A new religious movement ( NRM ), also known as alternative spirituality or a new religion , is a religious or spiritual group that has modern origins and is peripheral to its society's dominant religious culture. NRMs can be novel in origin, or they can be part of a wider religion, in which case they are distinct from pre-existing denominations . Some NRMs deal with the challenges that the modernizing world poses to them by embracing individualism, while other NRMs deal with them by embracing tightly knit collective means. Scholars have estimated that NRMs number in the tens of thousands worldwide. Most NRMs only have a few members, some of them have thousands of members, and a few of them have more than a million members.
180-767: The Peoples Temple of the Disciples of Christ , 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
360-405: A Navy brat turned pacifist . The group was often scorned as elitist within the egalitarian Temple organization and viewed as secret police . The Temple's Planning Commission was its governing board. Membership quickly ballooned from 50 to over 100. During the week, members convened for meetings in various Redwood Valley locations, sometimes until dawn. The Planning Commission was responsible for
540-406: A forensic psychologist noted for his writings on the brainwashing controversy, has defended NRMs, and in 1988 argued that involvement in such movements may often be beneficial: "There's a large research literature published in mainstream journals on the mental health effects of new religions. For the most part, the effects seem to be positive in any way that's measurable." Those who convert to
720-537: A " doomsday cult ". He is credited as "a principal architect of restorationist thought" for charismatics by some Christian historians, and has been called the "leading individual in the Second Wave of Pentecostalism ." He made a lasting influence on televangelism and the modern charismatic movement , and his "stage presence remains a legend unparalleled in the history of the Charismatic movement". At
900-408: A 1976 phone conversation with John Maher, Jones admitted to be an agnostic and an atheist . Marceline admitted in a 1977 New York Times interview that Jones was trying to promote Marxism in the U.S. by mobilizing people through religion, citing Mao Zedong as his inspiration: "Jim used religion to try to get some people out of the opiate of religion." She told the reporter that Jones had once slammed
1080-472: A NRM can pose a number of difficulties. It may result in their having to abandon a daily framework that they had previously adhered to. It may also generate mixed emotions as ex-members lose the feelings of absolute certainty, which they may have held while in the group. Three basic questions have been paramount in orienting theory and research on NRMs: what are the identifying markers of NRMs that distinguish them from other types of religious groups?; what are
1260-400: A NRM typically believe that in doing so they are gaining some benefit in their life. This can come in many forms, from an increasing sense of freedom to a release from drug dependency, and a feeling of self-respect and direction. Many of those who have left NRMs report that they have gained from their experience. There are various reasons as to why an individual would join and then remain part of
1440-452: A NRM, including both push and pull factors. According to Marc Galanter , professor of psychiatry at NYU, typical reasons why people join NRMs include a search for community and a spiritual quest. Sociologists Stark and Bainbridge , in discussing the process by which people join new religious groups, have questioned the utility of the concept of conversion , suggesting that affiliation is
1620-455: A bright light descended over him and that he heard a voice say, "As John the Baptist was sent to forerun the first coming of Jesus Christ, so your message will forerun His second coming". Belief in the baptismal story is a critical element of faith among Branham's followers. In his early references to the event during the healing revival, Branham interpreted it to refer to the restoration of
1800-479: A communal lifestyle among his followers that was directed by him and his lieutenants who were part of a committee called the Planning Commission. Jones, through the Planning Commission, began controlling all aspects of the lives of his followers. Members who joined Peoples Temple were required to turn over all their assets to the church in exchange for free room and board. Many members working outside of
1980-496: A crucial place in time and space. Some NRMs venerate unique scriptures , while others reinterpret existing texts, utilizing a range of older elements. They frequently claim that these are not new but rather forgotten truths that are being revived. NRM scriptures often incorporate modern scientific knowledge, sometimes with the claim that they are bringing unity to science and religion. Some NRMs believe that their scriptures are received through mediums . The Urantia Book ,
SECTION 10
#17327808664222160-543: A distinct phenomenon, the " Satanic Panic ". Consequently, scholars such as Eileen Barker, James T. Richardson , Timothy Miller and Catherine Wessinger argued that the term "cult" had become too laden with negative connotations, and "advocated dropping its use in academia". A number of alternatives to the term "new religious movement" are used by some scholars. These include "alternative religious movements" (Miller), "emergent religions" (Ellwood) and "marginal religious movements" (Harper and Le Beau). The 1960s and 1970s saw
2340-420: A farm near Utica, Indiana , and took a job working for O. H. Wathen, owner of R. E. Wathen Distilleries in nearby Louisville, Kentucky . Wathen was a supplier for Al Capone 's bootlegging operations. Branham told his audiences that he was required to help his father with the illegal production and sale of liquor during prohibition . In March 1924, Branham's father was arrested for his criminal activities; he
2520-412: A financial interest in promoting the "brainwashing" explanation. Academic research, however, has demonstrated that these brainwashing techniques "simply do not exist". Many members of NRMs leave these groups of their own free will. Some of those who do so retain friends within the movement. Some of those who leave a religious community are unhappy with the time that they spent as part of it. Leaving
2700-591: A healing evangelist and Pentecostal leader in the global Healing Revival . In 1956, Jones was ordained as an IAoG minister by Joseph Mattsson-Boze , a leader in the Latter Rain movement and the IAoG. Jones quickly rose to prominence in the group. Working with the IAoG, Jones organized and hosted a healing convention to take place from June 11 to June 15, 1956, in Indianapolis's Cadle Tabernacle . Needing
2880-513: A large black membership from Watts and Compton . Recruiting drives in Los Angeles and San Francisco helped increase membership in the Temple from a few hundred to nearly 3,000 by the mid-1970s. Later, when the Temple's headquarters shifted from Redwood Valley to San Francisco, the Temple convinced many Los Angeles members to move north to its new headquarters. Although some descriptions of
3060-599: A lengthy and laudatory description of the Temple into the Congressional Record . The Washington Post ran an August 18, 1973, editorial-page item stating that the 660 Temple visitors were the "hands down winners of anybody's tourists of the year award" after spending an hour cleaning up the Capitol grounds. The Temple distributed pamphlets in cities along the route of these fundraising trips bragging of Jones's prowess at "spiritual healing" without mentioning
3240-463: A more useful concept. A popular explanation for why people join new religious movements is that they have been "brainwashed" or subject to "mind control" by the NRM itself. This explanation provides a rationale for "deprogramming", a process in which members of NRMs are illegally kidnapped by individuals who then attempt to convince them to reject their beliefs. Professional deprogrammers, therefore, have
3420-430: A number of submissions to be prayed for personally by Branham and organized a prayer line. After completing his sermon, he would proceed with the prayer line where he would pray for the sick. Branham would often tell supplicants what they suffered from, their name, and their address. He would pray for each of them, pronouncing some or all healed. Branham generally prayed for a few people each night and believed witnessing
3600-502: A pejorative manner, to refer to Spiritualism and Christian Science during the 1890s. As commonly used, for instance in sensationalist tabloid articles, the term "cult" continues to have pejorative associations. The term "new religions" is a calque of shinshūkyō ( 新宗教 ) , a Japanese term developed to describe the proliferation of Japanese new religions in the years following the Second World War. From Japan this term
3780-551: A period of declining health. Despite her diagnosis, the couple had a second child, Sharon Rose, who was born on October 27, 1936. In September 1936, the local news reported that Branham held a multi-week healing revival at the Pentecostal Tabernacle in which he reported eight healings. The following year, disaster struck when Jeffersonville was ravaged by the Ohio River flood of 1937 . Branham's congregation
SECTION 20
#17327808664223960-471: A relative of theirs joins a new religion. Although children break away from their parents for all manner of reasons, in cases where NRMs are involved, it is often the latter that are blamed for the break. Some anti-cultist groups emphasise the idea that "cults" use deceit and trickery to recruit members. The anti-cult movement adopted the term brainwashing, which had been developed by the journalist Edward Hunter and then used by Robert J. Lifton to apply to
4140-650: A rented space in Indianapolis, at first, he named it the Community Unity Church. Jones had previously observed a faith healing service at the Seventh Day Baptist Church, which led him to conclude that such healings could attract people, and generate income, which he could use to accomplish his social goals. Jones and the Temple's members knowingly faked healings because they found that the healings increased people's faith and generated financial resources which they could use to help
