Rebecca Moore has a Ph.D. in Religious Studies from Marquette University, and is Emerita Professor of Religious Studies at San Diego State University. She has written and published on medieval Christian theologians and their debt to Jewish biblical commentary. She co-authored the book "A Portable God: The Origin of Judaism and Christianity" (Rowman and Littlefield 2007) with SDSU colleague Risa Levitt Kohn. The book examines how first-century Judaic groups interpreted Israelite religion in a new historical context. Dr. Moore also studies New Religious Movements, where she has concentrated on interpreting a group called Peoples Temple and the events at Jonestown, Guyana that occurred in November 1978. This effort can be seen on the website http://jonestown.sdsu.edu and in the book "Understanding Jonestown and Peoples Temple" (Praeger 2009). Most recently she has written a feminist analysis of the role women have played in the development of Christianity titled "Women in Christian Traditions" (New York University Press 2015). Dr. Moore currently serves as Reviews Editor for "Nova Religio," a quarterly journal on new religions published by University of California Press.
A Blessing to Each Other: A New Account of Jewish and Christian Relations, 2021
The Introduction to "A Blessing to Each Other" explains the purpose of the larger book, which is ... more The Introduction to "A Blessing to Each Other" explains the purpose of the larger book, which is to give a new account of the story of Jewish and Christian relations. It focuses on the little-known instances of goodwill and cooperation that occurred between Christians and Jews throughout history. Moments and eras marked by teamwork and trust have gone unnoticed, overshadowed by narratives that concentrate on oppression and violencethe tragic past. This has resulted in an inaccurate portrayal of both Christianity and Judaism. Jewish and Christian scholars have worked together since World War II, however, to bring new insights to biblical studies, to challenge old paradigms of difference, and to contribute to a deeper understanding of Jewish and Christian teachings. This book interprets their research for a nonspecialist audience.
This analysis reviews the state of the question regarding theories of cult violence. It introduce... more This analysis reviews the state of the question regarding theories of cult violence. It introduces definitions and vocabulary and presents relevant historical examples of religious violence. It then discusses the 1960s and 1970s, the period immediately before the Jonestown tragedy. Considerations of events after Jonestown (1978) and Waco (1993) follow. Subsequent to 9/11 (2001), some of the themes identified in previous decades reappear. The book concludes by examining the current problem of repression and harassment directed at religious believers. Legal discrimination by governments, as well as persecution of religious minorities by non-state actors, has challenged earlier fears about cult violence. Available free online for a limited time period.
Women in Christian Traditions interprets a large body of scholarly studies in an accessible and c... more Women in Christian Traditions interprets a large body of scholarly studies in an accessible and concise way. It gives a broad overview of the complete sweep of Christian history by relying on feminist scholarship of the last several decades. Yet it also departs from some of the assumptions of that scholarship, raising questions that challenge our thinking about how women shaped beliefs and practices during two thousand years of church history. This book recovers forgotten and obscured moments in church history so that a richer and fuller understanding of Christianity may be realized. An examination of the roles women have played in the construction and practice of Christian traditions reveals the enormous debt that this major world religion owes to its female followers.
This book uses contemporary historical, sociological, and anthropological methods that look at groups of people and their behaviors. Traditional historical and theological methods tend to focus on individuals and ideas by reading texts of the past. Sociology, anthropology, archaeology, and other disciplines look at additional types of evidence: physical items, human interactions, and cultural artifacts, such as music, paintings, and sculpture. This volume utilizes all of these tools, and more, because unearthing the story of women in Christianity requires diverse tactics.
This work examines themes, movements, and events in their historical contexts, and locates churchwomen within the broader developments that shape Christianity. From the earliest disciples to the latest theologians, from the missionaries to the martyrs, women have kept the faith alive. In a concise and engaging format, this book helps to show how they did that.
This book provides a fresh perspective on Peoples Temple and Jonestown—different from sensational... more This book provides a fresh perspective on Peoples Temple and Jonestown—different from sensationalistic popular accounts—locating the group within the context of religion in America and offering a contemporary history that corrects the inaccuracies often associated with the group and its demise.
Although Peoples Temple has some of the characteristics many associate with cults, it also shares many characteristics of Black Religion in America. Moreover, it is crucial to understand the organization within the social and political movements of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. Race, class, colonialism, gender, and other issues dominated the times and so dominated the consciousness of the members of Peoples Temple.
Many Christians and Jews believe that their faiths developed independently from each other, and t... more Many Christians and Jews believe that their faiths developed independently from each other, and that their religions are distinct, even antagonistic towards each other. A Portable God dramatically departs from the idea that the birth of Judaism and Christianity are two separate, unrelated events. Judaism and Christianity's origins are not seen as following a linear, chronological process that places the Israelites in the beginning, followed by the Jews, and finally the Christians. On the contrary, A Portable God shows that both Judaism and Christianity emerge from the same religious tradition – that of ancient Israel – at the same time. By telling the common story of Jewish and Christian origins, A Portable God shows Jews and Christians as siblings, rather than as parent and child, showing that the similarities between Judaism and Christianity far outweigh their differences, ultimately fostering appreciation for the shared heritage of Judaism and Christianity.
This book is co-edited by Rebecca Moore, Anthony B. Pinn, and the late Mary R. Sawyer.
The Peo... more This book is co-edited by Rebecca Moore, Anthony B. Pinn, and the late Mary R. Sawyer.
The Peoples Temple Movement ended on November 18, 1978, when more than 900 men, women, and children died in a ritual of murder and suicide in their utopianist community of Jonestown, Guyana. Only a handful lived to tell their story. As is well known, Jim Jones was white, but most of his followers were black. Despite that fact, little has been written about Peoples Temple in the context of black religion in America. In ten essays, all but three specially commissioned for this volume, scholars from various disciplines address this gap in the scholarship on Peoples Temple. Twenty-five years after the tragedy at Jonestown, they assess the impact of Peoples Temple on the black religious experience.
