The Order of the Solar Temple was a secret society that would go down sharing the pages of history with Jonestown, the Branch Davidians and Heaven’s Gate. But is it fair to compare the groups? When it comes to incidents of mass violence and cults, perhaps it may be unavoidable. Because whether they ended in mass murder-suicide or a different form of violence, in spite of the striking ideological differences between them, there were some similarities – in all of these groups that ended with such undeniable tragedy.

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If you have been personally affected by involvement in a cult, or would like to support those who have been, contact Cult Information and Family Support in Australia, or the International Cultic Studies Association outside of Australia.

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Links:

• Millennium, Messiahs, and Mayhem: Contemporary Apocalyptic Movements — by Thomas Robbins & Susan J. Palmer, Psychology Press, 1997
• Pont-Saint-Esprit poisoning: Did the CIA spread LSD? — by Mike Thomson, BBC News, 23 August 2010
• Ancient Mystical Order Rosae Crucis — AMORC international website
• The Tragedy Of The Solar Temple Cult — by Stephen Dafoe, TemplarHistory.com, 1 April 2010
• A Preacher With a Dark Side Led Cultists to Swiss Chalets — by Alan Riding, The New York Times, 9 October 1994
• The Order of the Solar Temple: The Temple of Death — by Professor James R Lewis, Ashgate Publishing, 2013
• Coroner's Report into the deaths at Morin Heights, Cheiry and Salvan — in French, June 1996
• "Our Terrestrial Journey is Coming to an End": The Last Voyage of the Solar Temple — by Jean-Francois Mayer, Nova Religio, 1999

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