Cult suicide

An incident where all members of a group considered a cult kill themselves has been called a cult suicide.^[1] In some cases, all or nearly all members commit suicide at the same time and place. Very often, this has been arranged as a mass suicide.

Groups that have committed such mass suicides and that have been called cults include Heaven's Gate, Order of the Solar Temple, and Peoples Temple. There are other cases, where the respective group has supported mass suicide, but where it did not encourage all members to kill themselves. An example for such a case is that of the Filippians.

Cult Suicide Media

Aerial view of the Jonestown mass suicide victims.
The self-immolation (jauhar) of the Hindu women, during the Siege of Chittorgarh in 1568
Pictures of those who died in Jonestown

References

↑
*"Suicide Terrorists: Are They Suicidal?" Ellen Townsend. Suicide & Life – Threatening Behavior. New York: Feb 2007. Vol. 37, Iss. 1; pg. 35, 15 pgs: "There are some other examples of suicides involving group (e.g., cult suicides) and dyadic (e.g., suicide pacts) processes; but these are very rare."
- "Leadership races need a little drama"; Tim Harper. Toronto Star. Toronto, Ont.: Apr 19, 2003. pg. F.02: "... a vote for Campbell was akin to the party drinking its Kool-Aid, a stunning reference to the mass cult suicide at Jonestown in Guyana."
- "Suicidal credo that came from the West" Sam Kiley. The Times. London (UK): Mar 20, 2000. pg. 3:"Until the weekend, suicidal doomsday cults were seen by Africans as a decadent Western luxury. But the deaths of more than 230 ordinary Ugandans ranks as the second-largest cult suicide in recent times."

Related pages

Wikisource has original writing related to this article:

The Effects of Religious Cults on the Health and Welfare of Their Converts

Other websites

"Global charts" World Health Organisation
"The Creativity Movement" Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine ReligiousTolerance.org
"From Silver Lake to Suicide: One Family's Secret History of the Jonestown Massacre" Archived 2012-10-23 at the Wayback Machine by Barry Isaacson

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[1] *"Suicide Terrorists: Are They Suicidal?" Ellen Townsend. Suicide & Life – Threatening Behavior. New York: Feb 2007. Vol. 37, Iss. 1; pg. 35, 15 pgs: "There are some other examples of suicides involving group (e.g., cult suicides) and dyadic (e.g., suicide pacts) processes; but these are very rare."
"Leadership races need a little drama"; Tim Harper. Toronto Star. Toronto, Ont.: Apr 19, 2003. pg. F.02: "... a vote for Campbell was akin to the party drinking its Kool-Aid, a stunning reference to the mass cult suicide at Jonestown in Guyana."

"Suicidal credo that came from the West" Sam Kiley. The Times. London (UK): Mar 20, 2000. pg. 3:"Until the weekend, suicidal doomsday cults were seen by Africans as a decadent Western luxury. But the deaths of more than 230 ordinary Ugandans ranks as the second-largest cult suicide in recent times."

[2] "Leadership races need a little drama"; Tim Harper. Toronto Star. Toronto, Ont.: Apr 19, 2003. pg. F.02: "... a vote for Campbell was akin to the party drinking its Kool-Aid, a stunning reference to the mass cult suicide at Jonestown in Guyana."

[3] "Suicidal credo that came from the West" Sam Kiley. The Times. London (UK): Mar 20, 2000. pg. 3:"Until the weekend, suicidal doomsday cults were seen by Africans as a decadent Western luxury. But the deaths of more than 230 ordinary Ugandans ranks as the second-largest cult suicide in recent times."

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