4320-568: A request because of shrinking finances in Jones's absence. Jones sent a preacher that had become a follower in Brazil back to Indiana to help stabilize the Temple. Jones returned to Indiana in 1963. Jones returned from Brazil in December 1963 to find Peoples Temple bitterly divided. Financial issues and a much smaller congregation forced Jones to sell the Peoples Temple church building and relocate to
4500-475: A result of an angel who was guiding him. Describing Branham's method, Bosworth said "he does not begin to pray for the healing of the afflicted in body in the healing line each night until God anoints him for the operation of the gift, and until he is conscious of the presence of the Angel with him on the platform. Without this consciousness he seems to be perfectly helpless." Branham explained to his audiences that
4680-635: A result of the publicity and reports covering his meetings. Herald of Faith magazine which was edited by prominent Pentecostal minister Joseph Mattsson-Boze and published by Philadelphia Pentecostal Church in Chicago also began following and exclusively publishing stories from the Branham campaigns, giving Branham wide exposure to the Pentecostal movement. Following the St. Louis meetings, Branham launched
4860-419: A result, they are "not inherently different" from mainstream and established religious movements, with the differences between the two having been greatly exaggerated by the media and popular perceptions. Melton has stated that those NRMs that "were offshoots of older religious groups... tended to resemble their parent groups far more than they resembled each other." One question that faces scholars of religion
5040-532: A series of meetings around the United States without Lindsay's support. Branham's return to the movement led to his resumed leadership of it. In November 1948, he met with Lindsay and Moore and told them he had received another angelic visitation, instructing him to hold a series of meetings across the United States and then to begin holding meetings internationally. As a result of the meeting, Lindsay rejoined Branham's campaigning team. Most revivalists of
5220-462: A series of multi-state revival campaigns with Branham and Mattsson-Boze in the second half of the 1950s, making multiple joint appearances with them. Jones claimed to be a follower and promoter of Branham's "Message" during the period. Peoples Temple hosted a second international Pentecostal convention in 1957 which was again headlined by Branham. Through the conventions and with the support of Branham and Mattsson-Boze, Jones secured connections throughout
5400-496: A significant moment in its history. Over the months and years following its leader's death, the movement can die out, fragment into multiple groups, consolidate its position, or change its nature to become something quite different from what its founder intended. In some cases, a NRM moves closer to the religious mainstream after the death of its founder. A number of founders of new religions established plans for succession to prevent confusion after their deaths. Mary Baker Eddy ,
5580-491: A slave owner and a capitalist who was responsible for the corrupt translation of scripture. Jones claimed he was sent to share the true meaning of the gospel which had been hidden by corrupt leaders. Jones rejected even the few required tenets of the Disciples of Christ denomination. Instead of implementing the sacraments as prescribed by the Disciples, Jones followed Father Divine's holy communion practices. Jones created his own baptismal formula, baptizing his converts "in
Peoples Temple - Misplaced Pages Continue
5760-456: A smaller building nearby. To raise money, Jones briefly returned to the revival circuit, traveling and holding healing campaigns. After dealing with the issues at Peoples Temple, and possibly in part to distract from them, he told his Indiana congregation that the world would be engulfed by nuclear war on July 15, 1967, leading to a new socialist Eden on Earth, and that the Temple must move to Northern California for safety. With Jones's return,
5940-538: A society's established traditional religions. Generally, Christian denominations are not seen as new religious movements; nevertheless, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Jehovah's Witnesses, Christian Science, and the Shakers have been studied as NRMs. The same situation with Jewish religious movements , when Reform Judaism and newer divisions have been named among NRM. There are also problems in
6120-399: A special section lined with protective metal plates. He told members that the Temple would not bother scheduling a trip unless it could net $ 100,000, and the Temple's goal for annual net income from bus trips was $ 1 million. Beginning in the 1970s, the bus caravan also traveled across the U.S. quarterly, including to Washington, D.C. In June 1973, Representative George Brown, Jr. entered
6300-626: A strong recruitment drive to survive. The Shakers established orphanages, hoping that the children would become members of their community. Violent incidents involving NRMs are very rare. In events having a large number of casualties, the new religion was led by a charismatic leader. Beginning in 1978, the deaths of 913 members of the Peoples Temple in Jonestown , Guyana, by both murder and suicide brought an image of "killer cults" to public attention. Several subsequent events contributed to
6480-467: A teaching ministry. Unlike his contemporaries, who followed doctrinal teachings which are known as the Full Gospel tradition, Branham developed an alternative theology which was primarily a mixture of Calvinist and Arminian doctrines, and had a heavy focus on dispensationalism and Branham's own unique eschatological views. While widely accepting the restoration doctrine he espoused during
6660-446: A theology that was significantly influenced by the teachings of the Latter Rain movement, William Branham, Father Divine, and infused with Jones's personal communist worldview. Jones referred to his belief as " Apostolic Socialism". Following the relocation of Peoples Temple to California, Jones began to gradually introduce the concepts to his followers. According to religious studies professor Catherine Wessinger , Jones always spoke of
6840-695: A tour of small Oneness Pentecostal churches across the Midwest and southern United States, from which stemmed reports of healing and one report of a resurrection. By August his fame had spread widely. He held meetings that month in Jonesboro, Arkansas , and drew a crowd of 25,000 with attendees from 28 different states. The size of the crowds presented a problem for Branham's team as they found it difficult to find venues that could seat large numbers of attendees. Branham's revivals were interracial from their inception and were noted for their "racial openness" during
7020-436: A tree telling him "he would live near a city called New Albany". According to Branham, that year his family moved to Jeffersonville, Indiana . Branham also said that when he was seven years old, God told him to avoid smoking and drinking alcoholic beverages. Branham stated he never violated the command. Branham told his audiences that he grew up in "deep poverty ", often not having adequate clothing, and that his family
7200-707: A very successful revival meeting in Shreveport during mid-1947, Branham began assembling an evangelical team that stayed with him for most of the revival period. The first addition to the team was Jack Moore and Young Brown, who periodically assisted him in managing his meetings. Following the Shreveport meetings, Branham held a series of meetings in San Antonio , Phoenix, and at various locations in California. Moore invited his friend Gordon Lindsay to join
7380-596: A voice speaking to him while he was recovering from the accident, which led him to begin seeking God. Shortly thereafter, he began attending the First Pentecostal Baptist Church of Jeffersonville, where he converted to Christianity . The church was pastored by Roy Davis , a founding member of the second Ku Klux Klan and a leading recruiter for the organization. Davis later became the National Imperial Wizard (leader) of
Peoples Temple - Misplaced Pages Continue
7560-436: A waystation for the Temple's weekly bus trips across California. The Temple set up permanent staff in Los Angeles and arranged bus trips there every other week. The substantial attendance and collections in Los Angeles helped support the Temple's inflated membership claims. The Los Angeles facility was larger than San Francisco's. Its central location at the corner of Alvarado and Hoover Streets permitted easy geographic access for
7740-417: A well-known figure to draw crowds, he arranged to share the pulpit again with Reverend Branham. Branham was known to tell supplicants their name, address, and why they came for prayer, before pronouncing them healed. Jones was intrigued by Branham's methods and began performing the same feats. Jones and Branham's meetings were very successful and attracted an audience of 11,000 at their first joint campaign. At
7920-530: A younger average membership than mainstream religious congregations. Some NRMs have been formed by groups who have split from a pre-existing religious group. As these members grow older, many have children who are then brought up within the NRM. In the Third World , NRMs most often appeal to the poor and oppressed sectors of society. Within Western countries, they are more likely to appeal to members of
8100-400: Is known for his role in the healing revivals that occurred in the United States in the 1940s and 1950s, and most participants in the movement regarded him as its initiator. Christian writer John Crowder described the period of revivals as "the most extensive public display of miraculous power in modern history". Some, like Christian author and countercult activist Hank Hanegraaff , rejected
8280-507: Is regarded as the pacesetter for those who followed him. At the time they were held, Branham's revival meetings were the largest religious meetings some American cities he visited had ever seen; reports of 1,000 to 1,500 converts per meeting were common. Historians name his June 1946 St. Louis meetings as the inauguration of the healing revival period. Branham said he had received an angelic visitation on May 7, 1946, commissioning his worldwide ministry. In his later years, he also connected