This book examines the Christian theology of Judaism developed by Hugh of St. Victor in the twelf... more This book examines the Christian theology of Judaism developed by Hugh of St. Victor in the twelfth century, and contributes to an understanding of the more positive views among medieval Christians of both biblical and contemporary Jews and Judaism. Jewish and Christian relations were not uniformly hostile in medieval Europe. The Augustinian canon attempted to include Jews in God's plan of creation and redemption, even as Christian triumphalism ultimately prevailed through the Middle Ages.
A study of the People's Temple written with compassion and understanding, with special focus ... more A study of the People's Temple written with compassion and understanding, with special focus on the surviving family members of two of the victims. This work seeks to dispel the bizarre image propagated by the media.
This article considers the issue of whether participant observers of new religious movements can ... more This article considers the issue of whether participant observers of new religious movements can ever by fully objective. The scholar is ultimately faced with the question of what side s/he is on when entering the lives of others. The author analyzes interactions she has had with survivors of the Jonestown tragedy, adopting the perspective of cultural anthropologist Barbara Tedlock, who coined the phrase "observant participation." The article pays particular attention to the subject of trauma, and how outsiders may (or may not) be able to evaluate it. It concludes by declaring scholarly neutrality a worthy goal, but that the experience of the observant participant is qualitatively different from that of the insider.
Peoples Temple has been seen as the paradigmatic cult exemplifying the horrors of manipulative le... more Peoples Temple has been seen as the paradigmatic cult exemplifying the horrors of manipulative leaders and brainwashed followers due to the deaths in Jonestown on 18 November 1978. This article argues against the utility of making comparisons to such an extreme event, however. Drawing upon Godwin's Law and its observation that online debates eventually raise the trope of Hitler and Nazis, the article introduces Jones' Corollary: Discussions of new religions inevitably begin with a comparison to Jonestown. Making generalizations about new religions by starting with Jonestown is inappropriate because of the unique nature of Peoples Temple and its extraordinary ending in Jonestown. Nevertheless, Jonestown functions for the anticult movement and in online exchanges the same way that references to Nazis and Hitler do—to evoke shock, disgust, and outrage, and, ultimately, to terminate analysis.
The Oxford Handbook on New Religions, ed. James R. Lewis and Inga B. Tøllefsen, 2016
This chapter examines violent outbursts perpetrated by New Religious Movements (NRMs) and conside... more This chapter examines violent outbursts perpetrated by New Religious Movements (NRMs) and considers the competing and complementary theories that have arisen to explain them. It argues that theories about cult violence change as new data become available. Public perceptions of cults and a shifting religious-political landscape also shape theoretical considerations of religion and violence. The chapter notes that prior to the mass murders-suicides in Jonestown, Guyana, and immediately following, theories of violence focused on inwardly-directed coercion and control. The demise of the Branch Davidians in 1993, along with other eruptions of violence in the 1990s, challenged this perspective, and a theory of interaction between external and internal forces arose. The events of September 11, 2001 internationalized considerations of religious violence, and returned attention to the influence of apocalyptic worldviews. A pressing problem that has emerged most recently is the violence perpetrated against NRMs, particularly state-sponsored repression.
The Bloomsbury Companion to New Religious Movements, 2014
This chapter reflects upon the ways in which scholarship about New Religious Movements has change... more This chapter reflects upon the ways in which scholarship about New Religious Movements has changed as a result of Jonestown. Yet more importantly, it examines how the story of Jonestown is being shaped today by Peoples Temple survivors with firsthand knowledge and memory of the group; and by artists using various media with no direct knowledge or experience of the group. I use the word ‘story’ rather than ‘history’ because I believe that these narratives and interpretations are the building blocks of later histories. Borrowing Mikhail Bakhtin’s language, I show how research, debate, and interpretation continuously act against the centripetal forces that seek to centralize and unify all discourse about Jonestown. The event itself, and the accounts that explain, define, and refine it, seem to defy closure by academics, survivors, or artists.
Digital Death: Mortality and Beyond in the Online Age, ed. Christopher M. Moreman and A. David Lewis,, 2014
The Alternative Considerations website (jonestown.sdsu.edu) demonstrates the democratizing power ... more The Alternative Considerations website (jonestown.sdsu.edu) demonstrates the democratizing power of the Internet. Those who died have more individuality today than they did in life or in the initial news coverage of the deaths. This is partly due to the mythopoetic role played by the website. Mythopoesis, or myth-making, is a narrative process that allows people “to represent and make sense of life, with all of its joys, mysteries and hardships,” according to Peter Willis and Anne Morrison. “The loss of traditional myths and the place of one’s own story within a larger story,” writes Meg Hegarty, “can entail freedom from the limits of old religious and cultural structures, but also the loss of strong structures of support.” Through mythopoesis, individuals create a story—a narrative—that addresses existential questions of meaning, yet which retains the ambiguity of real life at the same time. This mythopoetic activity is evident on Alternative Considerations.
This article first addresses the stigmatized deaths in Jonestown and the need for an outlet for the grief that was disenfranchised. Cyber memorials in general, and the Jonestown website in particular, provide such outlets. The mythopoetic task of constructing biographies serves the process of healing after a death has occurred, and researchers have observed this process in cyber memorials. Although some scholars criticize the archival nature of these memorials, the Jonestown website demonstrates that the creation of narrative lives not only serves the task of mythopoesis, but also democratizes the dead.
Even before 18 November 1978, when more than 900 people died in Jonestown, Guyana in a mass mur... more Even before 18 November 1978, when more than 900 people died in Jonestown, Guyana in a mass murder-suicide ritual, the story of Peoples Temple had been characterized by controversy. The spectacular deaths, in which parents administered poison to their children before ingesting it themselves, represented the culmination of a quarter century of tumult, rather than a one-day cataclysm. From its beginnings in Indiana in the 1950s, through its migration to Northern California in the mid-1960s, its rise in San Francisco in the early 1970s, and its move to Guyana, South America in the mid-1970s, Peoples Temple generated rumor, scandal, and outrage. The death of the organization was no different from its life.
