{"id":35361,"date":"2013-07-25T04:53:39","date_gmt":"2013-07-25T04:53:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/alternativejonestown.com\/?page_id=35361"},"modified":"2025-11-18T11:51:40","modified_gmt":"2025-11-18T19:51:40","slug":"faq","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/jonestowndev.sdsu.edu\/?page_id=35361","title":{"rendered":"Frequently Asked Questions"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The
The sign reads: “Welcome to Jonestown, Peoples Temple Agricultural Project”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

“Jonestown” is a word with several meanings. First, it refers to an agricultural project established by the Peoples Temple, a religious group based in California which immigrated to Guyana in the mid-1970s to establish an agricultural utopia. Second, it refers to the events of 18 November 1978 in which a U.S. Congressman was assassinated, along with four other individuals, at a jungle airstrip in South America. These tragic killings were followed by the mass murders and suicides of 900 men, women, and children by ingesting potassium cyanide mixed into a vat of fruit punch and tranquilizers. Finally, the word “Jonestown” has been used to describe any New Religious Movement which may or may not have the potential for violence, as in “Heaven’s Gate was another Jonestown.”<\/p>\n

A concise introduction<\/a> to Peoples Temple \u2013 written by this site’s manager for the Virginia Commonwealth University World Religions and Spirituality Project \u2013 includes a timeline on the Temple’s history, information on the group’s doctrines and beliefs, its rituals, its leadership, and the challenges and issues that culminated on November 18, 1978.<\/p>\n

The following answers to Frequently Asked Questions about Jonestown provide additional information about the group, its beliefs, and its practices.<\/p>\n

Unless otherwise noted in an individual answer, the texts of the questions and answers below were written by Fielding M. McGehee III<\/a>. We are always ready to receive other questions for this page. Thank you.<\/p>\n

Peoples Temple<\/a>
\nJonestown, Pre-November 18, 1978<\/a>
\nNovember 18, 1978<\/a>
\nPost-November 18, 1978<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a>Peoples Temple<\/strong><\/p>\n