8460-459: Is something, and that stays with me ...". Branham would go on to maintain lifelong connections to the KKK. Branham told his audiences that he left home at age 19 in search of a better life, traveling to Phoenix, Arizona , where he worked on a ranch for two years and began a successful career in boxing . While Branham was away, his brother Edward aged 18, shot and killed a Jeffersonville man and
8640-425: Is unified by its topic of interest rather than by its methodology , and is therefore interdisciplinary in nature. A sizeable body of scholarly literature on new religions has been published, most of it produced by social scientists . Among the disciplines that NRS utilises are anthropology, history, psychology, religious studies, and sociology. Of these approaches, sociology played a particularly prominent role in
8820-557: Is used in reference to devotion or dedication to a particular person or place. For instance, within the Roman Catholic Church, devotion to Mary, mother of Jesus may be termed the " Cult of Mary ". It is also used in non-religious contexts to refer to fandoms devoted to television shows like The Prisoner , The X-Files , and Buffy the Vampire Slayer . In the United States, people began to use "cult" in
9000-514: Is what you can see.... If you see me as your friend, I'll be your friend. As you see me as your father, I'll be your father, for those of you that don't have a father.... If you see me as your savior, I'll be your savior. If you see me as your God, I'll be your God. Further attacking traditional Christianity, Jones authored and circulated a tract entitled "The Letter Killeth", criticizing the King James Bible , and dismissing King James as
9180-661: Is when a new religious movement ceases to be "new". As noted by Barker, "In the first century, Christianity was new, in the seventh century Islam was new, in the eighteenth century Methodism was new, in the nineteenth century the Seventh-day Adventists, Christadelphians, and Jehovah's Witnesses were new; in the twenty-first century the Unification Church, the ISKCON, and Scientology are beginning to look old." The Roman Catholic Church has observed that
SECTION 50
#17327808664229360-626: The Acts of the Apostles (4:34–35) which stated: "distribution was made to each as any had need." Jones would repeatedly cite that passage to paint Jesus as a communist, while at the same time attacking much of the text of the Bible . The Temple began tightening control over its organization, asking more of its members than did other churches. It required that members spend Thanksgiving and Christmas with its Temple "family" rather than with blood relatives,
9540-437: The Bible as being a tool to oppress women and non-whites. Jones referred to traditional Christianity's view of God as a " Sky God " who was "no God at all". Instead, Jones claimed to be following the true God who created all things. Jones taught that ultimate reality was called the "Divine Principle", and this principle was the true God. Jones equated the principle with love, and he equated love with socialism. Jones asserted he
9720-786: The Christian Reformed Church in North America , was especially influential. In the US, the Christian Research Institute was founded in 1960 by Walter Ralston Martin to counter opposition to evangelical Christianity and has come to focus on criticisms of NRMs. Presently the Christian countercult movement opposes most NRMs because of theological differences. It is closely associated with evangelical Christianity . In his book The Kingdom of
9900-637: The Donghak Peasant Revolution in 1894. In 1889, Ahmadiyya , an Islamic branch, was founded by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad . In 1891, the Unity Church , the first New Thought denomination, was founded in the United States. In 1893, the first Parliament of the World's Religions was held in Chicago. The conference included NRMs of the time such as spiritualism , Baháʼí Faith, and Christian Science . Henry Harris Jessup , who addressed
10080-562: The Holy Spirit Movement were killed as they approached gunfire because its leader, Alice Lakwena , told them that they would be protected from bullets by the oil of the shea tree . The history of the Latter Day Saint movement includes multiple cases of significant violence committed by or against Mormons . NRMs are typically founded and led by a charismatic leader. The death of any religion's founder represents
10260-575: The Internal Revenue Service . Jones took care to always couch his socialist views in religious terms, such as "apostolic social justice". "Living the Acts of the Apostles" was his euphemism for living a communal lifestyle. Jones frequently warned his followers of an imminent apocalyptic genocidal race war and nuclear war. He claimed that Nazi fascists and white supremacists would put people of color into concentration camps. Jones said he
10440-671: The Latter Rain revival movement, which Hawtin helped initiate. In January 1948, meetings were held in Florida; F. F. Bosworth met Branham at the meetings and also joined his team. Bosworth was among the pre-eminent ministers of the Pentecostal movement and a founding minister of the Assemblies of God ; Bosworth lent great weight to Branham's campaign team. He remained a strong Branham supporter until his death in 1958. Bosworth endorsed Branham as "the most sensitive person to
10620-673: The Peoples Temple Full Gospel Church , the first time he used the phrase "Peoples Temple". Jones's healings and purported clairvoyant revelations attracted spiritualists . Jones began closely associating with the Independent Assemblies of God (IAoG), an international group of churches who embraced the Latter Rain movement . The IAoG had few requirements for ordaining ministers and were accepting of divine healing practices. In June 1955, Jones held his first joint meetings with William Branham ,
10800-495: The Shakers and more recent NRMs, inspired by Hindu traditions, see it as a lifelong commitment. Others, including the Unification Church, as a stage in spiritual development. In some Buddhist NRMs, celibacy is practiced mostly by older women who become nuns . Some people join NRMs and practice celibacy as a rite of passage in order to move beyond previous sexual problems or bad experiences. Groups that promote celibacy require
10980-541: The Social Gospel 's virtues, but chose to conceal that his gospel was actually communism until he began to do so in sermons at the Temple in the late 1960s. Jones taught that "those who remained drugged with the opiate of religion had to be brought to enlightenment", which he defined as socialism. Jones asserted that traditional Christianity had an incorrect view of God. By the early 1970s, Jones began deriding traditional Christianity as "fly away religion", rejecting
SECTION 60
#173278086642211160-409: The gifts of the spirit to the church. In later years, Branham significantly altered how he told the baptismal story, and came to connect the event to his teaching ministry. He claimed reports of the baptismal story were carried in newspapers across the United States and Canada. Because of the way Branham's telling of the baptismal story changed over the years, and because no newspaper actually covered
11340-491: The persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses , the persecution of Baháʼís , and the persecution of Falun Gong . There are also instances in which violence has been directed at new religions. In the United States the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, Joseph Smith, was killed by a lynch mob in 1844. In India there have been mob killings of members of the Ananda Marga group. Such violence can also be administered by
11520-612: The state religion of Japan, bringing about greater freedom of religion . In 1954, Scientology was founded in the United States, by L. Ron Hubbard . It can be considered a psychotherapy oriented religion and has been consistently controversial among new religious movements in the country. In 1954 the Unification Church by Sun Myung Moon was founded, in South Korea. In 1955, the Aetherius Society
11700-521: The "mother church" in Redwood Valley. New religious movement There is no single, agreed-upon criterion for defining a "new religious movement". Debate continues as to how the term "new" should be interpreted in this context. One perspective is that it should designate a religion that is more recent in its origins than large, well-established religions like Hinduism , Judaism , Buddhism , Christianity , and Islam . Some scholars view
11880-495: The "newness" of "new religious movements" raises problems, for it is "the very fact that NRMs are new that explains many of the key characteristics they display". George Chryssides favors "simple" definition; for him, NRM is an organization founded within the past 150 or so years, which cannot be easily classified within one of the world's main religious traditions. Scholars of religion Olav Hammer and Mikael Rothstein argued that "new religions are just young religions" and as
12060-986: The "troops", consisted of working-class members who were 70–80% black. They set up chairs for meetings, filled offering boxes, and did other tasks. Many of them were attracted to the Temple's quasi-socialist approach both because of the Temple's political education offers and because the Temple's highly passionate congregations still maintained the familiar forms of evangelical prayers and black gospels. Jones also surrounded himself with several dozen mostly white, privileged members in their twenties and thirties who had skills in law, accounting, nursing, teaching, music, and administration. This latter group carried out public relations, financial duties, and more mundane chores while bringing in good salaries from well-paying outside jobs. The Temple used ten to fifteen Greyhound -type bus cruisers to transport members up and down California freeways each week for recruitment and fundraising. Jones always rode in bus number seven, which contained armed guards and
12240-515: The 1940s. During June 1933, Branham held tent revival meetings that were sponsored by Davis and the First Pentecostal Baptist Church. On June 2 that year, the Jeffersonville Evening News said the Branham campaign reported 14 converts. His followers believed his ministry was accompanied by miraculous signs from its beginning, and that when he was baptizing converts on June 11, 1933, in the Ohio River near Jeffersonville,