Of the many issues and questions that emerge from the study of Peoples Temple, several appear again and again. They include the following:
What was the level of violence in the organization?
Was Jonestown a concentration camp?
Was Jim Jones, the group’s leader, insane?
Were the deaths in Jonestown suicide or murder?
Were the deaths in Jonestown the result of a conspiracy?
What are the lessons of Jonestown?
While this essay treats these issues of controversy, it begins by providing background information about Peoples Temple. Events arise out of a particular social and historical context. Without knowledge of this framework, the conflicts described make little sense. Moreover, strife alone tells only part of the larger story of Peoples Temple. The background which follows provides the setting in which the controversies occurred.
A complete understanding of all the factors contributing to the deaths of 918 people in Jonestown... more A complete understanding of all the factors contributing to the deaths of 918 people in Jonestown, Guyana in November 1978 may forever elude us. Nevertheless, an important factor often overlooked is the radical rhetoric that dominated black activism in the fifteen years preceding the mass deaths. A discourse asserting the positive need to fight, and even to die, for the cause infused Peoples Temple at least by the late 1960s in northern California. It permeated daily life in Jonestown, especially when Jim Jones, the group’s leader, arrived in mid-1977 to make his permanent home in the community.
This discourse was framed in the language of martyrdom. Given the times in which the Temple arose, when political murders in the U.S. seemed commonplace, this rhetorical move was eminently rational. Huey Newton, a Black Panther leader, called the militant activism of the era “revolutionary suicide,” in recognition of his belief that “the revolutionary must always be prepared to face death” (Newton 1973, 7). Jim Jones reinterpreted revolutionary suicide to mean actual suicide, rather than suicidal actions. He viewed mass death as a form of resistance in which a strong protest was made through the lives, and bodies, of those courageous enough to take the step.
The question of whether Jones’ followers fully understood or completely accepted his perspective, however, continues to haunt considerations of the deaths in Jonestown. This article addresses several issues that persistently demand attention. First, it considers the explicit threats that members of Peoples Temple made concerning mass suicide, before turning to initial news accounts of Jonestown, and the reasons the media initially reported them as mass suicide. It then examines the ongoing debate regarding the nature of the deaths: Did adults voluntarily kill themselves? How should we characterize the deaths of the children? The chapter locates this analysis within a broader discussion of the social stigma associated with suicide. Finally, it compares the revolutionary rhetoric used by Black Power movements in the U.S. with the language used by Peoples Temple. The discourse of both movements emphasizes a willingness to die fighting persecution and repression, and reveals an expectation that this will happen. The chapter argues that the members of Peoples Temple saw themselves as true martyrs in the cause of African American liberation.
The Bloomsbury Companion to New Religious Movements, ed. George D. Chryssides and Benjamin E. Zeller, 2013
This chapter reflects upon the ways in which scholarship about New Religious Movements has change... more This chapter reflects upon the ways in which scholarship about New Religious Movements has changed as a result of Jonestown. Yet more importantly, it examines how the story of Jonestown is being shaped today by Peoples Temple survivors with firsthand knowledge and memory of the group; and by artists using various media with no direct knowledge or experience of the group. I use the word ‘story’ rather than ‘history’ because I believe that these narratives and interpretations are the building blocks of later histories. Borrowing Mikhail Bakhtin’s language, I show how research, debate, and interpretation continuously act against the centripetal forces that seek to centralize and unify all discourse about Jonestown. The event itself, and the accounts that explain, define, and refine it, seem to defy closure by academics, survivors, or artists.
This paper considers the stigmatized deaths in Jonestown in 1978, in which more than 900 American... more This paper considers the stigmatized deaths in Jonestown in 1978, in which more than 900 Americans died of mass murder and suicide, and how this led to the disenfranchisement of grief. It examines the rituals of exclusion by which bodies were handled and describes the experiences of Jonestown survivors. It then looks at the ways in which grief has been enfranchised through a memorial website which posts names, photographs, and eulogies of those who died. This website serves as the primary place for relatives to visit, since the names themselves have become signs of absent bodies.
A Blessing to Each Other: A New Account of Jewish and Christian Relations, 2021
The Introduction to "A Blessing to Each Other" explains the purpose of the larger book, which is ... more The Introduction to "A Blessing to Each Other" explains the purpose of the larger book, which is to give a new account of the story of Jewish and Christian relations. It focuses on the little-known instances of goodwill and cooperation that occurred between Christians and Jews throughout history. Moments and eras marked by teamwork and trust have gone unnoticed, overshadowed by narratives that concentrate on oppression and violencethe tragic past. This has resulted in an inaccurate portrayal of both Christianity and Judaism. Jewish and Christian scholars have worked together since World War II, however, to bring new insights to biblical studies, to challenge old paradigms of difference, and to contribute to a deeper understanding of Jewish and Christian teachings. This book interprets their research for a nonspecialist audience.
This analysis reviews the state of the question regarding theories of cult violence. It introduce... more This analysis reviews the state of the question regarding theories of cult violence. It introduces definitions and vocabulary and presents relevant historical examples of religious violence. It then discusses the 1960s and 1970s, the period immediately before the Jonestown tragedy. Considerations of events after Jonestown (1978) and Waco (1993) follow. Subsequent to 9/11 (2001), some of the themes identified in previous decades reappear. The book concludes by examining the current problem of repression and harassment directed at religious believers. Legal discrimination by governments, as well as persecution of religious minorities by non-state actors, has challenged earlier fears about cult violence. Available free online for a limited time period.
Women in Christian Traditions interprets a large body of scholarly studies in an accessible and c... more Women in Christian Traditions interprets a large body of scholarly studies in an accessible and concise way. It gives a broad overview of the complete sweep of Christian history by relying on feminist scholarship of the last several decades. Yet it also departs from some of the assumptions of that scholarship, raising questions that challenge our thinking about how women shaped beliefs and practices during two thousand years of church history. This book recovers forgotten and obscured moments in church history so that a richer and fuller understanding of Christianity may be realized. An examination of the roles women have played in the construction and practice of Christian traditions reveals the enormous debt that this major world religion owes to its female followers.
