The Order of the Solar Temple: The Temple of DeathJames R. Lewis In October 1994, fifty-three members of the Order of the Solar Temple in Switzerland and Québec were murdered or committed suicide. This incident and two later group suicides in subsequent years played a pivotal role in inflaming the cult controversy in Europe, influencing the public to support harsher actions against non-traditional religions. Despite the importance of the Order of the Solar Temple, there are relatively few studies published in English. This book brings together the best scholarship on the Solar Temple including newly commissioned pieces from leading scholars, a selection of Solar Temple documents, and important previously published articles newly edited for inclusion within this book. This is the first book-length study of the Order of the Solar Temple to be published in English. |
Contents
| 1 | |
| 7 | |
The Tragedy of the Solar Temple | 19 |
3 Purity and Danger in the Solar Temple | 39 |
4 The Mystical Apocalypse of the Solar Temple | 55 |
Apocalyptic Hopes and Anxieties in the Order of the Solar Temple | 91 |
The Case of the Order of the Solar Temple | 105 |
7 Sources of Doctrine in the Solar Temple | 117 |
The Order of the Solar Temple and Rituals of Initiation | 133 |
9 The Ordre du Temple Solaire and the Quest for the Absolute Sun | 155 |
10 Sects Media and the End of the World | 169 |
Appendices | 177 |
| 209 | |
| 217 | |
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Common terms and phrases
according Age of Aquarius alchemical AMORC apocalyptic Archedia Clubs Ascended Masters authority bodies charismatic charismatic authority Cheiry Christ claimed cosmic cult cultural death Delorme Divine Dutoit Earth Emmanuelle Escorts esoteric esotericism fire France Freemasonry French Geneva Grand Master Hermann Delorme human Hydro-Québec ideas Info-Secte International Introvigne investigation Jacques Breyer Jean-François Mayer Joseph Di Mambro Julien Origas Knights Templar l’Ordre du Temple Lausanne leaders Lodge Luc Jouret magical Martinique Masonic mass suicide Massimo Introvigne Master of Ceremonies MASTER OF RITUAL Montreal Morin Heights murder mystical neo-Templar occult October Ordre organization Origas Origas’s OSMTJ OTS’s Palmer planet police purify Quebec reincarnation religion religious movements rituals of initiation role Rose-Marie Klaus Rose+Croix Rosicrucian Sacred Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pérade Salvan secret sect Sirius social Solar Temple Solar Tradition soul spiritual Sûreté du Québec survival Swiss Switzerland symbols Talar Templar Order Temple members Temple Solaire Temple’s transit letters violence Western esotericism