12420-548: The 1942 meetings in Milltown, Indiana where it was reported that a young girl had been healed of tuberculosis. The news of the reported healing was slow to spread, but was eventually reported to a family in Missouri who in 1945 invited Branham to pray for their child who was suffering from a similar illness; Branham reported that the child recovered after his prayers. News of two events eventually reached W. E. Kidston. Kidston
12600-481: The 1950s or the end of the Second World War in 1945 as the defining time, while others look as far back as the founding of the Latter Day Saint movement in 1830 and of Tenrikyo in 1838. New religions have sometimes faced opposition from established religious organisations and secular institutions. In Western nations, a secular anti-cult movement and a Christian countercult movement emerged during
12780-481: The 1970s and 1980s to oppose emergent groups. A distinct field of new religion studies developed within the academic study of religion in the 1970s. There are several scholarly organisations and peer-reviewed journals devoted to the subject. Religious studies scholars contextualize the rise of NRMs in modernity as a product of, and answer to, modern processes of secularization, globalization, detraditionalization, fragmentation, reflexivity, and individualization. In 1830,
12960-469: The 1970s and 1980s, some NRMs as well as some non-religious groups came under opposition by the newly organized anti-cult movement, which mainly charged them with psychological abuse of their own members. It actively seeks to discourage people from joining new religions (which it refers to as "cults"). It also encourages members of these groups to leave them, and at times seeking to restrict their freedom of movement. Family members are often distressed when
13140-502: The African American attendees at the conventions. According to a newspaper report, regular attendance at Peoples Temple swelled to 1,000 thanks to the publicity Branham provided to Jones and Peoples Temple. Following the convention, Jones renamed his church the "Peoples Temple Christian Church Full Gospel" to associate it with Full Gospel Pentecostalism; the name was later shortened to the Peoples Temple. Jones participated in
13320-668: The American founder of Christian Science, spent fifteen years working on her book The Manual of the Mother Church , which laid out how the group should be run by her successors. The leadership of the Baháʼí Faith passed through a succession of individuals until 1963, when it was assumed by the Universal House of Justice , members of which are elected by the worldwide congregation. A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada ,
13500-740: The Bible on the table yelling "I've got to destroy this paper idol!" Jones taught his followers that the ends justify the means and authorized them to achieve his vision by any means necessary. Outsiders would later point to this aspect of Jones's teachings to allege that he did not genuinely believe in his own teachings and that he was "morally bankrupt" and only manipulating religion and other elements of society "to achieve his own selfish ends". Jones began using illicit drugs after moving to California, which further heightened his paranoia. Jones increasingly used fear to control and manipulate his followers in California. Jones frequently warned his followers that there
13680-732: The Chinese government, and by 1999 there were 70 million practitioners in China. But in July 1999, the government started to view the movement as a threat and began attempts to eradicate it . In the 21st century, many NRMs are using the Internet to give out information, recruit members, and sometimes to hold online meetings and rituals. That is sometimes referred to as cybersectarianism . Sabina Magliocco , professor of Anthropology and Folklore at California State University, Northridge, has discussed
13860-746: The Cults (1965), Christian scholar Walter Ralston Martin examines a large number of new religious movements; included are major groups such as Christian Science, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Jehovah's Witnesses, Armstrongism , Theosophy , the Baháʼí Faith, Unitarian Universalism , Scientology, the Unity Church, as well as minor groups including various New Age groups and those based on Eastern religions . The beliefs of other world religions such as Islam and Buddhism are also discussed. He covers each group's history and teachings, and contrasts them with those of mainstream Christianity. In
14040-555: The KKK. Davis baptized Branham and six months later, he ordained Branham as an Independent Baptist minister and an elder in his church. Supported by the KKK's Imperial Kludd (chaplain) Caleb Ridley , Branham traveled with Davis and they participated together in revivals in other states. At the time of Branham's conversion, the First Pentecostal Baptist Church of Jeffersonville was a nominally Baptist church which adhered to some Pentecostal doctrines, including divine healing and speaking in tongues ; Branham reported that his baptism at
14220-565: The Latter Day Saint movement was founded by Joseph Smith . It is one of the largest new religious movements, with over 16 million members in 2019. In Japan, 1838 marks the beginning of Tenrikyo . In 1844, Bábism was established in Iran, from which the Baháʼí Faith was founded by Bahá'u'lláh in 1863. In 1860, Donghak , later Cheondoism , was founded by Choi Jae-Woo in Korea. It later ignited
14400-859: The Latter Rain movement. Jones used the convention meetings with other Pentecostal speakers to gain wide publicity, and Jim Jones continued to disguise the fact that he was using religion to further his political ideology. Those conventions drew as many as 11,000 attendees, as James Warren Jones and the other preachers conducted "healings" and impressed attendees by revealing private information—usually addresses, phone numbers, or Social Security numbers , which private detectives could easily discover beforehand. Jones and Temple members also drove through various cities in Indiana and Ohio on recruiting and fundraising efforts. The Temple stressed egalitarian ideals, asking members to attend in casual clothes so poor members would not feel out of place, and providing shelter for
14580-585: The Pentecostal Tabernacle, the same church where their funerals were held. Branham frequently related the story of the death of his wife and daughter during his ministry and evoked strong emotional responses from his audiences. Branham told his audiences that his wife and daughter had become suddenly ill and died during the January flood as God's punishment because of his failure to embrace Pentecostalism. Branham said he made several suicide attempts following their deaths. Peter Duyzer noted that Branham's story of
14760-507: The Peoples Temple emphasize Jones's autocratic control over its operations, in reality, the Temple possessed a complex leadership structure with decision-making power unevenly dispersed among its members. Within that structure, Temple members were unwittingly and gradually subjected to sophisticated mind control and behavior modification techniques borrowed from post-revolutionary China and North Korea . The Temple tightly defined psychological boundaries that "enemies", such as "traitors" to
14940-634: The Prophet , who heard a voice speak to him in the night, inspired Branham's name for the publication. Lindsay was impressed with Branham's focus on humility and unity, and was instrumental in helping him gain acceptance among Trinitarian and Oneness Pentecostal groups by expanding his revival meetings beyond the United Pentecostal Church to include all of the major Pentecostal groups. The first meetings organized by Lindsay were held in northwestern North America during late 1947. At
15120-608: The Redwood Valley- Ukiah area, it eventually seemed necessary to move the church's seat of power to an urban area. In 1970, the Temple began holding services in San Francisco and Los Angeles . It established permanent facilities in those cities in 1971 and 1972, respectively. In San Francisco, the Temple occupied a former Scottish Rite temple at 1859 Geary Boulevard in the Fillmore District . At
15300-453: The Temple needed to look for a new location. A 1962 Esquire magazine article listed the nine safest places to be in a nuclear war, with Belo Horizonte , Brazil , topping the list because of its location and atmospheric conditions. Jones traveled through Brazil from 1962 through early 1963. He requested money from the Temple while in Rio de Janeiro , but the Temple lacked adequate funds for such
15480-440: The Temple visited Divine several times, while Jones studied his writings and tape recordings of his sermons. The Temple printed Divine's texts for its members and began to preach that members should abstain from sex and only adopt children. In 1959, Jones tested the new fiery rhetorical style that Divine had used in a sermon. His speech captivated members with lulls and crescendos, as Jones challenged individual members in front of
15660-525: The Temple were also required to turn over all their income to be used for the benefit of the community. Jones directed groups of his followers to work on various projects to earn income for the People Temple and set up an agricultural operation in Redwood Valley to grow food. Jones organized large community outreach projects, taking his followers by bus to perform work community service across
15840-526: The Temple's Marxist goals. Stops included large cities such as Houston , Detroit , and Cleveland . Temple members pretended to be locals and acted as shills in the various faked healings and "revelations". Local viewers did not realize they were in the minority in the audience. The weekly take from offerings and healing services was $ 15,000 to $ 25,000 in Los Angeles and $ 8,000 to $ 12,000 in San Francisco. There were smaller collections from trips around
16020-637: The Temple's day-to-day operations, including key decision-making, financial and legal planning, and oversight. The Commission sat over various other committees, such as the Diversions Committee, which carried out tasks such as writing huge numbers of letters to politicians from fictional people mailed from various locations around the U.S., and the Mertles Committee, which undertook activities against defectors Al and Jeannie Mills . A group of rank-and-file members, whom outsiders called