This book uses contemporary historical, sociological, and anthropological methods that look at groups of people and their behaviors. Traditional historical and theological methods tend to focus on individuals and ideas by reading texts of the past. Sociology, anthropology, archaeology, and other disciplines look at additional types of evidence: physical items, human interactions, and cultural artifacts, such as music, paintings, and sculpture. This volume utilizes all of these tools, and more, because unearthing the story of women in Christianity requires diverse tactics.
This work examines themes, movements, and events in their historical contexts, and locates churchwomen within the broader developments that shape Christianity. From the earliest disciples to the latest theologians, from the missionaries to the martyrs, women have kept the faith alive. In a concise and engaging format, this book helps to show how they did that.
This book provides a fresh perspective on Peoples Temple and Jonestown—different from sensational... more This book provides a fresh perspective on Peoples Temple and Jonestown—different from sensationalistic popular accounts—locating the group within the context of religion in America and offering a contemporary history that corrects the inaccuracies often associated with the group and its demise.
Although Peoples Temple has some of the characteristics many associate with cults, it also shares many characteristics of Black Religion in America. Moreover, it is crucial to understand the organization within the social and political movements of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. Race, class, colonialism, gender, and other issues dominated the times and so dominated the consciousness of the members of Peoples Temple.
Many Christians and Jews believe that their faiths developed independently from each other, and t... more Many Christians and Jews believe that their faiths developed independently from each other, and that their religions are distinct, even antagonistic towards each other. A Portable God dramatically departs from the idea that the birth of Judaism and Christianity are two separate, unrelated events. Judaism and Christianity's origins are not seen as following a linear, chronological process that places the Israelites in the beginning, followed by the Jews, and finally the Christians. On the contrary, A Portable God shows that both Judaism and Christianity emerge from the same religious tradition – that of ancient Israel – at the same time. By telling the common story of Jewish and Christian origins, A Portable God shows Jews and Christians as siblings, rather than as parent and child, showing that the similarities between Judaism and Christianity far outweigh their differences, ultimately fostering appreciation for the shared heritage of Judaism and Christianity.
This book is co-edited by Rebecca Moore, Anthony B. Pinn, and the late Mary R. Sawyer.
The Peo... more This book is co-edited by Rebecca Moore, Anthony B. Pinn, and the late Mary R. Sawyer.
The Peoples Temple Movement ended on November 18, 1978, when more than 900 men, women, and children died in a ritual of murder and suicide in their utopianist community of Jonestown, Guyana. Only a handful lived to tell their story. As is well known, Jim Jones was white, but most of his followers were black. Despite that fact, little has been written about Peoples Temple in the context of black religion in America. In ten essays, all but three specially commissioned for this volume, scholars from various disciplines address this gap in the scholarship on Peoples Temple. Twenty-five years after the tragedy at Jonestown, they assess the impact of Peoples Temple on the black religious experience.
This book examines the Christian theology of Judaism developed by Hugh of St. Victor in the twelf... more This book examines the Christian theology of Judaism developed by Hugh of St. Victor in the twelfth century, and contributes to an understanding of the more positive views among medieval Christians of both biblical and contemporary Jews and Judaism. Jewish and Christian relations were not uniformly hostile in medieval Europe. The Augustinian canon attempted to include Jews in God's plan of creation and redemption, even as Christian triumphalism ultimately prevailed through the Middle Ages.
A study of the People's Temple written with compassion and understanding, with special focus ... more A study of the People's Temple written with compassion and understanding, with special focus on the surviving family members of two of the victims. This work seeks to dispel the bizarre image propagated by the media.
This article considers the issue of whether participant observers of new religious movements can ... more This article considers the issue of whether participant observers of new religious movements can ever by fully objective. The scholar is ultimately faced with the question of what side s/he is on when entering the lives of others. The author analyzes interactions she has had with survivors of the Jonestown tragedy, adopting the perspective of cultural anthropologist Barbara Tedlock, who coined the phrase "observant participation." The article pays particular attention to the subject of trauma, and how outsiders may (or may not) be able to evaluate it. It concludes by declaring scholarly neutrality a worthy goal, but that the experience of the observant participant is qualitatively different from that of the insider.
Peoples Temple has been seen as the paradigmatic cult exemplifying the horrors of manipulative le... more Peoples Temple has been seen as the paradigmatic cult exemplifying the horrors of manipulative leaders and brainwashed followers due to the deaths in Jonestown on 18 November 1978. This article argues against the utility of making comparisons to such an extreme event, however. Drawing upon Godwin's Law and its observation that online debates eventually raise the trope of Hitler and Nazis, the article introduces Jones' Corollary: Discussions of new religions inevitably begin with a comparison to Jonestown. Making generalizations about new religions by starting with Jonestown is inappropriate because of the unique nature of Peoples Temple and its extraordinary ending in Jonestown. Nevertheless, Jonestown functions for the anticult movement and in online exchanges the same way that references to Nazis and Hitler do—to evoke shock, disgust, and outrage, and, ultimately, to terminate analysis.
The Oxford Handbook on New Religions, ed. James R. Lewis and Inga B. Tøllefsen, 2016
This chapter examines violent outbursts perpetrated by New Religious Movements (NRMs) and conside... more This chapter examines violent outbursts perpetrated by New Religious Movements (NRMs) and considers the competing and complementary theories that have arisen to explain them. It argues that theories about cult violence change as new data become available. Public perceptions of cults and a shifting religious-political landscape also shape theoretical considerations of religion and violence. The chapter notes that prior to the mass murders-suicides in Jonestown, Guyana, and immediately following, theories of violence focused on inwardly-directed coercion and control. The demise of the Branch Davidians in 1993, along with other eruptions of violence in the 1990s, challenged this perspective, and a theory of interaction between external and internal forces arose. The events of September 11, 2001 internationalized considerations of religious violence, and returned attention to the influence of apocalyptic worldviews. A pressing problem that has emerged most recently is the violence perpetrated against NRMs, particularly state-sponsored repression.
