Cult suicide
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Template:Suicide Cult suicide is that phenomenon by which some religious groups, in this context often referred to as "cults", have led to their membership committing suicide. Sometimes all members commit suicide at the same time and place. Groups which have done this include, Heaven's Gate, Order of the Solar Temple, Peoples Temple (Jonestown), and the Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God. In other cases certain denominations apparently supported mass suicide, but did not necessarily encourage all members to do it. Examples here include Filippians, the Taiping, and a few others.
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Known Cult Suicides
Peoples Temple (Jim Jones)
In 1978, 914 American followers of Jim Jones died in a mass murder/suicide in Jonestown, Guyana. The dead included 274 children. Alternative theories allege that most of the victims were unwillingly injected with the poison, and some even allege involvement of the CIA. However, an affidavit made by former member Deborah Layton days before the massacre testified to suicide drills called white nights in which members practiced mass suicide by ingesting poison, and in Jones' final speech, recorded on cassette tape, he states "So my opinion is that you be kind to children and be kind to seniors and take the potion like they used to take in ancient Greece..." stating the intention that the group kill themselves while casting it as a political act: "We didn't commit suicide, we committed an act of revolutionary suicide protesting the conditions of an inhumane world."
Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God
On March 17 2000, between 780 and 1000 members of the Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God died in a probable mass suicide in Uganda. The group had splintered from Roman Catholicism to emphasize apocalypticism and alleged Marian apparitions. They also deemed the wider world to be corrupt, seeing themselves as a Noah's Ark of purity. Along these ends members severely restricted their speech to avoid saying anything dishonest or sinful. Curiously, the group had a feast that involved large quantities of Coca-Cola and beef before dying.
Solar Temple
From 1994 to 1997, the Order of the Solar Temple's members became so paranoid they began a series of mass suicides, which led to roughly 74 deaths. Farewell letters were left by members, stating that they believed their deaths would be an escape from the "hypocrisies and oppression of this world." Added to this they felt they were "moving on to Sirius." A mayor, a journalist, a civil servant, and a sales manager were among the dead. Records seized by the Quebec police showed that some members had personally donated over $1 million to the cult's leader, Joseph Di Mambro. There was also another attempted mass suicide of the remaining members, which was thwarted in the late 1990s. All the suicide/murders and attempts occurred around the dates of the equinoxes and solstices, which likely held some relation to the beliefs of the group.
Heaven's Gate
On March 26 1997, 39 followers of the Heaven's Gate cult died in a mass suicide near San Diego, California. In the beliefs of the cult, this was not an act of self-extermination; they believed that they were merely "exiting their human vehicles" so that their souls could go on a journey aboard a spaceship they believed to be following comet Hale-Bopp. Some male members of the cult underwent voluntary castration in preparation for the genderless life they believed awaited them after the suicide.
On March 30 1997, Robert Leon Nichols, a former roadie for the Grateful Dead, was discovered dead in his California trailer, with a note nearby that read in part "I'm going to the spaceship with Hale-Bopp to be with those who have gone before me." Using propane gas rather than vodka and phenobarbital to end his life, Nichols, like the cult members, had his head covered by a plastic bag and his upper torso covered with a purple shroud. Nichols' connection with the cult is unknown.
In May 1997, two cult members who had not been present for the mass suicide attempted suicide, one succeeding in the attempt, the other going into coma for two days and then recovering. In February 1998 the survivor, Chuck Humphrey, attempted suicide, this time succeeding.
Suspected Cult Suicides
Branch Davidians
The April 1993 deaths of the Branch Davidians near Waco, Texas was deemed to be a cult suicide by varied media sources. Many, however, reported that what happened is unknown and could have been some sort of accident or panic rather than an intentional cult-suicide. Others assign blame to the United States government. Still others believe it was actually murder-suicide committed by the group's leaders. In any event, it's widely agreed that most or all members did in fact die violent deaths of some kind.
World Church of the Creator
Ben Klassen formed the white supremacist group currently called the Creativity Movement. He wrote a book called The White Man's Bible which called suicide "an honorable and dignified way to die for any ... of a number of reasons, such as having come to the decision that life is no longer worthwhile." After the death of his wife he practiced what he preached and committed suicide. A former member named Benjamin Nathaniel Smith committed suicide after a spree killing.
Scientology
A considerably weaker suspicion indicates Scientology caused a number of suicides actively, or through negligence. For example, according to Flo Conway, a researcher at the University of Oregon, Scientologists are taught that if they abandon the "church" they will soon kill themselves or have a serious illness or accident. Her research is said to conclude that they create suicidal people because "Former Scientologists had the highest rates of persistent fear, sleeplessness, suicidal and self-destructive tendencies, violent outbursts, hallucinations and delusions, compared to ex-members of other religious groups." Ex-members have also claimed (most notably in the Fishman Affidavit) that the Church of Scientology ordered them or others to commit "end of cycle" (suicide) in order to protect the Church.