16200-406: The Temple's most sensitive missions. They necessarily acclimated themselves to an " ends justify the means " philosophy. The earliest member was Sandy Bradshaw, a socialist from Syracuse , New York . Others included Carolyn Layton, a communist since the age of 15 who had a child with Jones; Sharon Amos, who worked for the social services department; Patty Cartmell, Jones's secretary; and Teri Buford,
16380-609: The Temple's soup kitchen service to an average of about 2,800 meals per month. The Temple's public profile was further elevated when Jones was appointed to the Indianapolis Human Rights Commission . He engaged in public attempts to integrate businesses and was the subject of much local media coverage. Jones had read extensively about Father Divine , the founder of the International Peace Mission movement . Jones and members of
16560-418: The Temple, crossed at their own peril. While the secrecy and caution Jones demanded in recruiting led to decreased overall membership, they also helped him foster hero-worship of himself as the "ultimate socialist". In the 1970s, the Temple established a more formal hierarchy for its socialistic model. At the top were the Temple's staff, a select group of predominantly college-educated white women that undertook
16740-414: The angel that commissioned his ministry had given him two signs by which they could prove his commission. He described the first sign as vibrations he felt in his hand when he touched a sick person's hand, which communicated to him the nature of the illness, but did not guarantee healing. Branham's use of what his fellow evangelists called a word of knowledge gift separated him from his contemporaries in
16920-490: The angelic visitation with the establishment of the nation of Israel, at one point mistakenly stating the vision occurred on the same day. His first reported revival meetings of the period were held over 12 days during June 1946 in St. Louis. Time magazine reported on his St. Louis campaign meetings, and according to the article, Branham drew a crowd of over 4,000 sick people who desired healing and recorded him diligently praying for each. Branham's fame began to grow as
17100-655: The atheist Church of Satan . In 1967, the Beatles visit to Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in India brought public attention to the Transcendental Meditation movement . In the late 1980s and 1990s, the decline of communism and the revolutions of 1989 opened up new opportunities for NRMs. Falun Gong was first taught publicly in Northeast China in 1992 by Li Hongzhi . At first, it was accepted by
17280-402: The beginning of a process to wean members from outside contact and redirect their lives toward a total commitment to the Temple and its goals. Jones began to offer a deal towards a socialist collective, which he called " religious communalism ", in which members would donate their material possessions to the Temple in exchange for the Temple meeting all those members' needs. Pastor James was one of
17460-412: The benefits of Marxism and lecturing on religion. Jones planted loyal members of Peoples Temple in the classes to help him with recruitment. His efforts were successful, and Jones recruited 50 new members to Peoples Temple in the first few months. In 1967, Jones's followers persuaded another 75 members of the Indianapolis congregation to move to California. In 1968, the Peoples Temple's California location
17640-518: The broader healing revival that later became the modern charismatic movement . At the peak of his popularity in the 1950s, Branham was widely adored and "the neo-Pentecostal world believed Branham to be a prophet to their generation". From 1955, Branham's campaigning and popularity began to decline as the Pentecostal churches began to withdraw their support from the healing campaigns for primarily financial reasons. By 1960, Branham transitioned into
17820-462: The campaign team, which he did beginning at a meeting in Sacramento, California , in late 1947. Lindsay was a successful publicist and manager for Branham, and played a key role in helping him gain national and international recognition. In 1948, Branham and Lindsay founded Voice of Healing magazine, which was originally aimed at reporting Branham's healing campaigns. The story of Samuel
18000-527: The center of a cult of personality during his final years. Branham claimed that he had converted over one million people during his career. His teachings continue to be promoted by the William Branham Evangelistic Association, which reported that about 2 million people received its material in 2018. Branham died following a car accident in 1965. William M. Branham was born near Burkesville, Kentucky , on April 6, 1909,
18180-471: The church helped him organize a new church in Jeffersonville. At first Branham preached out of a tent at 8th and Pratt street, and he also reported temporarily preaching in an orphanage building. By 1936, the congregation had constructed a new church on the same block as Branham's tent, at the corner of 8th and Penn street. The church was built on the same location reported by the local newspaper as
18360-651: The church name eventually shortened to the Branham Tabernacle. The church flourished at first, but its growth began to slow. Because of the Great Depression , it was often short of funds, so Branham served without compensation. Branham continued traveling and preaching among Pentecostal churches while serving as pastor of his new church. Branham obtained a truck and had it painted with advertisements for his healing ministry which he toured in. In September 1934, he traveled to Mishawaka, Indiana where he
18540-461: The church was done using the Jesus name formula of Oneness Pentecostalism . Branham claimed to have been opposed to Pentecostalism during the early years of his ministry. However, according to multiple Branham biographers, like Baptist historian Doug Weaver and Pentecostal historian Bernie Wade, Branham was exposed to Pentecostal teachings from his conversion. Branham claimed to his audiences he
18720-793: The concept. In 1994, members of the Order of the Solar Temple committed suicide in Canada and Switzerland. In 1997, 39 members of the Heaven's Gate group committed suicide in the belief that their spirits would leave the Earth and join a passing comet. There have also been cases in which members of NRMs have been killed after they engaged in dangerous actions due to mistaken belief in their own invincibility. For example, in Uganda, several hundred members of
18900-591: The congregation and warned members of Peoples Temple that Jones was abandoning Christianity. Winberg took over leadership of the Indianapolis church when Jones departed. About 140 of Jones's most loyal followers made the move to California, while the rest remained behind with Winberg. In California, Jones was able to use his education degree from Butler University to secure a job as a history and government teacher at an adult education school in Ukiah. Jones used his position to recruit for Peoples Temple, teaching his students
19080-402: The convention, Branham issued a prophetic endorsement of Jones and his ministry, saying that God used the convention to send forth a new great ministry. Many attendees in the campaign believed Jones's performance indicated that he possessed a supernatural gift , and coupled with Branham's endorsement, it led to rapid growth of Peoples Temple. Jones was particularly effective at recruitment among
19260-514: The core scripture of the Urantia Movement, was published in 1955 and is said to be the product of a continuous process of revelation from "celestial beings" which began in 1911. Some NRMs, particularly those that are forms of occultism , have a prescribed system of courses and grades through which members can progress. Some NRMs promote celibacy , the state of voluntarily being unmarried, sexually abstinent, or both. Some, including
19440-460: The crowd by race. Author and researcher Patsy Sims noted that venues used to host campaign meetings also hosted KKK rallies just days prior to the revival meetings, which sometimes led to racial tensions. Sims, who attended both the KKK rallies and the healing revivals, was surprised to see some of the same groups of people at both events. According to Steven Hassan , KKK recruitment was covertly conducted through Branham's ministry. After holding
19620-425: The development of the field, resulting in it being initially confined largely to a narrow array of sociological questions. This came to change in later scholarship, which began to apply theories and methods initially developed for examining more mainstream religions to the study of new ones. Most research has been directed toward those new religions that attract public controversy. Less controversial NRMs tend to be
19800-422: The difference between these groups and established or mainstream religious movements while at the same time evading the problem posed by groups that are not particularly new. The 1970s was the era of the so-called "cult wars", led by "cult-watching groups". The efforts of the anti-cult movement condensed a moral panic around the concept of cults. Public fears around Satanism , in particular, came to be known as
19980-412: The different types of NRMs and how do these different types relate to the established institutional order of the host society?; and what are the most important ways that NRMs respond to the sociocultural dislocation that leads to their formation? — Sociologist of religion David G. Bromley The academic study of new religious movements is known as 'new religions studies' (NRS). The study draws from
20160-458: The disciplines of anthropology , psychiatry , history , psychology , sociology , religious studies , and theology . Barker noted that there are five sources of information on NRMs: the information provided by such groups themselves, that provided by ex-members as well as the friends and relatives of members, organisations that collect information on NRMs, the mainstream media, and academics studying such phenomena. The study of new religions
