Dark Side of Religion
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Sacred promises. Earthly ambitions. Explore the darker histories of religious power—from inquisitions and fractured movements to institutional secrecy, apocalyptic visions, and the people caught within them.

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Daily selection · Aug 31 UTC

Cults & Mind Control5/5 wildness

The Jonestown Massacre: 918 Cult Members Poisoned by Jim Jones in the Guyanese Jungle

Jim Jones & Peoples Temple / 1970s

On November 18, 1978, in the remote jungle settlement of Jonestown, Guyana, 918 followers of Peoples Temple leader Jim Jones died in one of the deadliest mass suicide-murders in modern history. After cult gunmen assassinated U.S. Congressman Leo Ryan and four others at the Port Kaituma airstrip, Jones ordered his congregation—including 304 children—to drink Flavor Aid laced with potassium cyanide, diazepam, and chloral hydrate under armed guard. Jones was found dead with a single gunshot wound to the head.

Archive: verified

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From the collection12 stories

12 stories in this selection.

01

Cults & Mind Control1970s

Jim Jones & Peoples Temple

On November 18, 1978, in the remote jungle settlement of Jonestown, Guyana, 918 followers of Peoples Temple leader Jim Jones died in one of the deadliest mass suicide-murders in modern history. After cult gunmen assassinated U.S. Congressman Leo Ryan and four others at the Port Kaituma airstrip, Jones ordered his congregation—including 304 children—to drink Flavor Aid laced with potassium cyanide, diazepam, and chloral hydrate under armed guard. Jones was found dead with a single gunshot wound to the head.

Archive: verified
02

Cults & Mind Control1990s

Marshall Applewhite & Heaven's Gate

In March 1997, 39 members of the Heaven's Gate UFO religious group committed coordinated mass suicide in a rented mansion in Rancho Santa Fe, California. Led by Marshall Applewhite, the members believed that an alien spacecraft trailing Comet Hale-Bopp would transport their spirits to the 'Next Level.' They ingested phenobarbital dissolved in apple sauce and vodka, placed plastic bags over their heads, and died wearing matching black tracksuits and Nike Decade sneakers, each with a five-dollar bill and three quarters in their pockets.

Archive: verified
03

Inquisitions & Religious Courts1400s-1800s

Tomás de Torquemada & The Spanish Inquisition

Established in 1478 by Catholic Monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella under Papal bull, the Spanish Inquisition prosecuted over 150,000 individuals for heresy, crypto-Judaism, and witchcraft over three centuries. Grand Inquisitor Tomás de Torquemada oversaw thousands of executions at the stake in elaborate public 'autos-da-fé.' The Holy Office deployed the rack, the strappado, and the toca (waterboarding) in subterranean dungeons, seizing convicts' entire fortunes to fund imperial wars.

Archive: verified
04

Inquisitions & Religious Courts1200s

Papal Legate Arnaud Amalric & Pope Innocent III

Between 1209 and 1229, Pope Innocent III initiated the Albigensian Crusade to eliminate the Gnostic Cathar dualists in southern France. During the sack of Béziers in 1209, when soldiers asked how to distinguish heretics from orthodox Catholics, Papal Legate Arnaud Amalric reportedly commanded 'Caedite eos. Novit enim Dominus qui sunt eius' (Kill them all, for the Lord knows those who are His). Between 10,000 and 20,000 townspeople were slaughtered in a single day, and the Dominican Inquisition was created in the aftermath to hunt surviving believers.

Archive: verified
05

Sexual Abuse & Cover-Ups2000s

Cardinal Bernard Law & Archdiocese of Boston

In 2002, The Boston Globe's Spotlight team exposed decades of systemic sexual abuse of hundreds of children by Roman Catholic priests, orchestrated and concealed by Cardinal Bernard Law. Confidential diocesan archives revealed that predatory priests like John Geoghan and Paul Shanley were repeatedly reassigned to new parishes without warning parents or authorities despite dozens of formal accusations. Cardinal Law resigned in disgrace under federal scrutiny and was subsequently reassigned to an honorary basilica post in Rome.

Archive: verified
06

Sexual Abuse & Cover-Ups1960s-2000s

The Holy Office & Cardinal Alfredo Ottaviani

Drafted in 1962 by Cardinal Alfredo Ottaviani and approved by Pope John XXIII, 'Crimen Sollicitationis' was a strictly confidential instruction sent to all Catholic bishops directing that all investigations into sexual misconduct and abuse by clergy be handled in total secrecy under penalty of automatic excommunication (latae sententiae). The 69-page Latin document remained buried in Vatican vaults until leaked during 2003 civil litigation, demonstrating institutionalized suppression of law enforcement reporting.

Archive: verified
Showing 1–6 of 12

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