1. How to Be a Critical Consumer of Knowledge and Information
CULTS 101
How to Be a Critical Consumer of Knowledge and Information
DEEN LES Resource Bank Project
Released under a CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 licence

2. You will be responsible for…
Forming your own opinion
Thinking critically
Reflecting on the ideas presented
DEEN LES Resource Bank Project
Released under a CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 licence

3. Cults
The word cult usually refers to a new religious movement or group whose beliefs or practices are considered abnormal or bizarre.
Cults generally have a charismatic leader who uses techniques of manipulation and brainwashing to persuade followers.
Cult leaders often target vulnerable potential followers.
They persuade them to leave their friends/family and sink their life savings into the cult.
DEEN LES Resource Bank Project
Released under a CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 licence

4. The Psychology Behind Mind Control
Why are cult leaders able to manipulate their followers?
Victims are often in physically or emotionally distressing situation (i.e. ex-convicts, former drug addicts, etc.).
They are promised unconditional love, acceptance and attention from their leader.
They receive a new identity.
They are isolated from friends/family.
DEEN LES Resource Bank Project
Released under a CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 licence

5. Heaven’s Gate American UFO religion based in San Diego, California
Led by Marshall Applewhite
March 26, 1997: Police discovered the bodies of 39 members of the group who had committed suicide
They wanted to reach an alien space craft which they believed was following the Comet Hale-Bopp
Preached about salvation and the apocalypse
Applewhite believed he was directly related to Jesus meaning he was an “Evolutionary Kingdom Level Above Human”
DEEN LES Resource Bank Project
Released under a CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 licence

6. Belief System
Heaven’s Gate members believed that the planet Earth was about to be recycled and the only chance to survive would be to leave it immediately
They believed to do this they must “leave” their human bodies, which they called “vessels.”
Discussion
What are your ethical values regarding this?
Why were these members so easily manipulated?
DEEN LES Resource Bank Project
Released under a CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 licence

7. The Jonestown Massacre
Jim Jones founded the Peoples Temple in Indiana in 1955
Focused on helping people in need
Moved to Redwood Valley California in 1965
Communist society
Everyone would live together in harmony
Worked for the common good
Everyone was equal
No one was better off than you
Jones dreamed of establishing a compound under his control
Jim Jones brochure of the Peoples Temple by the Jonestown Institute, CC BY 2.0 ( Wikimedia, last modified April 6, 2012,
DEEN LES Resource Bank Project
Released under a CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 licence

8. Guyana map by Directorate of Intelligence, CIA, public domain,
Jonestown
They settled in Guyana (a remote location in South America) in 1974
Guyana map by Directorate of Intelligence, CIA, public domain,
Wikimedia Commons, last modified August 19, 2013,
South America by Directorate of Intelligence, CIA, public domain, Wikimedia Commons, last modified January 9, 2005,
DEEN LES Resource Bank Project
Released under a CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 licence

9. Things went horribly wrong…
Jonestown was supposed to be a utopia
There were not enough cabins for housing
Overcrowding
Segregated by gender
Married couples were forced to live apart
No one was allowed to leave
Heat and humidity was stifling
Members were forced to work long days in the heat (11 hours/day)
Jones talked endlessly on a loudspeaker that broadcast through the compound
Compound was surrounded by miles and miles of jungle and armed guards
DEEN LES Resource Bank Project
Released under a CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 licence

10. U.S. Congressman Leo Ryan
A U.S. congressman, Leo Ryan, visited Jonestown in 1978
At first things appeared OK
Then someone passed him a note saying they wanted to leave desperately
The next day at the airport, as they were getting ready to leave, five people were shot down including Ryan
Jones did not want members leaving his community
Nor did he want the congressman to divulge any information about his cult to the press back home in America
DEEN LES Resource Bank Project
Released under a CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 licence

11. The End: Poisoned Punch
Because of the incident at the airport, Jones told member they were not safe
He told them that the only solution was to commit a revolutionary act: suicide
In a hurry, they filled large kettles with Kool-Aid
They added cyanide and valium, a lethal concoction
909 people died, including 303 children
Only a handful survived by hiding under beds or seeking refuge in the surrounding jungle
DEEN LES Resource Bank Project
Released under a CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 licence

12. Why? Jones was afraid the truth would come out
He convinced his victims that they would be tortured by outsiders (Americans) if they survived
Members of the Peoples Temple were manipulated and brainwashed by Jones
DEEN LES Resource Bank Project
Released under a CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 licence

13. Reflection Questions
Why were Jim Jones’ followers so easy to manipulate?
Why did some choose to hide rather than participate in the “revolutionary act”?
Can this still happen today? Will it happen again? Why or why not?
Do cults still exist?
DEEN LES Resource Bank Project
Released under a CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 licence

14. PBS documentary: Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple
Part 1: Part 2: Part 3: Part 4: Part 5: Part 6: Part 7: Part 8: Part 9:
DEEN LES Resource Bank Project
Released under a CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 licence