20340-502: The dominant faith in any country, many of the concepts they first introduced (often referred to as " New Age " ideas) have become part of worldwide mainstream culture. Eileen Barker has argued that NRMs should not be "lumped together," as they differ from one another on many issues. Virtually no generalisation can be made about NRMs that applies to every group, with David V. Barrett noting that "generalizations tend not to be very helpful" when studying NRMs. J. Gordon Melton expressed
20520-413: The early days of the revival. This second sign did not appear in his campaigns until after his recovery in 1948, and was used to "amaze tens of thousands" at his meetings. As the revival progressed, his contemporaries began to mirror the practice. According to Bosworth, this gift of knowledge allowed Branham "to see and enable him to tell the many events of [people's] lives from their childhood down to
20700-736: The emergence of a number of highly visible new religious movements... [These] seemed so outlandish that many people saw them as evil cults, fraudulent organizations or scams that recruited unaware people by means of mind-control techniques. Real or serious religions, it was felt, should appear in recognizable institutionalized forms, be suitably ancient, and – above all – advocate relatively familiar theological notions and modes of conduct. Most new religions failed to comply with such standards. — Religious studies scholars Olav Hammer and Mikael Rothstein There has been opposition to NRMs throughout their history. Some historical events have been: Anti-Mormonism ,
20880-429: The entire healing revival as a hoax and condemned the movement as cult in his 1997 book Counterfeit Revival . Divine healing is a tradition and belief that was historically held by a majority of Christians but it became increasingly associated with Evangelical Protestantism. The fascination of most of American Christianity with divine healing played a significant role in the popularity and inter-denominational nature of
21060-639: The era were flamboyant but Branham was usually calm and spoke quietly, only occasionally raising his voice. His preaching style was described as "halting and simple", and crowds were drawn to his stories of angelic visitation and "constant communication with God". Branham tailored his language usage to best connect to his audiences. When speaking to poor and working-class audiences, he tended to use poor grammar and folksy language; when speaking to more educated audiences and ministerial associations, he generally spoke using perfect grammar and avoided slang usage. He refused to discuss controversial doctrinal issues during
21240-578: The event, Weaver said Branham may have embellished the story after he began achieving success in the healing revival during the 1940s. Besides Roy Davis and the First Pentecostal Baptist Church, Branham reported interaction with other groups during the 1930s who were an influence on his ministry. During the early 1930s, he became acquainted with William Sowders ' School of the Prophets, a Pentecostal group in Kentucky and Indiana. Through Sowders' group, he
21420-546: The events surrounding the death of his wife and daughter conflicted with historical evidence; they did not die during the flood, he and his wife were both already Pentecostals before they married, and he was pastor of a Pentecostal church at the time of their deaths. By the summer of 1940, Branham had resumed traveling and held revival meetings in other nearby communities. Branham married his second wife Meda Marie Broy in 1941, and together they had three children; Rebekah (1946–2014), Sarah (b. 1950), and Joseph (b. 1955). Branham
21600-540: The first of these meetings, held in Vancouver, British Columbia , Canadian minister Ern Baxter joined Branham's team. Lindsay reported 70,000 attendees to the 14 days of meetings and long prayer lines as Branham prayed for the sick. William Hawtin, a Canadian Pentecostal minister, attended one of Branham's Vancouver meetings in November 1947 and was impressed by Branham's healings. Branham was an important influence on
21780-416: The first to commit. The Temple had little luck converting most Midwesterners to communist ideals, even when disguised as religion. Admiring the 1959 Cuban Revolution , Jones traveled to the island nation in 1960 in an unsuccessful attempt to persuade poor black Cubans to move to his congregation in Indiana. The Temple's religious message transitioned during this period, to one treading between atheism and
21960-606: The founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness , appointed 11 "Western Gurus" to act as initiating gurus and to continue to direct the organisation. However, according to British scholar of religion Gavin Flood , "many problems followed from their appointment and the movement has since veered away from investing absolute authority in a few, fallible, human teachers." NRMs typically consist largely of first-generation believers, and thus often have
22140-524: 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
22320-481: The group. The speech also marked the beginning of the Temple's underlying "us versus them" message. Jones carefully wove in that the Temple's home for senior citizens was established on the basis " From each according to his ability, to each according to his need ", quoting Karl Marx 's Critique of the Gotha Program . He did so knowing that his Christian audience would recognize the similarities with text from
22500-712: The growing movement, and his abrupt departure from the field caused a rift between him and Lindsay over the Voice of Healing magazine. Branham insisted that Lindsay take over complete management of the publication. With the main subject of the magazine no longer actively campaigning, Lindsay was forced to seek other ministers to promote. He decided to publicize Oral Roberts during Branham's absence, and Roberts quickly rose to prominence, in large part due to Lindsay's coverage. Branham partially recovered from his illness and resumed holding meetings in October 1948; in that month he held
22680-571: The growing popularity of new religious movements on the Internet. In 2006 J. Gordon Melton , executive director of the Institute for the Study of American Religions at the University of California, Santa Barbara, told The New York Times that 40 to 45 new religious movements emerge each year in the United States. In 2007, religious scholar Elijah Siegler said that, though no NRM had become
22860-465: The growth of sects and new religious movements is one of the "most noticeable" and "highly complex" developments in recent years, and in relation to the ecumenical movement , their "desire for peaceful relations with the Catholic Church may be weak or non-existent". Some NRMs are strongly counter-cultural and 'alternative' in the society where they appear, while others are far more similar to
23040-617: The healing campaigns, and issued a policy statement that he would only minister on the "great evangelical truths". He insisted his calling was to bring unity among the different churches he was ministering to and to urge the churches to return to the roots of early Christianity. In the first part of his meetings, one of Branham's companion evangelists would preach a sermon. Ern Baxter or F. F. Bosworth usually filled this role, but other ministers like Paul Cain also participated in Branham's campaigns in later years. Baxter generally focused on bible teaching; Bosworth counseled supplicants on
23220-596: The healing revival, his divergent post-revival teachings were deemed increasingly controversial by his charismatic and Pentecostal contemporaries, who subsequently disavowed many of the doctrines as "revelatory madness". His racial teachings on serpent seed and his belief that membership in a Christian denomination was connected to the mark of the beast alienated many of his former supporters. His closest followers, however, accepted his sermons as oral scripture and refer to his teachings as The Message. Despite Branham's objections, some followers of his teachings placed him at
23400-467: The holy name of Socialism". While in the United States, Jones remained fearful of the public discovering the full extent of his communist views. He believed that if the true nature of his views became widely known, he would quickly lose the support of political leaders and even face the possibility of Peoples Temple being ejected from the Disciples of Christ. Jones also feared losing the church's tax-exempt status and having to report his financial dealings to
23580-836: The largest modern African initiated churches , was founded by Isaiah Shembe in South Africa. The early 20th century also saw a rise in interest in Asatru . The 1930s saw the rise of the Nation of Islam and the Jehovah's Witnesses in the United States; the rise of the Rastafari movement in Jamaica; the rise of Cao Đài and Hòa Hảo in Vietnam; the rise of Soka Gakkai in Japan; and
23760-419: The majority of his congregation gradually returned to Peoples Temple, improving their financial situation. During 1964 Jones made multiple trips to California to locate a suitable location to relocate. In July 1965, Jones and his followers began moving to their new location in Redwood Valley, California , near the city of Ukiah . Jones's assistant pastor, Russell Winberg, strongly resisted Jones's efforts to move
23940-586: The meeting, was the first to mention the Baháʼí Faith in the United States. Also attending were Soyen Shaku , the "First American Ancestor" of Zen , the Theravāda Buddhist preacher Anagarika Dharmapala , and the Jain preacher Virchand Gandhi . This conference gave Asian religious teachers their first wide American audience. In 1911, the Nazareth Baptist Church , the first and one of
24120-520: The methods employed by Chinese to convert captured US soldiers to their cause in the Korean War . Lifton himself had doubts about the applicability of his brainwashing hypothesis to the techniques used by NRMs to convert recruits. A number of ex-members of various new religions have made false allegations about their experiences in such groups. For instance, in the late 1980s a man in Dublin, Ireland,
24300-629: The middle and upper-middle classes, with Barrett stating that new religions in the UK and US largely attract "white, middle-class late teens and twenties". There are exceptions, such as the Rastafari movement and the Nation of Islam, which have primarily attracted Black members. A popular conception, unsupported by evidence, holds that those who convert to new religions are either mentally ill or become so through their involvement with them. Dick Anthony ,