In its cover story on Scientology on May 5, 1991, Time magazine noted the case of Noah Lottick, who committed suicide by jumping from a tall building. The magazine stated that he clutched in his fist "practically the only money he had not yet given to the Church of Scientology." Former church member Philip Gale similarly committed suicide, by jumping out of a tall building. He chose to kill himself on March 13, Scientology's most important annual holiday marking the birthday of its founder, L. Ron Hubbard.
Critics of this theory state that this means that any religious practice which leads to death, or that rejects apostasy, would taint the faith as having cult suicide. For example, deaths attributed to Christian Science' position against medical advice, or to a recent botched exorcism by a Romanian Orthodox priest.
Questionable Cult Suicides
The Family International
Some allege that The Family International, previously called The Children of God, encourages suicide despite its official rejection of such. (They also repudiate euthanasia and abortion.) While their beliefs emphasize an imminent Second Coming—mirroring the beliefs of many other Christians—some deem this a negative sign with regards to potential for suicidal behavior.
At the beginning of 2005, the religion gained renewed media attention due to the premeditated[1] torture/murder of a former member by another former member, Ricky Rodriguez—who hours later committed suicide. Mr. Rodriguez was the biological son of current leader Karen Zerby and the adopted son of the group's founder. Some former members, along with the media, acted to revive allegations that the group is abusive and inciting of suicidal ideation. Thus, an unsubstantiated case was made that his death was "the suicide of a cult member", or in a sense a "cult suicide", but this view was far from universal. This event, arguably and in an exaggerated way, made it to popular culture in an oblique reference in one of the last episodes of the NBC show Third Watch.
Defenders of the group contend that Mr. Rodriguez was an aberrant former member and that his behavior is not typical of the group, but rather was fomented by his association with a small group of disaffected former members. Added to this, TFI/COG literature and teachings discourage suicide and encourage members to live a positive and active life in service to others. The main defence utilized is that there is no evidence to confirm suspicions that TFI/COG members are any more suicidal than those in mainstream society.
The Family's official statement regarding suicide and the sanctity of life can be found here: [2].
Falun Gong
Image:TiananmenSquareFalseFire.gif
The campaign of government criticism against Falun Gong, begun in 1999, was considered by most observers to be largely ineffectual until January 2001, when persons whom the government claimed were Falun Gong practitioners, among them a 13-year-old girl Liu Siying, set themselves on fire in Tiananmen Square. Videos of the incident were widely broadcast on Chinese state television, as were interviews with Siying, who was horribly burned and whose mother, Liu Chunling, did not survive the incident.
Falun Gong practitioners emphatically denied that the people who set themselves on fire could have been actual practitioners, since suicide is completely against Falun Gong's principles. Analysts point out several inconsistencies in the government's version of the story. In Tiananmen Square, the closest building to the People's Hero Monument is at least 10 minutes away. Yet, the flames were put out in less than a minute. Normally, the surveillance camera in Tiananmen Square covers a fixed area. But on this particular day, the camera follows the police to the scene and zooms in to focus on the incident. Though the Chinese media claimed that it was CNN journalists who recorded the close-up shots, the head of the International Department of CNN stated that CNN did not film anything because at the very beginning of the incident, CNN reporters were arrested and their equipment confiscated. Authorities did not allow any reporters other than those from the Xinhua News Agency to interview 13-year-old Siying, nor did they allow any of her family members to visit. Two months after the incident in Tiananmen Square, the hospital announced the sudden death of Siying.
In slow motion deconstructs[3][4]of the video broadcasted by State-run Xinhua News Agency, an object is seen bouncing off Liu Chunling's head or neck. She collapses, suddenly, as if from a blow. Some analysts point out that the body language of the policemen suggests foul-play. One of the burn victims appears to be wearing protective clothing, has unburnt hair, and the green plastic bottle that supposedly carried the gasoline was not even burned. Independent, third-party investigations continue to be withheld by the PRC government.
Many observers believe that the incident helped turn public opinion in China against Falun Gong and has rallied support for the government crackdown. Also, reliability of the mainland Chinese media has been disputed by some international organisations concerned about the freedom of press. Reporters Without Borders has claimed Xinhua as "the world's biggest propaganda agency". [5]
The United Nations' International Education Development (IED) at the UN Human Rights Commission in August 2001 has verified these allegations and stated: "We have obtained a video of that incident that in our view proves that this event was staged by the government."
