oracle sponsored the "Building the New World Conference" at Radford University, which featured futurists Barbara Marx Hubbard, Jerome C. Glenn, and Charles Eisenstein. In 2020, Oracle hosted a virtual "Building the New World Summit," featuring David Korten, Riane Eisler, David Sloan Wilson, Kurt Johnson, David Suzuki, Alex Grey, and Paul K. Chappell. Oracle publishes books under its imprints, Oracle Institute Press and Peace Pentagon Press. Genres include religion and spirituality, personal growth and social evolution, mysticism, the arts, and children's fiction. Oracle Institute Press has won five book awards, including two Independent Publisher Book Awards in the Religion category, the Young Voices Seal of Approval for children's fiction, and two Indie Book Awards in the Spirituality and Performing Arts categories. In 2012, after two years of litigation, during which Oracle was represented by The Rutherford Institute, Oracle achieved the right to build the "Peace Pentagon" along the New River in Grayson County, Virginia. The Peace Pentagon is an energy-efficient PassivHaus structure with a multi-faith sanctuary and conference facilities. In 2015, Oracle founded an intentional community called the "Valley of Light" for cultural creatives who live and work at the Oracle Campus. The Valley of Light micro-community was inspired by the Federation of Damanhur, whose Ambassadors regularly visit Oracle Campus. The Valley of Light is a member of the Fellowship for Intentional Community. In 2020, the Peace Pentagon at Oracle Campus became the United States headquarters for the Earth Constitution Institute and the World Constitution and Parliament Association, global NGOs dedicated to World Federalism and the adoption of the Earth Constitution. In 2022, Oracle’s founder Laura M. George was named an Evolutionary Leader. (en)
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