24480-543: 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 . Before he founded his church, Jim Jones had become enamored with communism and he
24660-468: The need for faith and the doctrine of divine healing. Following their build-up, Branham would take the podium and deliver a short sermon, in which he usually related stories about his personal life experiences. Branham would often request God to "confirm his message with two-or-three faith inspired miracles". Supplicants seeking healing submitted prayer cards to Branham's campaign team stating their name, address, and condition; Branham's team would select
24840-402: The needy. While the Temple had increased its African-American membership from 15% to nearly 50%, in order to attempt further gains the Temple hired African-American preacher Archie Ijames (who had earlier given up organized religion). Pastor Ijames was one of the first to commit to Jones's socialist collective program. In 1959, the church joined the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) , and
25020-519: The only way to escape the supposed imminent catastrophe was to accept his teachings, and that after the apocalypse was over, they would emerge to establish a perfect communist society. Historians are divided over whether Jones actually believed his own teachings, or was just using them to manipulate people. Jeff Guinn said, "It is impossible to know whether Jones gradually came to think he was God's earthly vessel, or whether he came to that convenient conclusion" to enhance his authority over his followers. In
25200-553: The pejorative undertones of terms like " cult " and " sect ". These are words that have been used in different ways by different groups. For instance, from the nineteenth century onward a number of sociologists used the terms "cult" and "sect" in very specific ways. The sociologist Ernst Troeltsch for instance differentiated "churches" from "sect" by claiming that the former term should apply to groups that stretch across social strata while "sects" typically contain converts from socially disadvantaged sectors of society. The term "cult"
25380-412: The period of widespread racial unrest. An African American minister participating in the St. Louis meetings claimed to be healed during the revival, helping to bring Branham a sizable African American following from the early days of the revival. Branham held interracial meetings even in the southern states. To satisfy segregation laws when ministering in the south, Branham's team would use a rope to divide
25560-450: The poor and finance the church. These "healings" involved the use of chicken livers and other animal tissue, which Jones (and confederate Temple members) claimed were cancerous tissues which had been removed from the bodies of the people who had been healed. In 1955, Jones bought his first church building, located in a racially mixed Indianapolis neighborhood. He first named his church Wings of Deliverance, and later that year, he renamed it
25740-556: The presence and working of the Holy Spirit" he had ever met. During early 1947, a major campaign was held in Kansas City , where Branham and Lindsay first met Oral Roberts. Roberts and Branham had contact at different points during the revival. Roberts said Branham was "set apart, just like Moses". Branham spent many hours ministering and praying for the sick during his campaigns, and like many other leading evangelists of
25920-436: The present". This caused many in the healing revival to view Branham as a "seer like the old testament prophets". Branham amazed even fellow evangelists, which served to further push him into a legendary status in the movement. Branham's audiences were often awestruck by the events during his meetings. At the peak of his popularity in the 1950s, Branham was widely adored and "the neo-Pentecostal world believed Branham to be
26100-412: The region. The first known cases of serious abuse in Peoples Temple arose in California as the Planning Commission carried out discipline against members who were not fulfilling Jones's vision or following the rules. Jones's control over the members of Peoples Temple extended to their sex lives and who could be married. Some members were coerced to get abortions . Jones began to require sexual favors from
26280-443: The results on the stage would inspire faith in the audience and permit them to experience similar results without having to be personally prayed for. Branham would also call out a few members still in the audience, who had not been accepted into the prayer line, stating their illness and pronouncing them healed. Branham told his audiences that he was able to determine their illness, details of their lives, and pronounce them healed as
26460-429: The revival movement. Branham held massive inter-denominational meetings, from which came reports of hundreds of miracles. Historian David Harrell described Branham and Oral Roberts as the two giants of the movement and called Branham its "unlikely leader." Branham had been traveling and holding revival meetings since at least 1940 before attracting national attention. Branham's popularity began to grow following
26640-540: The rise of Zailiism and Yiguandao in China. In the 1940s, Gerald Gardner began to outline the modern pagan religion of Wicca . New religious movements expanded in many nations in the 1950s and 1960s at the height of the counterculture movements . Japanese new religions became very popular after the Shinto Directive (1945) forced the Japanese government to separate itself from Shinto , which had been
26820-565: The site of his June 1933 tent campaign. Newspaper articles reported the original name of Branham's new church to be the Pentecostal Tabernacle. The church was officially registered with the City of Jeffersonville as the Billie Branham Pentecostal Tabernacle in November 1936. Newspaper articles continued to refer to his church as the Pentecostal Tabernacle until 1943. Branham served as pastor until 1946, and
27000-416: The son of Charles and Ella Harvey Branham, the oldest of ten children. He claimed that at his birth, a "Light come [ sic ] whirling through the window, about the size of a pillow, and circled around where I was, and went down on the bed". Branham told his publicist Gordon Lindsay that he had mystical experiences from an early age; and that at age three he heard a "voice" speaking to him from
27180-647: The state. In Iran, followers of the Baháʼí Faith have faced persecution, while the Ahmadiyya have faced similar violence in Pakistan. Since 1999, the persecution of Falun Gong in China has been severe. Ethan Gutmann interviewed over 100 witnesses and estimated that 65,000 Falun Gong practitioners were killed for their organs from 2000 to 2008. In the 1930s, Christian critics of NRMs began referring to them as "cults". The 1938 book The Chaos of Cults by Jan Karel van Baalen (1890–1968), an ordained minister in
27360-492: The subject of less scholarly research. It has also been noted that scholars of new religions often avoid researching certain movements that scholars from other backgrounds study. The feminist spirituality movement is usually examined by scholars of women's studies , African-American new religions by scholars of Africana studies , and Native American new religions by scholars of Native American studies . J. Gordon Melton argued that "new religious movements" should be defined by
27540-402: The subtle notion that Jones was a Christ-like figure. While Temple aides complained privately, Jones said that the new message was needed to foster members' dedication to the Temple's larger goals. He maintained such implications until the mid-to-late 1970s. In 1961, Jones claimed he had had a vision in which Indianapolis and Chicago were destroyed in a nuclear attack , convincing aides that
27720-683: The time he suffered exhaustion . After one year of campaigning, his exhaustion began leading to health issues. Branham reported to his audiences that he suffered a nervous breakdown and required treatment by the Mayo Clinic . Branham's illness coincided with a series of allegations of fraud in his healing revivals. Attendees reported seeing him "staggering from intense fatigue" during his last meetings. Just as Branham began to attract international attention in May 1948, he announced that due to illness he would have to halt his campaign. His illness shocked
27900-739: The time they were held, Branham's inter-denominational meetings were the largest religious meetings ever held in some American cities. Branham was the first American deliverance minister to successfully campaign in Europe; his ministry reached global audiences with major campaigns held in North America, Europe, Africa, and India. Branham claimed that he had received an angelic visitation on May 7, 1946, commissioning his worldwide ministry and launching his campaigning career in mid-1946. His fame rapidly spread as crowds were drawn to his stories of angelic visitations and reports of miracles happening at his meetings. His ministry spawned many emulators and set in motion
28080-621: The time, the Fillmore district was a majority Black neighborhood and a stronghold of Black culture on the West Coast. In Los Angeles, the Temple occupied the former building of the First Church of Christ, Scientist at 1366 S. Alvarado Street. By 1972, the Temple called Redwood Valley the "mother church" of a "statewide political movement". From the start, the Los Angeles facility's primary purposes were to recruit members and to serve as
28260-483: The use of "religion" within the term "new religious movements". This is because various groups, particularly active within the New Age milieu, have many traits in common with different NRMs but emphasise personal development and humanistic psychology , and are not clearly "religious" in nature. Since at least the early 2000s, most sociologists of religion have used the term "new religious movement" in order to avoid
28440-525: The victim of a backlash for being a communist, he was surprised when a Methodist superintendent helped him enter the church, despite his knowledge that Jones was a communist. In 1952, Jones became a student pastor in Sommerset Southside Methodist Church in Indianapolis , Indiana , but left that church because it barred him from integrating African-Americans into his congregation. In 1954, Jones founded his own church in
