Lily Smith
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Lily Smith
Josh Pryor
English 200 – 12870
Word Count: 2,801
Beware the Self–Proclaimed Gods: Lessons to be Learned from Jim Jones
“If you see me as your friend, I’ll be your friend. If you see me as your father, I’ll be your
father. If you see me as your God, I’ll be your God.” (Stanley Nelson 2008) This quote from
Jim Jones encompasses his deadly potency as founder of the People’s Temple cult. From
early in life, he expressed a fascination with organized religion, death, and socialism. In
creating his own religion, Jim Jones founded the church in principles such as racial equality,
socialism, and freedom from the corruption of the United States government; ideas very
popular in the 1960s. He targeted marginalized and poor African Americans, idealistic
college students, and generally disenfranchised individuals to join the People’s Temple. He
converted followers to his religion using faked faith healings, providing the sense members
were helping to build a utopia, and using his manipulative charisma to transform himself into
a demagogue. He maintained complete control over his followers; he took over their
finances, dictated their sexual lives, held family members’ hostage, isolated his members,
controlled the content of information about the outside world within the group, and exercised
various mind control techniques.
The Peoples Temple was founded in opposition to the prevailing ethics of segregation,
racial injustice, and national tension characterizing the 1960s. Jim Jones was passionately
committed to civil rights. When he rose to prominence during the 1960s, he helped to
integrate churches, hospitals, restaurants, and movie theaters. The Peoples Temple was the
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first desegregated religious group to exist in Indiana. He tapped into the zeitgeist of the late
1960s and 1970s, feeding on people’s fears and promising to create a “rainbow family” where
everyone would truly be equal. (Jennie Rothenberg Gritz) He personally adopted several
children of color, demonstrating his belief in “rainbow families”. His biological son, Steven,
was even given the middle name Ghandi. Jones’s idealism was a large contributor to his
lethality. He was charismatic enough to found the Peoples Temple of Indiana, utilizing his
preaching and proselytizing skills honed during childhood to lure in many followers who
later helped spread his message to great lengths. He appealed to his congregations’ hearts. He
preached that the government wasn’t taking care of its people, that there were too many poor
and too many hungry children. This was true at the time, and people saw this happening in
their own communities on the news every day. This gave him credibility. He told potential
members that he and his group would take care of them, and keep them safe in a world that
seemed to have little regard for their welfare. Jones was incredibly effective in his canvassing
and member acquisition of African Americans, college students, and the marginalized
members of society.
Jim Jones knew who to target, which demographics were most susceptible to his
influence. He was most successful in luring African Americans, society’s fringe individuals,
and college students with high aspirations to make a positive impact in their world. “If you
wanted religion, Jim Jones could give it to you. If you wanted socialism, he could give it to
you. If you were looking for a father figure, he’d be your father. He always homed in on what
you needed and managed to bring you in emotionally.” (Jennie Rothenberg Gritz) The
Peoples Temple had both high society and lower class among its ranks. The majority of the
followers who died with him were African–American, and one third were children. Why was
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he so successful with these groups? The early 1960s was a time of great optimism, when
people thought they could change the world. The assassination of Robert Kennedy and
Martin Luther King created a sense of hopelessness. Peoples Temple stepped in with the
message, “We can be agents of change. We can make a differenc e.” This appealed to the
good in his members, who became activists attempting to create a racially and socially
inclusive refuge for those feeling the prosecution of the times. Particularly, African
Americans who had for so long been ignored and abused by larger society resounded with his
message. In the wake of MLK’s assassination and decades of racism, this was a peaceful
approach to spreading racial equality and a tangible social space for them to inhabit in which
they had a unique potential. Every person felt they had a place there and were exceptionally
special, and that’s how he brought in so many college kids and older black women. He also
