Cult suicide

Some religious groups, in this context often referred to as "cults," have led to their membership committing suicide. Often all members commit suicide at the same time and place. Groups which have done this include:

• Heavens Gate

• Order of the Solar Temple

• Peoples Temple (Jonestown)

• Jews at the fortress of Masada (73 AD)

Unification Church

After Jonestown, many claims surfaced in the media the members of the Unification Church would commit suicide, despite official church protestations to the contrary (i.e., suicides go to hell). I personally heard 5 church members say in response to a leader's question, that they would commit suicide to show loyalty to Rev. Moon. That leader explained firmly and somewhat testily that suicide is a sin and that the members shouldn't think like that (source: Ed Poor, private conversation) On the other hand, Rev. Moon has sometimes said that a woman faced with the threat of rape was better off killing herself than submitting to rape; this might be considered akin somewhat to the situation at Masada.

Branch Davidians

Some claim that the Branch Davidians committed suicide. Others claim they were murdered by the U.S. government. The point of contention is over how the Davidian compound started burning: did the Davidians deliberately set the fire, or did the U.S. government use tanks to lob incendiary shells into the wooden building? Eyewitnesses disagree.

Martyrdom

Some argue that marytrdom, as found in religions such as Christianity and Islam, is tantamount to suicide. The Islamist movement has strongly encouraged many Muslims to accept a theology in which becoming a suicide-bomber is not not considered suicide, but is rather considered a form of "struggle"; therefore (in the Islamist view) a Muslim can effectively commit suicide without violation Islamic law. Dozens of Muslims have died in this fashion over the last 20 years, mostly in Israel, and 19 in the United States (see September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attack). Mainstream Christianity has traditionally forbidden its members to take their own lives; martyrdom generally involves losing one's life at the hands of non-believers because of one's religious beliefs or practices. In a related way, mass suicide can occur as a means of escape when a religious group percieves itself to be hopelessly besieged by its enemies or other adverse external pressure. These external foes may be real or imagined.

discuss prevailing belief systems in such cults;