The Bloomsbury Companion to New Religious Movements, 2014
This chapter reflects upon the ways in which scholarship about New Religious Movements has change... more This chapter reflects upon the ways in which scholarship about New Religious Movements has changed as a result of Jonestown. Yet more importantly, it examines how the story of Jonestown is being shaped today by Peoples Temple survivors with firsthand knowledge and memory of the group; and by artists using various media with no direct knowledge or experience of the group. I use the word ‘story’ rather than ‘history’ because I believe that these narratives and interpretations are the building blocks of later histories. Borrowing Mikhail Bakhtin’s language, I show how research, debate, and interpretation continuously act against the centripetal forces that seek to centralize and unify all discourse about Jonestown. The event itself, and the accounts that explain, define, and refine it, seem to defy closure by academics, survivors, or artists.
Digital Death: Mortality and Beyond in the Online Age, ed. Christopher M. Moreman and A. David Lewis,, 2014
The Alternative Considerations website (jonestown.sdsu.edu) demonstrates the democratizing power ... more The Alternative Considerations website (jonestown.sdsu.edu) demonstrates the democratizing power of the Internet. Those who died have more individuality today than they did in life or in the initial news coverage of the deaths. This is partly due to the mythopoetic role played by the website. Mythopoesis, or myth-making, is a narrative process that allows people “to represent and make sense of life, with all of its joys, mysteries and hardships,” according to Peter Willis and Anne Morrison. “The loss of traditional myths and the place of one’s own story within a larger story,” writes Meg Hegarty, “can entail freedom from the limits of old religious and cultural structures, but also the loss of strong structures of support.” Through mythopoesis, individuals create a story—a narrative—that addresses existential questions of meaning, yet which retains the ambiguity of real life at the same time. This mythopoetic activity is evident on Alternative Considerations.
This article first addresses the stigmatized deaths in Jonestown and the need for an outlet for the grief that was disenfranchised. Cyber memorials in general, and the Jonestown website in particular, provide such outlets. The mythopoetic task of constructing biographies serves the process of healing after a death has occurred, and researchers have observed this process in cyber memorials. Although some scholars criticize the archival nature of these memorials, the Jonestown website demonstrates that the creation of narrative lives not only serves the task of mythopoesis, but also democratizes the dead.
Even before 18 November 1978, when more than 900 people died in Jonestown, Guyana in a mass mur... more Even before 18 November 1978, when more than 900 people died in Jonestown, Guyana in a mass murder-suicide ritual, the story of Peoples Temple had been characterized by controversy. The spectacular deaths, in which parents administered poison to their children before ingesting it themselves, represented the culmination of a quarter century of tumult, rather than a one-day cataclysm. From its beginnings in Indiana in the 1950s, through its migration to Northern California in the mid-1960s, its rise in San Francisco in the early 1970s, and its move to Guyana, South America in the mid-1970s, Peoples Temple generated rumor, scandal, and outrage. The death of the organization was no different from its life.
Of the many issues and questions that emerge from the study of Peoples Temple, several appear again and again. They include the following:
What was the level of violence in the organization?
Was Jonestown a concentration camp?
Was Jim Jones, the group’s leader, insane?
Were the deaths in Jonestown suicide or murder?
Were the deaths in Jonestown the result of a conspiracy?
What are the lessons of Jonestown?
While this essay treats these issues of controversy, it begins by providing background information about Peoples Temple. Events arise out of a particular social and historical context. Without knowledge of this framework, the conflicts described make little sense. Moreover, strife alone tells only part of the larger story of Peoples Temple. The background which follows provides the setting in which the controversies occurred.
A complete understanding of all the factors contributing to the deaths of 918 people in Jonestown... more A complete understanding of all the factors contributing to the deaths of 918 people in Jonestown, Guyana in November 1978 may forever elude us. Nevertheless, an important factor often overlooked is the radical rhetoric that dominated black activism in the fifteen years preceding the mass deaths. A discourse asserting the positive need to fight, and even to die, for the cause infused Peoples Temple at least by the late 1960s in northern California. It permeated daily life in Jonestown, especially when Jim Jones, the group’s leader, arrived in mid-1977 to make his permanent home in the community.
This discourse was framed in the language of martyrdom. Given the times in which the Temple arose, when political murders in the U.S. seemed commonplace, this rhetorical move was eminently rational. Huey Newton, a Black Panther leader, called the militant activism of the era “revolutionary suicide,” in recognition of his belief that “the revolutionary must always be prepared to face death” (Newton 1973, 7). Jim Jones reinterpreted revolutionary suicide to mean actual suicide, rather than suicidal actions. He viewed mass death as a form of resistance in which a strong protest was made through the lives, and bodies, of those courageous enough to take the step.
The question of whether Jones’ followers fully understood or completely accepted his perspective, however, continues to haunt considerations of the deaths in Jonestown. This article addresses several issues that persistently demand attention. First, it considers the explicit threats that members of Peoples Temple made concerning mass suicide, before turning to initial news accounts of Jonestown, and the reasons the media initially reported them as mass suicide. It then examines the ongoing debate regarding the nature of the deaths: Did adults voluntarily kill themselves? How should we characterize the deaths of the children? The chapter locates this analysis within a broader discussion of the social stigma associated with suicide. Finally, it compares the revolutionary rhetoric used by Black Power movements in the U.S. with the language used by Peoples Temple. The discourse of both movements emphasizes a willingness to die fighting persecution and repression, and reveals an expectation that this will happen. The chapter argues that the members of Peoples Temple saw themselves as true martyrs in the cause of African American liberation.
