The new religious movement of Peoples Temple, begun in the 1950s, came to a dramatic end with the mass murders and suicides that occurred in Jonestown, Guyana in 1978. This analysis presents the historical context for understanding the Temple and its members.
Reviews the current theories of cultic violence by examining historical examples of religious violence. It covers the 1960s all the way to the post-9/11 era and explores the current state of religious persecution and discrimination.