Civil Rights Movements: The People's Temple

Cults bring fear in the hearts and eyes of the public, but do citizens know how Jim Jones managed to seduce so many people to join his cult, the Peoples Temple? The Peoples Temple was previously loved in the public eye, as they aided anti-segregation groups and community work, but were eventually relocated in Jonestown, Guyana, under the paranoid eyes of Jim Jones, where they were found dead in a mass-suicide. The ways Jim Jones managed to bring in as many followers as he did are still widely debated to this day. Jim Jones, the leader of the Peoples Temple, manipulated his members to join his sadistic, sinister cult and blindly follow him until their eventual deaths by using threats, blackmail, and brutal punishments.

Resocialization is defined by the dictionary as the process of learning new attitudes and norms required for a new social role. In essence, the members of Peoples Temple were certainly brainwashed and taught new values and beliefs that were in actuality the standards of Jim Jones. I believe Jim Jones appeared at a time where people desperately wanted to spread peace and love throughout their communities. He appeared at the lowest point of a lot of people’s lives like drug addicts and the less fortunate. Moreover, these people needed a clear path of guidance from a leader that could possibly grant them a miracle.

He then formed the Holy Spirit for the Unification of World Christianity he became famous for group marriage ceremonies and many lawsuits filed against the cult from families who were deprogramming their children. The one cult that left a mark on Americans is The Peoples Temple and its leader Jim Jones. As I started to do my research for this project I had in mind I would do an overview of cults in American society in the 1960’s, 70’s and 80’s but one cult stood out from the rest it and it was The Peoples Temple and Jonestown.

The Jonestown Massacre “Hurry my children, hurry, Jim Jones told his followers as they drank the poison that ended their lives”(Streissguth 1). James Warren Jones was an American religious leader who was born on May 13, 1931 and died on November 18, 1978. Jones soon became known as the leader of a cult called “ The People’s Temple”. Jim Jones initiated and was responsible for a mass murder and mass suicide in Jonestown, Guyana. Mass murder and mass suicide committed by Jim Jones and the government as a part of the massacre are two theories surrounding the mystery behind “The Jonestown Massacre”.

Jones was responsible for the death of 918 people, including 276 children. By promising utopia and a better life, he gained hundreds of followers, which led to the creation of ‘The People’s Temple’. Growing up, Jones didn’t receive much attention from his parents, which left Jones mostly to himself. His dad had very little interest in him, and his mother was very busy working two jobs. Jones therefore grew up mostly left to himself, until he joined a church where he learned to speak in public.

Jim Jones and the Peoples Temple Cult “Jim Jones of the Peoples’s Temple began as a sound, fairly mainstream Christian minister” (Sects, ‘Cults’ & Alternative Religions). Before all the madness Jones seemed like a caring person, that wanted to bring peace to a town he made, Jonestown. Instead it turned into something more horrific. Jim Jones was the manipulative mastermind behind the traumatic events that happened in Jonestown, Guyana, this essay will discuss interviews by people who are survivors of the mass suicide, and dive into the crazy conspiracies that have emerged, and finally conclude with the death of the Peoples Temple.

The “Lessons from Jonestown” article from the American Psychological Association explains what happened in Jonestown, Guyana and why it happened. The members of the church wanted to leave the United States to escape racism, so they agreed to follow Jim Jones to South America. They hoped to live more peaceful, happy lives, but their lives were cut short due to a mass suicide led by Jones. Psychologists, such as Philip Zimbardo, believe that Jones’ success came partially from George Orwell’s book, “1984.” This book explained different facets of mind control and how it is executed, and there are many parallels between the examples in the book and in Jim Jones’ church.

In 1969, a leader, Charles Manson ordered members of what was known as the “Family,” to break into a Hollywood home and murder five people, including a pregnant actress. Less than 48 hours later, they were asked to murder two more people (Bugliosi). A couple years later, in 1978, a man named Jim Jones convinced over 900 of his followers to drink a cyanide-laced beverage that killed them all (Gritz). These horrifying stories made headlines and shocked the world. When one thinks of cults, the Manson and Jones cases are the kind of examples that come to mind.

Confirms Samuel S. Hill’s evaluation that Southern observers “can do no less than acknowledge the reality of religion and it 's formative influence." Examines the increased amount of intellectual projects addressing the role of religion: the elevated status that religion has in the South and the rapidity of those developments in those studies as being “a serious and maturing academic field”; the validation of religion as an essential component, as a whole, to Southern life; religion cannot be a detached theme that can be segregated from all the other characteristics of Southern

Have you ever wondered how people seen on the news involved in a cult, ended up in one in the first place. Cults can develop from religious or social movements, often times involving; brainwashing, control, and kidnapping. In many cases social influence can leave an imprint on a person’s actions, personality, and growth. When people interact with others on a daily basis they tend to change their own behavior in order to conform with the what is relevant. Often times group thinking overrides a person’s a rational reasoning and can lead to the joining of a cult.

Here, it is important to note Jones’ description of the origins, resurgence, and current

Perhaps, the most frightening aspect of this book is the ever-darkening depravity of American culture. Honestly, if a reader traces the opponents of fundamentalism through the work, they find a disturbing trend that explains why America is facing the problems she’s facing today. Slowly but surely, those who hold to fundamentalism are becoming fewer in number. Now, most well-educated people would not know what fundamentalism is or (more importantly) what it stands for. Small wonder America is going to Hell in a handbasket (pardon my

There are several borders that are crossed every day. Border crossing is a hotly debated topic and immediately images of physical borders come to mind, however, nonphysical borders have been just as prevalent in the past and modern history of several nations. Nonphysical borders, such as the border between citizens and politics, have been manufacturers of social change for centuries. In the United States the border between citizens and politics has always had an active role especially when the need for political change arises. While government leaders have supreme power and are entrusted to make change, citizens need to be heard in politics and need to have the ability to make political change. The specific cases of civil rights, women’s liberation

The 1960s’ consisted of the threats to cause nuclear warfare which would result in vital and detrimental effects, the horrors of Vietnam televised, the human rights movements of MLK Jr. and Stonewall, and the assassination of a president. These events point towards chaos and unrest. Within chaos and unrest, people could seek comfort through religion and the idea that these events served a purpose as a part of a plan that an otherworldly figure had devised. Religion would be a form of hope. Nonetheless, establishing religion in politics would provide an alibi to the people in power to as why disastrous circumstances were occurring under their reign as well as violating the first amendment.

He was a follower of the new church. Johnny Appleseed