The Heaven's Gate Cult According to dictionaries a cult is 1) a system of religious worship or ritual. 2) A religion or sect considered extremist of false. 3) Obsessive devotion to a person or principle. It is believed that every cult ties into some kind of religion, and religions all have a common basis of “a leap of faith”. Whether this so-called leap of faith is going to heaven or being reincarnated, or moving on to some other planet, depends on the beliefs of the cult itself. The Heaven’s
Heaven’s Gate was a cult founded in 1972 by Marshall Applewhite and Bonnie Nettles. The beliefs behind the Heaven’s Gate cult was based around unidentified foreign objects (UFO). Members of this cult believed the Earth was about to be “recycled” and that the only way to survive was to leave Earth. The members commit suicide with the belief it was the only way they could make it to the “Next Level”. Marshall Applewhite was born on May 17, 1931 in Spur, Texas. Applewhite grew up very religious
The Heaven’s Gate Cult was founded in the early 1970’s by Marshall Applewhite and Bonnie Nettles. Applewhite was recovering, under the care of his nurse Ms. Nettles, when he claimed to have has a near death experience. Applewhite claimed that he and Nettles were the two witnesses spoken of in the Book of Revelation. And they were to prepare the worlds inhabitants for recycling. In order to gain supporters/followers Applewhite and Nettles began by opening a specialty bookstore. The bookstore was greatly
flies. Heaven’s Gate is a cult. People don’t just have their mind set and say “I’m going to go join a cult,” they are looking for a safe haven. They have different beliefs and rituals. A religious cult isn’t just a group of people left to their beliefs, but yet it is a threat to our nation and the people in it. “The mind of the fanatic” wants but more so “needs something to worship, even to the point of annihilation.”(Katherine Ramsland). Marshall Herff Applewhite was the leader of the Heaven’s gate
robots following the reincarnation of the devil. Not all cults end in mass suicide, violence, or terror; many religions once started as cults and have thrived since. However, some cults end in the expected display of death, confusion, and regret. Heaven’s Gate, led by Marshall Applegate, is one such example. Marshall Applegate invoked various methods of persuasion to gain followers, who in the end would commit suicide in attempts to reach their idea of heaven. Marshall Applegate began and lived a normal
Unraveling the Tragic Beliefs of Heaven's Gate. In March 1997, the world was gripped by the shocking news of the mass suicide of 39 members of the religious group Heaven's Gate. Led by Marshall Applewhite and Bonnie Nettles, this seemingly ordinary group harbored an extraordinary belief system centered around extraterrestrial salvation and the imminent arrival of an alien spacecraft concealed behind the Hale-Bopp comet. Through methodical analysis of their doctrines and the events leading up to
seminarian and preacher’s son. A man who conceived a religion in which propaganda was used to lead it’s followers down the wrong path. In March of 1997, a tragic event took place. Applewhite as well as thirty eight members of a cult known as the Heaven’s Gate Cult committed collective suicide. Mass suicide is a waste and a tragedy, and causes mankind to wonder what attractions cults hold for it’s members. What could separate people from their families and responsibilities in order to follow radical
The third religious group to be discussed will be Heaven’s Gate, Heaven’s Gate was a religious group in which it’s members killed themselves in March 1997, (Davis, 2000). This act was seen by the group as a way for them to reach salvation, which they called, “… the literal heavens,” (Davis, 2000, pg 241). The act of killing oneself as a way to reach salvation is something that is not seen in mainstream religions, in fact death is viewed as something to be feared by the majority of society. But wanting
Apr. 2014. . • Shermer, Michael. The mind of the market: how biology and psychology shape our economic lives. New York: Henry Holt and Co., 2009. Print. • "Terence Monmaney, Times Medical Writer ." Web. . • "The End is Near." The Heaven's Gate Cult — — Crime Library. Web. .
