10 AMERICAN BLUES THEATER Peoples Temple The Peoples Temple of the Disciples of Christ, commonly shortened to Peoples Temple, was a new religious movement founded in 1955 by Jim Jones in Indianapolis, Indiana. Jones used the Peoples Temple to spread a message that combined elements of Christianity with communist and socialist ideas, as well as an emphasis on racial equality. The group moved to California in the 1960s and established several locations throughout the state, including its headquarters in San Francisco. At its peak, the Temple boasted 20,000 members (though 3,000–5,000 are more likely). The Peoples Temple is best known for the events of November 18, 1978 in Guyana, when 918 people died in a mass murder at its remote settlement, named "Jonestown", as well as the murders of U.S. Congressman Leo Ryan and members of his visiting delegation in nearby Port Kaituma. Rajneesh Movement The Rajneesh movement comprises persons inspired by the Indian mystic Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. The movement was controversial in the 1970s and 1980s, due to the founder's hostility to traditional values, first in India and later in the United States. In Oregon, the movement's large intentional community of the early 1980s, called Rajneeshpuram, caused immediate tensions in the local community. At the peak of these tensions, leading members of the Oregon commune were arrested for crimes including attempted murder through a bio-terror attack calculated to influence the outcome of a local election in their favor, which ultimately failed. The Bhagwan, as Rajneesh was then called, was deported from the United States in 1985 as part of his plea deal following the convictions of his staff and right hand Ma Anand Sheela, who were found guilty of the attack. The movement's headquarters eventually returned to Poona (present-day Pune), India. The movement in India gradually received a more positive response from the surrounding society, especially after the founder's death in 1990. There still are a number of smaller centers of the movement in India and around the world including the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands. The Children of God The Children of God (originally known as Teens for Christ) was founded in 1968 in Huntington Beach, California by David Berg, a former Christian pastor. In the mid-1970s, Berg introduced a new proselytizing method called Flirty Fishing, which encouraged female members to "show God's love" through sexual relationships with potential converts. Flirty Fishing was practiced by members of Berg's inner circle starting in 1973, and was introduced to the general membership in 1976 and became common practice within the group. In some areas flirty fishers used escort agencies to meet potential converts. Researcher Bill Bainbridge obtained data from The Family International suggesting that, from 1974 until 1987, members had sexual contact with 223,989 people while practicing Flirty Fishing. In 1978 Berg reorganized the movement amid reports of serious misconduct, financial mismanagement, and internal disagreements about the continued use of Flirty Fishing. An eighth of the total membership left the movement. Those who remained became part of a reorganized movement called the Family of Love, and later, The Family. The majority of the group's beliefs remained the same. Today the group is called The Family International. AN OVERVIEW OF WELL-KNOWN FRINGE RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS & COMMUNES The fringe religious movement in On Clover Road—called “The Farm”—is fictional, but shares many aspects with real fringe movements and communes. Below is an overview of some of those groups who have made headlines over the past 50 years. Children of God founder David Berg and a follower in the mid-1980s