The Power of Religious Cults

Thirty years ago, on November 18, 1978, James Warren Jones, the pastor of The People's Temple, led 914 of his followers to their deaths by drinking a cyanide-laced fruit drink. Cult members who refused to swallow the drink were shot, and afterwards, Jones shot himself.

The People's Temple was a Christian cult founded by Jones in Indianapolis in the 1950s. Its original mission was to become an inter-racial group for the sick, homeless, and jobless. The congregation grew to over 900 members while preaching a "social gospel" of helping the least and the lowliest of society's members. Later, however, this gospel became explicitly socialistic, or communistic in Jones's own view, and the hypocrisy of white Christianity was ridiculed while "apostolic socialism" was preached.

Jones decided to move the congregation to Ukiah in Northern California after the government began investigations into his spiritual cures for cancer, heart disease, and arthritis. Later, he again made moves to San Francisco, and then to Los Angeles. After an expose during the mid 1970's, when a magazine raised suspicions of illegal activities within the Temple, he moved some of his membership to Jonestown, Guyana.

In the jungle, he established an agricultural cooperative called the "People's Temple Agricultural Project." During that time, Jones preached his belief of "Translation" in which the congregation, when commanded by him, would all die together and move on to another planet to live a life of bliss together. They even went so far as to simulate this action through practicing it.

In November 1978, U.S. Congressman Leo Ryan led a fact-finding mission to Jonestown to investigate allegations of human rights abuses by Jones. The delegation left hurriedly the afternoon of November 18th after a Temple member unsuccessfully attacked Ryan with a knife. Congressman Ryan and his people succeeded in taking with them 15 People's Temple members who had expressed a wish to leave.

At that time, Jones made no attempt to prevent their departure. But, as members of Ryan's delegation boarded two planes at the airstrip, Jones's armed guards arrived in a tractor-pulled trailer, and began shooting at the delegation, and killed Congressman Ryan and five others near their plane. Other members of the delegation did escape to tell their stories.

Realizing that other investigators and legal actions would soon follow, Jones ordered the "Translation" to take place.

Why are cult leaders so powerful in controlling their members? Why are cult members so vulnerable to these tactics? Assign students to answer these and other essential questions for critical thinking.

To help your students and you to complete this mini-research assignment, ProQuest has created a new BookCart learning activity, "Religious Cults--What makes them tick?"

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Assign students to research religious cults as we recall that tragic day thirty years ago in Jonestown, Guyana. Students should complete a report of at least 150 words that cites at least three resources, or choose a PowerPoint report of at least two minutes and seven slides.

Students should address the following essential questions for critical thinking (you can create others) in their reports:

• Why do people join religious cults?
• What do cult leaders do to maintain and grow membership?
• What are the dangers to persons and society of religious cults?
• How do religious cults differ from credible religious organizations?
• Are there any examples of religious cults benefitting members and society?

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