28620-514: The view that there is "no single characteristic or set of characteristics" that all new religions share, "not even their newness." Bryan Wilson wrote, "Chief among the miss-directed assertions has been the tendency to speak of new religious movements as if they differed very little, if at all, one from another. The tendency has been to lump them together and indiscriminately attribute all of the characteristics which are, in fact, valid for only one or two." NRMs themselves often claim that they exist at
28800-455: The way dominant religious and secular forces within a given society treat them. According to him, NRMs constituted "those religious groups that have been found, from the perspective of the dominant religious community (and in the West that is almost always a form of Christianity), to be not just different, but unacceptably different." Barker cautioned against Melton's approach, arguing that negating
28980-544: The wives of some members of the church. Jones also raped several male members of his congregation. Members who rebelled against Jones's control were punished with reduced food rations, harsher work schedules, public ridicule and humiliations, and sometimes with physical violence. As the Temple's membership grew, Jones created a security group to ensure order among his followers and to ensure his own personal safety. The group purchased security squad cars and armed their guards with rifles and pistols. Because of limited expansion in
29160-480: Was a messiah sent to save people by giving them a place of refuge in his church. Drawing on a prophecy in the Book of Revelation , he taught that American capitalist culture was irredeemable " Babylon ". Explaining the nature of sin, Jones stated, "If you're born in capitalist America, racist America, fascist America, then you're born in sin. But if you're born in socialism, you're not born in sin." He taught his followers
29340-542: Was a savior sent by the true God, to rescue humanity from their sufferings. Jones insisted that accepting the "Divine Principle" was equivalent to being " crucified with Christ ". Jones increasingly promoted the idea of his own divinity, going so far as to tell his congregation that "I am come as God Socialist." Jones carefully avoided claiming divinity outside of Peoples Temple, but he expected to be acknowledged as god-like among his followers. Former Temple member Hue Fortson Jr. quoted him as saying: What you need to believe in
29520-424: Was admitted to the Disciples of Christ. Jones began to use the denominational connection to promote Peoples Temple as part of the 1.5 million member denomination. He played up famous members of the Disciples, including Lyndon Johnson and J. Edgar Hoover , and misrepresented the nature of his position in the denomination. By 1969, Jones increased the membership in Peoples Temple in California to 300. Jones developed
29700-495: Was also frustrated by the harassment which communists were being subjected to in the U.S. during the Red Scare . This, among other things, provided a clerical inspiration for Jones; as he himself described it 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. Although Jones feared that he would end up being
29880-467: Was an enemy seeking to destroy them. The identity of that enemy changed over time from the Ku Klux Klan, to Nazis, to redneck vigilantes, and finally the American government. He frequently prophesied that fires, car accidents, and death or injuries would come upon anyone unfaithful to him and his teachings. He constantly told his followers that they needed to be crusaders in promoting and fulfilling his beliefs. Through his tactics, he successfully implemented
30060-492: Was badly impacted by the disaster and his family was displaced from their home. By February 1937, the floodwaters had receded, his church survived intact and Branham resumed holding services at the Pentecostal Tabernacle. Following the January flood, Hope's health continued to decline, and she succumbed to her illness and died on July 22, 1937. Sharon Rose, who had been born with her mother's illness, died four days later (July 26, 1937). Their obituaries reported Branham as pastor of
30240-437: Was born soon after their marriage; the date given for his birth varies by source. In some of Branham's biographies, his first son's birth date is reported as September 13, 1935, but in government records his birth date is reported as September 13, 1934. Branham's wife became ill during the second year of their marriage. According to her death certificate, she was diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis in January 1936, beginning
30420-456: Was charged with murder. Edward died of a sudden illness only a short time later. Branham returned to Jeffersonville in June 1929 to attend the funeral. Branham had no experience with religion as a child; he said that the first time he heard a prayer was at his brother's funeral. Soon afterward, while he was working for the Public Service Company of Indiana , Branham was overcome by gas and had to be hospitalized. Branham said that he heard
30600-418: Was convicted and sentenced to a prison. The Indiana Ku Klux Klan claimed responsibility for attacking and shutting down the Jeffersonville liquor producing ring. Branham was involved in a firearms incident and was shot in both legs in March 1924, at age 14; he later told his audiences he was involved in a hunting accident. Two of his brothers also suffered life-threatening injuries at the same time. Branham
30780-527: Was first exposed to a Pentecostal church in 1936, which invited him to join, but he refused. Weaver speculated that Branham may have chosen to hide his early connections to Pentecostalism to make his conversion story more compelling to his Pentecostal audiences during the years of the healing revival. Weaver identified several parts of Branham's reported life story that conflicted with historical documentation and suggested that Branham began significantly embellishing his early life story to his audiences beginning in
30960-444: Was founded in England. It and some other NRMs have been called UFO religions because they combine the belief in extraterrestrial life with traditional religious principles. In 1965, Paul Twitchell founded Eckankar , an NRM derived partially from Sant Mat . In 1966, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) was founded in the United States by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada , and Anton LaVey founded
31140-499: Was given a three-year suspended sentence for falsely claiming that he had been drugged, kidnapped, and held captive by members of ISKCON. William Branham William Marrion Branham (April 6, 1909 – December 24, 1965) was an American Christian minister and faith healer who initiated the post- World War II healing revival , and claimed to be a prophet with the anointing of Elijah , who had come to prelude Christ's second coming ; some of his followers have been labeled
31320-467: Was intrigued by the reported miracles and invited Branham to participate in revival meetings that he was organizing. W. E. Kidston, was editor of The Apostolic Herald and had many contacts in the Pentecostal movement. Kidston served as Branham's first campaign manager and was instrumental in helping organize Branham's early revival meetings. Branham held his first large meetings as a faith healer in 1946. His healing services are well documented, and he
31500-416: Was introduced to the British Israelite House of David and in the autumn of 1934, Branham traveled to Michigan to meet with members of the group. Branham took over leadership of Roy Davis's Jeffersonville church in 1934, after Davis was arrested again and extradited to stand trial. Sometime during March or April 1934, the First Pentecostal Baptist Church was destroyed by a fire and Branham's supporters at
31680-610: Was invited to speak at the Pentecostal Assemblies of Jesus Christ (PAJC) General Assembly meetings organized by Bishop G. B. Rowe. Branham was "not impressed with the multi-cultural aspects of the PAJC as it was contrary to the dogmas advanced by his friends in the Ku Klux Klan." Branham and his future wife Amelia Hope Brumbach (b. July 16, 1913) attended the First Pentecostal Baptist Church together beginning in 1929 where Brumbach served as young people's leader. The couple began dating in 1933. Branham married Brumbach in June 1934. Their first child, William "Billy" Paul Branham (1935–2023)
31860-437: Was involved in criminal activities. Branham's neighbors reported him as "someone who always seemed a little different", but said he was a dependable youth. Branham explained that his tendency towards "mystical experiences and moral purity" caused misunderstandings among his friends, family, and other young people; he was a " black sheep " from an early age. Branham called his childhood "a terrible life." Branham's father owned
32040-452: Was renamed the Peoples Temple Christian Church Full Gospel . This affiliation was a successful attempt to both raise the dwindling membership and restore the reputation of the organization. In February 1960, the Temple opened a soup kitchen for the poor and expanded their social services to include rent assistance, job placement services, free canned goods, clothing, and coal for winter heating. Jones and his wife Marceline helped to increase
32220-490: Was rushed to the hospital for treatment. His family was unable to pay for his medical bills, but members of the Indiana Ku Klux Klan stepped in to cover the expenses. The help of the Klan during his impoverished childhood had a profound impact on Branham throughout his life. As late as 1963, Branham continued to speak highly of them saying, "the Ku Klux Klan, paid the hospital bill for me, Masons. I can never forget them. See? No matter what they do, or what, I still ... there
32400-509: Was translated and used by several American authors, including Jacob Needleman , to describe the range of groups that appeared in the San Francisco Bay Area during the 1960s. This term, amongst others, was adopted by Western scholars as an alternative to "cult". However, "new religious movements" has failed to gain widespread public usage in the manner that "cult" has. Other terms that have been employed for many NRMs are "alternative religion" and "alternative spirituality", something used to convey
#421578