Peoples Temple
| Peoples Temple Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Classification | Utopian/social change church movement |
| Orientation | Eclectic Pentecostal with Christian socialist and communist elements / Theosophical / New Thought / New Christian Movement |
| Leader | James Warren "Jim" Jones |
| Region | Defunct (Formerly Indianapolis, California, Guyana) |
| Founder | James Warren "Jim" Jones |
| Origin | 1955 Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Separated from | Sommerset Methodist Church |
| Members | 3,000-5,000 (peak in 1970s) |
| Ministers | James Warren "Jim" Jones |
The Peoples Temple of the Disciples of Christ, commonly shortened to Peoples Temple, was a new religious movement founded in 1955 by Jim Jones in Indianapolis, Indiana. Jones used the Peoples Temple to spread a message which combined elements of Christianity with socialist politics, with an emphasis on racial equality. The group moved to California in the 1970s and established several locations throughout the state, including its headquarters in San Francisco. At its peak, the Temple boasted 20,000 members and connections with left-wing political figures.
The Peoples Temple is best known for the events of November 18, 1978, in Guyana, when 909 people died in a mass murder/suicide at its remote settlement, informally called "Jonestown", as well as the murders of Congressman Leo Ryan and members of his visiting delegation in nearby Port Kaituma. The mass suicide and killings at Jonestown resulted in the greatest single loss of American civilian life in a deliberate act prior to the events of September 11, 2001.
Before forming a church, Jim Jones had become enamored by communism and frustrated by the harassment communists received in the U.S. This, among other things, provided a seminal inspiration for Jones; as he himself described in a biographical recording,
I decided, how can I demonstrate my Marxism? The thought was, infiltrate the church. So I consciously made a decision to look into that prospect.
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Wikipedia