The Bloomsbury Companion to New Religious Movements, ed. George D. Chryssides and Benjamin E. Zeller, 2013
This chapter reflects upon the ways in which scholarship about New Religious Movements has change... more This chapter reflects upon the ways in which scholarship about New Religious Movements has changed as a result of Jonestown. Yet more importantly, it examines how the story of Jonestown is being shaped today by Peoples Temple survivors with firsthand knowledge and memory of the group; and by artists using various media with no direct knowledge or experience of the group. I use the word ‘story’ rather than ‘history’ because I believe that these narratives and interpretations are the building blocks of later histories. Borrowing Mikhail Bakhtin’s language, I show how research, debate, and interpretation continuously act against the centripetal forces that seek to centralize and unify all discourse about Jonestown. The event itself, and the accounts that explain, define, and refine it, seem to defy closure by academics, survivors, or artists.
This paper considers the stigmatized deaths in Jonestown in 1978, in which more than 900 American... more This paper considers the stigmatized deaths in Jonestown in 1978, in which more than 900 Americans died of mass murder and suicide, and how this led to the disenfranchisement of grief. It examines the rituals of exclusion by which bodies were handled and describes the experiences of Jonestown survivors. It then looks at the ways in which grief has been enfranchised through a memorial website which posts names, photographs, and eulogies of those who died. This website serves as the primary place for relatives to visit, since the names themselves have become signs of absent bodies.
This essay begins by presenting a brief history of Peoples Temple and the events leading up to th... more This essay begins by presenting a brief history of Peoples Temple and the events leading up to the final day in Jonestown. It discusses examples of four types of violence that existed in the group. It then looks at the rhetoric of persecution, suffering, and martyrdom that prevailed within the group. The paper examines other studies of violence in Peoples Temple and considers analyses of contemporary religious violence. Finally, it examines the world stage upon which the drama was enacted: the players, the goals, and the ultimate purpose in the decision to die.
The expression “drinking the Kool-Aid” has entered the American idiom with little reference to it... more The expression “drinking the Kool-Aid” has entered the American idiom with little reference to its origins in the Jonestown tragedy of 18 November 1978. Instead, people are using Jonestown—the event—and Kool-Aid—the phrase—to signify a number of contradictory meanings and values. This is because those who died in Jonestown were ritually excluded from cultural consideration. The more traumatic the original incident, the more likely memory of that event will be forgotten or repressed. The author identifies the ways Kool-Aid and Jonestown are used in the news and on the Internet, and catalogues four main groups of uses: cult disasters, including 9/11; political uses; entertainment; and business uses. The categories of cult disasters and politics use Jonestown references negatively, thereby indicating a tenuous connection with the origins of these concepts. The entertainment and business worlds, however, use the references both negatively and positively, thus revealing dissociation and amnesia about the reality of Jonestown.
This article examines how several Caribbean writers are using the mass deaths in Jonestown, Guyan... more This article examines how several Caribbean writers are using the mass deaths in Jonestown, Guyana in 1978 as elements of their works. Utilising Mikhail Bakhtin's concepts of centripetal and centrifugal forces, and the push-pull dynamic between monologue and dialogue, the article compares Caribbean visions with the central narrative about Jonestown that currently exists. Official accounts about Jonestown focus on the charismatic leader, Jim Jones, and the bizarre nature of the deaths. Caribbean literary representations of Peoples Temple and Jonestown, however, focus on the effects of colonialism, and thus exert a centrifugal influence on monologic discourse about Jonestown. The article concludes that the multiplicity of representations approaches Bakhtin's idea of carnival, in which diverse viewpoints are celebrated outside of mainstream channels.
"Millennialism, Persecution, and Violence: Historical Cases," ed. Catherine Wessinger, 2000
In order to understand why over 900 people died in Jonestown, Guyana, thousands of miles from the... more In order to understand why over 900 people died in Jonestown, Guyana, thousands of miles from their places of birth, it is necessary to examine the growth of injustice against Peoples Temple and the rise of injustice within Peoples Temple. This essay argues that increasing external threats, which were quite real and well-documented, served to escalate the violence internal to the organization. The result triggered assaults on Temple members leaving Jonestown with Congressman Leo Ryan on November 18, 1978; the assassination of the congressman, members of the news media, and a defector at the Port Kaituma, Guyana airstrip; and the mass murders-suicides of members of the Jonestown community.
Within days of the murders-suicides in Jonestown on 18 November 1978, skeptics questioned officia... more Within days of the murders-suicides in Jonestown on 18 November 1978, skeptics questioned official accounts of what had happened. Over 900 members of the Peoples Temple Agricultural Project, also known as Jonestown, died of cyanide poisoning after some of the group's members assassinated a member of Congress and news reporters on a remote jungle airstrip in northwest Guyana. As a result of dissatisfaction with news reports and a congressional study, a body of conspiracy literature has arisen that attempts to resolve the inconsistencies that appear in the available narratives. By conspiracy literature I mean narratives which offer alternative explanations of what happened and attribute causality to secret forces: the Central Intelligence Agency, Nazis, Communists, or other persons or groups who remain anonymous. This literature attempts to account for "seams" in the received reports by constructing seamless narratives that replace disjunctions and discontinuities with theories presented as fact.
Peoples Temple actually blazed the conspiracy trail by claiming that a government conspiracy existed against it. Some theorists follow this line and take the position that the CIA wanted to disrupt Jonestown because it was a leftist, interracial, political group. But more frequently, and popularly, theorists see Jonestown itself as a CIA mind-control experiment. In other words, there was a conspiracy to run, not ruin, Jonestown itself. Despite the diversity of opinion, almost all theorists agree on one thing: Jim Jones was essentially a self-serving mole, using the organization either to raise money for himself, or to promote his own ego.
The magnitude of the Jonestown event itself probably means that in some respects no account will ever completely satisfy everyone. The fact that government documents about Jonestown remain classified fuels the conspiracy fires. As long as dissatisfaction with available narratives continues, however, conspiracy theories about Jonestown will proliferate.