On March 26, 1997, the bodies of 38 members of a religious cult that would come to be known as “Heaven’s Gate” were found decomposing on a large San Diego estate.1 Heaven’s Gate was a millenarian cult that operated from 1974 -1997 under the leadership of Marshall Applewhite and his wife, Bonnie Nettles. At its peak, this group recruited over one-hundred members who all believed in Applewhite’s theory that the world was going to be “recycled,” ending all human life on Earth.2 The cause that drove
mostly all about one goal that is completely derived off his followers. Most cult leaders are so infatuated with their goals that they truly believe the psychological damage they are causing is good for the world (Cults). As seen in Jonestown and Heaven’s Gate, cults tend to use psychological skills to torment, manipulate and brainwash their members to grow stronger and reach the leader’s ultimate goal. It was the seventies and all anyone was looking
Cults Each year, hundreds of North Americans join one of the increasing, estimated 3000 unorthodox religions that exist across North America. The increasing number of cults, to date in North America, is due to the fact that cults are a social movement that attempts to help people cope with their perceived problems with social interaction. Cult recruiters target those who perceive themselves as different from the rest of society, and give these individuals the sense of belonging that they
This paper will be examining The ‘Heaven’s Gate’ cult in relation to the topic of collective behaviour. The ‘Heaven’s Gate’ was a cult led by Marshall Applewhite, “who claimed to be the reincarnation of Jesus and a higher alien life form” (Locher, 2002, pp. 88). Applewhite and the wider group believed that a spaceship was going to take them to heaven (‘The Next Level’), and the only way to access this spaceship was to commit suicide (Locher, 2002, p. 88). A cult is defined as a group with an excessive
by a charismatic leader and that carry out socially unacceptable acts. Heaven’s Gate, founded in 1974, would be classified as a cult due to the fact that its founder and leader, Marshall Herff Applewhite, spoke actively to a group of people about there being a place beyond the stars that is only accessible through killing oneself. Applewhite and Bonnie Lu Nettles, a nurse Applewhite recruited to become a leader of Heaven’s Gate, established that the cult’s main belief
Heaven’s Gate and the Infringement of Religious Freedoms Introduction How much religious freedom do we want? The United States Constitution guarantees religious freedom to all citizens. However, since the establishment of this freedom, there have been continuous debates and modifications. Despite this independence, there have been times when the government felt it necessary to infringe upon religious freedom for various reasons. The question is, at which point it is okay for the government to
March 26, 1997 in San Diego, California. To fully understand the bizarre case that is the cult of Heaven’s Gate one must first go back before the group was founded and understand the creator and self proclaimed prophet that was Marshall Applewhite. Marshall Applewhite was born on May 17, 1931, in Spur, Texas. Through the help of his second wife Bonnie Nettles they created a strange cult called Heaven’s Gate which brought the unfortunate deaths of thirty-nine men and women. The strange religious cult
Largely influenced by the French New Wave and other international film movements, many American filmmakers in the late 1960s to 1970s sought to revolutionize Hollywood cinema in a similar way. The New Hollywood movement, also referred to as the “American New Wave” and the “Hollywood Renaissance,” defied traditional Hollywood standards and practices in countless ways, creating a more innovative and artistic style of filmmaking. Due to the advent and popularity of television, significant decrease in
Another well-known cult leader is Marshall Applewhite, one of the founders of Heaven’s Gate. Applewhite was born on May 17, 1931 in Texas. He was a music teacher who was also well known for having good public speaking skills. He moved to Huston in the 1960’s to take over as head of the university’s music department. Shortly after moving, Marshall began to experience a mental decline. He and his wife divorced, he quit his job, and left his children. In the midst of a nervous breakdown and near-death
Following a mass suicide of 39 members of the Heaven’s Gate cult in Rancho Sante Fe, California, individuals were faced with the quandary of an additional unconventional religious group and cult arisen in the United States. Heaven’s Gate is recognized as a coeval cult originating in America with the religious goal of reaching the next level, ultimately achieving such through a mass suicide mission. The Heaven’s Gate Cult serves as a modern exemplar of a new religious movement, providing a belief
On March 26, 1997, in what has become known as one of the most noteworthy mass suicides in history, thirty-nine men and women affiliated with the Heavens Gate cult took their own lives by ingesting a combination of Phenobarbitals mixed with applesauce and alcohol. Each was dressed all in black, their faces covered by a purple shroud. Those who wore glasses had them neatly folded next to their body, and all had identification papers for the authorities to find. The house was immaculate, tidier even