Global InformationPeoples Temple information
| Peoples Temple | |
|---|---|
 Logo of the Peoples Temple | |
| Classification | Christian new religious movement Utopian/social change church movement |
| Orientation | Eclectic Pentecostal with Progressive Christian socialist and communist elements / Theosophical / New Thought |
| Polity | Semi-congregationalist |
| Leader | James Warren "Jim" Jones (1955–78) |
| Region | Defunct from 1978, formerly present in:
|
| Founder | Jim Jones |
| Origin | 1954 Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. |
| Defunct | December 4, 1978 |
| Congregations | 7 in California (prior moving to Guyana) |
| Members | 3,000–5,000 (over 20,000 claimed but not substantiated) |
The Peoples Temple of the Disciples of Christ,[1] originally Peoples Temple Full Gospel Church and commonly shortened to Peoples Temple, was an American new religious organization which existed between 1954 and 1978 and was affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Founded by Jim Jones in Indianapolis, Indiana, the Peoples Temple spread a message that combined elements of Christianity with communist and socialist ideology, with an emphasis on racial equality. After Jones moved the group to California in the 1960s and established several locations throughout the state, including its headquarters in San Francisco, the Temple forged ties with many left-wing political figures and claimed to have 20,000 members (though 3,000–5,000 is more likely).
The Temple is best known for the events of November 18, 1978, in Guyana, when 909 people died in a mass suicide and mass murder at its remote settlement, named "Jonestown", as well as the murders of U.S. Congressman Leo Ryan and members of his visiting delegation at the nearby Port Kaituma airstrip. The incident at Jonestown resulted in the greatest single loss of American civilian life in a deliberate act prior to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Because of the killings in Guyana, the Temple is regarded by scholars and by popular view as a destructive cult.
- ^ http://jonestown.sdsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/DissolutionPeoplesTemple.pdf? [bare URL PDF]