The question of canon—that is, whether we have a complete accounting as well as an accepted histo... more The question of canon—that is, whether we have a complete accounting as well as an accepted historical narrative of what happened in Jonestown, Guyana on 18 November 1978—emerged as I attempted to survey Peoples Temple literature of the past decade, picking up where Tom Robbins left off in 1989. My examination indicates that a wide gap exists between popular literature and scholarly analyses. Standard accounts continue to promote the deranged leader/brainwashed follower paradigm and to shape the prevailing understanding of Jonestown. Moreover, conflicting accounts of what happened in the first weeks after the tragedy, coupled with the failure of federal agencies to release classified information on the organization, gave rise to a body of conspiracy theories which provides alternatives to both popular and scholarly explanations of what happened.
A popular canon thus appears to dominate common knowledge of Peoples Temple and Jonestown. This cannon seems impervious to critique either by scholarly analysts of conspiracy theorists. Its strength rests on the lack of consensus among its critics. This paper shows just how wide the disagreements are within and between these two groups of challengers. The general understanding of Peoples Temple that was more or less fixed within a year of the deaths in Jonestown therefore comprises a canon on Jonestown today. Whether or not this canon is complete or in need of revision is another question.
This essay examines the writings of Hyam Maccoby, a twentieth-century Jewish scholar of rabbinic ... more This essay examines the writings of Hyam Maccoby, a twentieth-century Jewish scholar of rabbinic Judaism and early Christianity. After locating Maccoby in the context of Jewish anti-Christian writings, it presents his critical view of Christian doctrines. This scholar claimed in numerous publications that Christianity was inherently antisemitic due to the teachings of Paul the apostle, especially his doctrine of the vicarious atonement. It is therefore worth presenting, assessing, and challenging Maccoby's views as a barrier to Jewish and Christian dialogue.
... of various drafts; to Bob Singerman for bibliographic suggestions; to Bud Bynackfor indispens... more ... of various drafts; to Bob Singerman for bibliographic suggestions; to Bud Bynackfor indispens-able editorial assistance; and to Chava Boyarin, Daniel Boyarin, James Brundage, Bill Christian, Sarah Nalle, Jonathan Schorsch, Peter Antelyes, Jennifer Ottman, Arthur Steinberg ...
... Paul, Augustine, and Gregory the Great. ... Comparable books on tolerance by WJ Sheils (Perse... more ... Paul, Augustine, and Gregory the Great. ... Comparable books on tolerance by WJ Sheils (Persecution and Toleration [Oxford: B. Blackwell, 1984]) and John Christian Laursen and Cary J. Neder-man (Difference and Dissent: Theories of Toleration in Medieval and Modern Europe ...
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This book uses contemporary historical, sociological, and anthropological methods that look at groups of people and their behaviors. Traditional historical and theological methods tend to focus on individuals and ideas by reading texts of the past. Sociology, anthropology, archaeology, and other disciplines look at additional types of evidence: physical items, human interactions, and cultural artifacts, such as music, paintings, and sculpture. This volume utilizes all of these tools, and more, because unearthing the story of women in Christianity requires diverse tactics.
This work examines themes, movements, and events in their historical contexts, and locates churchwomen within the broader developments that shape Christianity. From the earliest disciples to the latest theologians, from the missionaries to the martyrs, women have kept the faith alive. In a concise and engaging format, this book helps to show how they did that.
Although Peoples Temple has some of the characteristics many associate with cults, it also shares many characteristics of Black Religion in America. Moreover, it is crucial to understand the organization within the social and political movements of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. Race, class, colonialism, gender, and other issues dominated the times and so dominated the consciousness of the members of Peoples Temple.
The Peoples Temple Movement ended on November 18, 1978, when more than 900 men, women, and children died in a ritual of murder and suicide in their utopianist community of Jonestown, Guyana. Only a handful lived to tell their story. As is well known, Jim Jones was white, but most of his followers were black. Despite that fact, little has been written about Peoples Temple in the context of black religion in America. In ten essays, all but three specially commissioned for this volume, scholars from various disciplines address this gap in the scholarship on Peoples Temple. Twenty-five years after the tragedy at Jonestown, they assess the impact of Peoples Temple on the black religious experience.
This article first addresses the stigmatized deaths in Jonestown and the need for an outlet for the grief that was disenfranchised. Cyber memorials in general, and the Jonestown website in particular, provide such outlets. The mythopoetic task of constructing biographies serves the process of healing after a death has occurred, and researchers have observed this process in cyber memorials. Although some scholars criticize the archival nature of these memorials, the Jonestown website demonstrates that the creation of narrative lives not only serves the task of mythopoesis, but also democratizes the dead.
Of the many issues and questions that emerge from the study of Peoples Temple, several appear again and again. They include the following:
What was the level of violence in the organization?
Was Jonestown a concentration camp?
Was Jim Jones, the group’s leader, insane?
Were the deaths in Jonestown suicide or murder?
Were the deaths in Jonestown the result of a conspiracy?
What are the lessons of Jonestown?
While this essay treats these issues of controversy, it begins by providing background information about Peoples Temple. Events arise out of a particular social and historical context. Without knowledge of this framework, the conflicts described make little sense. Moreover, strife alone tells only part of the larger story of Peoples Temple. The background which follows provides the setting in which the controversies occurred.
This discourse was framed in the language of martyrdom. Given the times in which the Temple arose, when political murders in the U.S. seemed commonplace, this rhetorical move was eminently rational. Huey Newton, a Black Panther leader, called the militant activism of the era “revolutionary suicide,” in recognition of his belief that “the revolutionary must always be prepared to face death” (Newton 1973, 7). Jim Jones reinterpreted revolutionary suicide to mean actual suicide, rather than suicidal actions. He viewed mass death as a form of resistance in which a strong protest was made through the lives, and bodies, of those courageous enough to take the step.
