Social SciencesFreePrintable

Historical Cults Overview

A free social sciences worksheet ready for your classroom. Open in Kuraplan to grab the print-ready PDF, customize it for your students, or generate a fresh version in seconds.

Download now

Name:Date:

Historical Cults Overview

Read the source notes, then use evidence to assess how leadership, social context and group practices shaped the Peoples Temple and Heaven’s Gate. The word “cult” is contested and can be pejorative; historians often use more specific terms such as new religious movement or high-control group. Treat members as people with varied experiences, not as a single stereotype.

Source notes: two movements

Peoples Temple began in Indianapolis in 1955 under Jim Jones. It combined Christian language with a message of racial equality and social justice. In the 1960s and 1970s, the organisation moved west and grew in California. Some people were drawn by its community services and ideals. Over time, Jones exercised increasingly authoritarian control. In 1977, many members moved to the group’s settlement at Jonestown, in Guyana. In November 1978, after a visit by US Congressman Tui Ryan and a violent attack on his party at an airstrip, more than 900 people died at Jonestown and nearby Port Kaituma. Many were killed by force; others died after being coerced or pressured to consume poison. The deaths should not be described as a simple, freely chosen mass suicide. Heaven’s Gate developed in the United States in the 1970s, led by Marshall Applewhite and, in its early years, Bonnie Nettles. Its members believed that human beings could leave their earthly existence and reach a higher level associated with extraterrestrial beings. The group maintained a secluded communal life and strict rules. In March 1997, 39 members died in a group death in California. Individual motives and degrees of agency cannot be reduced to one explanation. These cases arose in different settings and had different beliefs. Factors such as social change, community, spiritual searching, discrimination, personal relationships and leadership may help explain why people joined or stayed, but no single factor explains every member’s choices. Historians distinguish evidence from interpretation and avoid assuming that all unfamiliar religions are harmful.

Investigate the evidence

Answer using the source notes. In extended responses, distinguish what the notes state from what you infer.

1.Which sequence correctly describes the history of Peoples Temple?

Founded in Indianapolis in 1955; grew in California; members moved to Jonestown in 1977; deaths occurred in 1978.
Founded in Guyana in 1955; moved to California in 1960; deaths occurred in 1997.
Founded in California in 1977; members moved to Indianapolis in 1978.
Founded in 1997; members moved to Jonestown in 2000.

2.What belief was central to Heaven’s Gate, according to the source notes?

3.The source notes say that everyone who died at Jonestown freely chose to do so.

TrueFalse

4.Give one similarity and one difference between the reasons or circumstances that may have drawn people to Peoples Temple and Heaven’s Gate. Use evidence from the notes, and avoid claiming that every member had the same motive.

5.Why might a historian explain that “cult” is a contested term rather than use it as a neutral label for every unfamiliar religious group?

6.The source notes say that social change, community, spiritual searching, discrimination, personal relationships and leadership may all matter. Choose two factors and explain how each could help explain why a person joined or stayed in one of these movements. State why your explanation is an interpretation, not proof of every member’s motive.

7.Compare one way leadership operated in Peoples Temple with one feature of Heaven’s Gate described in the notes. What can the evidence support, and what does it not let you conclude?

8.A student writes: “People joined these groups only because they were gullible.” Identify one problem with this claim and rewrite it as a more careful historical statement.

9.Which statement is directly supported by the source notes, rather than being an inference?

Every member of Peoples Temple joined because of economic hardship.
Heaven’s Gate developed in the United States in the 1970s.
All members of both groups experienced identical levels of coercion.
Social isolation was the single cause of both tragedies.

10.Write a two- or three-sentence summary for a museum display. Include one accurate fact about each movement and one sentence explaining why historians should be cautious about simple explanations of the deaths.