Logo of the People's Temple
The Peoples Temple of the Disciples of Christ, originally Peoples Temple Full Gospel Church and commonly shortened to Peoples Temple, was an American new religious cult which existed between 1954 and 1978.
The Temple is best known for the events of November 18, 1978, in Guyana, when 909 people died in a mass suicide and mass murder at its remote settlement, named "Jonestown", which infamously became known as the "Jonestown Massacre".
Overview[]
Founded in Indianapolis, Indiana by Reverend Jim Jones, the Peoples Temple spread a message that combined elements of Christianity with communist and socialist ideology, with an emphasis on racial equality. Jones moved the group to Arizona in the 1960s and established several locations throughout the state. Jim Jones himself founded the People's Temple when he, in his own words, started hearing something underneath the static while he was listening to a preacher's speech, to what he proclaimed to be the "voice of God". The voice of God expressed to Jones his dissatisfaction with the world and its Churches, stating that he needed a brave new prophet.
Jones frequently warned his followers of an imminent apocalyptic war on freedom. He claimed that "the Devil and his darlings" would be served the bodies of people of color in boiling stew by white supremacists who abhor freedom. Jones said he was a messiah sent to save people by giving them a place of refuge in his church. Drawing on a prophecy in the Book of Revelation, he taught that American capitalist culture was irredeemable "Babylon". Explaining the nature of sin, Jones stated, "If you're born in capitalist America, racist America, fascist America, then you're born in sin. But if you're born in socialism, you're not born in sin." He taught his followers the only way to escape the supposed imminent catastrophe was to accept his teachings, and that after the apocalypse was over, they would emerge to establish a perfect communist society by being reborn through death.