The question of whether Jones’ followers fully understood or completely accepted his perspective, however, continues to haunt considerations of the deaths in Jonestown. This article addresses several issues that persistently demand attention. First, it considers the explicit threats that members of Peoples Temple made concerning mass suicide, before turning to initial news accounts of Jonestown, and the reasons the media initially reported them as mass suicide. It then examines the ongoing debate regarding the nature of the deaths: Did adults voluntarily kill themselves? How should we characterize the deaths of the children? The chapter locates this analysis within a broader discussion of the social stigma associated with suicide. Finally, it compares the revolutionary rhetoric used by Black Power movements in the U.S. with the language used by Peoples Temple. The discourse of both movements emphasizes a willingness to die fighting persecution and repression, and reveals an expectation that this will happen. The chapter argues that the members of Peoples Temple saw themselves as true martyrs in the cause of African American liberation.
This book uses contemporary historical, sociological, and anthropological methods that look at groups of people and their behaviors. Traditional historical and theological methods tend to focus on individuals and ideas by reading texts of the past. Sociology, anthropology, archaeology, and other disciplines look at additional types of evidence: physical items, human interactions, and cultural artifacts, such as music, paintings, and sculpture. This volume utilizes all of these tools, and more, because unearthing the story of women in Christianity requires diverse tactics.
This work examines themes, movements, and events in their historical contexts, and locates churchwomen within the broader developments that shape Christianity. From the earliest disciples to the latest theologians, from the missionaries to the martyrs, women have kept the faith alive. In a concise and engaging format, this book helps to show how they did that.
Although Peoples Temple has some of the characteristics many associate with cults, it also shares many characteristics of Black Religion in America. Moreover, it is crucial to understand the organization within the social and political movements of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. Race, class, colonialism, gender, and other issues dominated the times and so dominated the consciousness of the members of Peoples Temple.
The Peoples Temple Movement ended on November 18, 1978, when more than 900 men, women, and children died in a ritual of murder and suicide in their utopianist community of Jonestown, Guyana. Only a handful lived to tell their story. As is well known, Jim Jones was white, but most of his followers were black. Despite that fact, little has been written about Peoples Temple in the context of black religion in America. In ten essays, all but three specially commissioned for this volume, scholars from various disciplines address this gap in the scholarship on Peoples Temple. Twenty-five years after the tragedy at Jonestown, they assess the impact of Peoples Temple on the black religious experience.
This article first addresses the stigmatized deaths in Jonestown and the need for an outlet for the grief that was disenfranchised. Cyber memorials in general, and the Jonestown website in particular, provide such outlets. The mythopoetic task of constructing biographies serves the process of healing after a death has occurred, and researchers have observed this process in cyber memorials. Although some scholars criticize the archival nature of these memorials, the Jonestown website demonstrates that the creation of narrative lives not only serves the task of mythopoesis, but also democratizes the dead.
Of the many issues and questions that emerge from the study of Peoples Temple, several appear again and again. They include the following:
What was the level of violence in the organization?
Was Jonestown a concentration camp?
Was Jim Jones, the group’s leader, insane?
Were the deaths in Jonestown suicide or murder?
Were the deaths in Jonestown the result of a conspiracy?
What are the lessons of Jonestown?
While this essay treats these issues of controversy, it begins by providing background information about Peoples Temple. Events arise out of a particular social and historical context. Without knowledge of this framework, the conflicts described make little sense. Moreover, strife alone tells only part of the larger story of Peoples Temple. The background which follows provides the setting in which the controversies occurred.
This discourse was framed in the language of martyrdom. Given the times in which the Temple arose, when political murders in the U.S. seemed commonplace, this rhetorical move was eminently rational. Huey Newton, a Black Panther leader, called the militant activism of the era “revolutionary suicide,” in recognition of his belief that “the revolutionary must always be prepared to face death” (Newton 1973, 7). Jim Jones reinterpreted revolutionary suicide to mean actual suicide, rather than suicidal actions. He viewed mass death as a form of resistance in which a strong protest was made through the lives, and bodies, of those courageous enough to take the step.
The question of whether Jones’ followers fully understood or completely accepted his perspective, however, continues to haunt considerations of the deaths in Jonestown. This article addresses several issues that persistently demand attention. First, it considers the explicit threats that members of Peoples Temple made concerning mass suicide, before turning to initial news accounts of Jonestown, and the reasons the media initially reported them as mass suicide. It then examines the ongoing debate regarding the nature of the deaths: Did adults voluntarily kill themselves? How should we characterize the deaths of the children? The chapter locates this analysis within a broader discussion of the social stigma associated with suicide. Finally, it compares the revolutionary rhetoric used by Black Power movements in the U.S. with the language used by Peoples Temple. The discourse of both movements emphasizes a willingness to die fighting persecution and repression, and reveals an expectation that this will happen. The chapter argues that the members of Peoples Temple saw themselves as true martyrs in the cause of African American liberation.
Peoples Temple actually blazed the conspiracy trail by claiming that a government conspiracy existed against it. Some theorists follow this line and take the position that the CIA wanted to disrupt Jonestown because it was a leftist, interracial, political group. But more frequently, and popularly, theorists see Jonestown itself as a CIA mind-control experiment. In other words, there was a conspiracy to run, not ruin, Jonestown itself. Despite the diversity of opinion, almost all theorists agree on one thing: Jim Jones was essentially a self-serving mole, using the organization either to raise money for himself, or to promote his own ego.
The magnitude of the Jonestown event itself probably means that in some respects no account will ever completely satisfy everyone. The fact that government documents about Jonestown remain classified fuels the conspiracy fires. As long as dissatisfaction with available narratives continues, however, conspiracy theories about Jonestown will proliferate.
A popular canon thus appears to dominate common knowledge of Peoples Temple and Jonestown. This cannon seems impervious to critique either by scholarly analysts of conspiracy theorists. Its strength rests on the lack of consensus among its critics. This paper shows just how wide the disagreements are within and between these two groups of challengers. The general understanding of Peoples Temple that was more or less fixed within a year of the deaths in Jonestown therefore comprises a canon on Jonestown today. Whether or not this canon is complete or in need of revision is another question.