Concurrent Resolution 188[6], unanimously passed by the United States Congress, states:
"Propaganda from state-controlled media in the People's Republic of China has inundated the public in an attempt to breed hatred and discrimination."
"Falun Gong is a peaceful and nonviolent form of personal belief and practice with millions of adherents in the People's Republic of China and elsewhere"...
"The campaign of persecution [against Falun Gong] has been carried out by government officials and police at all levels, and has permeated every segment of society and every level of government in the People’s Republic of China."...
A documentary film entitled "False Fire" has been released to question the official claims of the Chinese Communist Party.[7] Outside observers tend to side with Falun Gong practitioners and reject the idea that the group engages in cult suicide, and have instead criticized the Chinese government for its crackdown of the Falun Gong movement.
Martyrdom
Some argue that martyrdom, as found in religions such as Christianity or Buddhism or Islam, is tantamount to suicide. This argument states that by accepting or even inviting their own death the martyr is committing something like assisted suicide. This theory is not in itself new. Richard Marius's unflattering biography of Thomas More indicated More felt hesitant about accepting martyrdom too easily for fear that would be too similar to suicide. Although it has gained more currency in modern times.
In any event most mainstream religions traditionally forbid members to take their own lives. Martyrdom generally involves losing one's life, usually passively, at the hands of non-believers because of one's religious beliefs or practices. The Roman Catholic Church considers life to be a gift whose sole "owner" would be God, who is consequently the only individual who may legitimately decide when to interrupt it. Special cases exist, such as the giving of one's own life to save that of another, but most cultures do not consider such acts to be true suicides.
Islam arguably has the harshest view of suicide of any major religion. Therefore some of the lowest suicide rates are found in Muslim nations like Jordan or Egypt. [8] Still the extreme Islamist movement has strongly encouraged many Muslims to accept a theology in which becoming a suicide bomber is not considered suicide. Instead it is what's the extremists deem a "martyrdom operation" the purpose of which is to kill the enemies and in consequence yourself.
Hundreds of Muslims, primarily Palestinians and Saudi Arabians, have died in the act of killing both military personnel and civilians in this fashion over the last decade, mostly in the Middle East. Recently 19 died in such a way in the United States (see September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attack). Still a word of caution should be mentioned here as in many dispute the goal is primarily religious, especially in the case of Palestinians.
Outside of Western religion the Tamil Tigers are known to have engaged in suicide bombing. At times Western observers have deemed Velupillai Prabhakaran to be a cult-like Hindu figure who encourages suicide. Therefore they deem the LTTE, rightly or wrongly, as like a cult-suicide group. Even if again the goal is largely political and destructive of others rather than self.
Related to this some would indicate that if "martyrdom" is ever directly self-inflicted it becomes cult-suicide. This line of thought leads to debates about whether the self-immolation of Buddhist monks in Vietnam was cult suicide. One camp believes that in a sense it was cult suicide, but the other dispute this as it was ultimately a political action rather than a religious one. This argument could also apply to suicide bombers as that action is generally political. However added to this the self-immolation was of an individual rather than condoned by the leadership of a group. No recognized Buddhist organization is known to have requested that Thích Quảng Ðức, for example, immolate himself.
Mass suicide can also occur as a means of escape when a religious group perceives itself to be hopelessly besieged by its enemies or other adverse external pressure. These external foes may be real or imagined (see Masada). The legend of Masada, and similar examples, are sometimes explicitly used by cult-suicides as a self-justification. They may feel that like Masada they are in danger from what they perceive as an evil empire, even if that evil empire is seen as imaginary by the vast majority of non-members. That death is therefore preferrable to surrender. Hence criticisms have arisen over the occasional glorification of Masada.
It should also be mentioned that most of the larger "cults", such as the Mormons, the Unification Church, and the Seventh Day Adventists, have rates of suicide far lower than that of the population as a whole, which is about 5 per 100,000 per year in the USA.
See also
- Destructive cult
- List of convicted or indicted religious leaders
- List of purported cults
- Mass suicide
- Victims of poisoning
- Cult - a novel by Warren Adler - a fictitious account of cult activity
References
- FACTNet.org - MIT student raised in Scientology commits suicide
- http://www.whyaretheydead.net/ - Scientology suicides and other deaths
Opposition to cults and NRMs | Christian countercult movement | Cult apologists
Charismatic authority | Mind control | Brainwashing | Exit counseling | Deprogramming | Post-cult trauma
Religious intolerance | Apostasy | Witch hunt | Bigotry
Cult of personality | Cult checklists | List of groups referred to as cults | List of groups referred to as no longer qualifying as cults | Cult suicide