What religion was Peoples Temple?
Christian
| Peoples Temple | |
|---|---|
| Classification | Christian new religious movement Utopian/social change church movement |
| Orientation | Eclectic Pentecostal with Christian socialist and communist elements / Theosophical / New Thought |
| Polity | Semi-congregationalist |
| Leader | James Warren “Jim” Jones (1955–78) |
What was the purpose of Peoples Temple?
A diverse group, the members of Peoples Temple shared a common goal: to create an egalitarian society free of problems of class and race. Many of those who joined in Indiana in the 1950s had lower incomes and felt alienated from society.
What happened to the Peoples Temple?
It is unfathomable now, as it was then, that more than 900 Americans – members of a San Francisco-based religious group called the Peoples Temple – died after drinking poison at the urging of their leader, the Reverend Jim Jones, in a secluded South American jungle settlement.
Why did the Peoples Temple drink the Kool Aid?
Back at Jones’ camp, approximately 900 Peoples Temple members were told by Jones that it was time to commit “revolutionary suicide,” according to the Rolling Stone account. Some willingly drank a flavored drink mix laced with deadly cyanide and other chemicals, and even gave it to their children.
What religion was Jim Jones?
Jim Jones was the leader of the Peoples Temple cult who initiated a mass murder-suicide at the Jonestown compound in Guyana. He opened his first church in Indianapolis in the 1950s before relocating to California in the mid-1960s.
Where was the Jonestown massacre?
| Port Kaituma airstrip shootings | |
|---|---|
| Location | Port Kaituma Airport, Guyana |
| Date | November 18, 1978 5:20 p.m.–5:25 p.m. (UTC-4) |
| Target | Congressman Leo Ryan and party; defectors from the Peoples Temple at Jonestown |
| Attack type | Assassination Mass shooting |
What was it like living in Jonestown?
Daily life in Jonestown was not idyllic; the compound struggled to feed and house the exodus of church followers. Brutal beatings, disturbing “suicide rehearsals,” and Jones’s increasing paranoia compelled people to defect from the cult. At this point, the mass murder-suicide began.
What was Jim Jones religion?
As a youth, Jones developed an affinity for pentecostalism and a desire to be a preacher. He was ordained as a Christian minister in the Independent Assemblies of God and attracted his first followers while participating in the Pentecostal Latter Rain movement and the Healing Revival during the 1950s.
Where did the Jonestown massacre take place?
Port Kaituma Airport, Guyana
| Port Kaituma airstrip shootings | |
|---|---|
| Location | Port Kaituma Airport, Guyana |
| Date | November 18, 1978 5:20 p.m.–5:25 p.m. (UTC-4) |
| Target | Congressman Leo Ryan and party; defectors from the Peoples Temple at Jonestown |
| Attack type | Assassination Mass shooting |
Was Jim Jones a Pentecostal?
Jim Jones had become a popular Pentecostal preacher in the 1960s, using a gospel of social justice and inclusion to attract followers to his San Francisco-based congregation, the People’s Temple.
How did Peoples Temple start?
Jones began the Peoples Temple informally in the 1950s as an independent congregation in Indianapolis. He was inspired by the ideal of a just society that could overcome the evils of racism and poverty. Although Jones was white, he attracted mostly African Americans to the group with his vision of an integrated congregation.
Who was the leader of Peoples Temple?
… (Show more) Peoples Temple, religious community led by Jim Jones (1931–78) that came to international attention after some 900 of its members died at their compound, Jonestown, in Guyana, in a massive act of murder-suicide on Nov. 18, 1978. Jones began the Peoples Temple informally in the 1950s as an independent congregation in Indianapolis.
Was Peoples Temple a church or socialist organization?
Peoples Temple’s basic doctrine was fairly simple: it was “not really a church, but a socialist organization” (Layton, 85). Jim Jones had founded the Temple on socialist ideals and his own power as a demagogue.
Peoples Temple. Peoples Temple, religious community led by Jim Jones (1931–78) that came to international attention after some 900 of its members died at their compound, Jonestown, in Guyana, in a massive act of murder-suicide on Nov. 18, 1978.