The French governmental mission now confesses it relied on decade-old (and controversial) figures.
Massimo Introvigne
The Order of the Solar Temple. 9. Learning from the Tragedy
What does the homicides and suicides tell us about which among thousands of pacific new religious and esoteric movements may turn violent?
Jehovah’s Getuigen: Hoe de Gentse uitspraak het idee van vrijheid ondermijnt
Het mijden van ‘afvalligen’ tot een misdaad verklaren impliceert het aanvaarden van de ideologie dat het verdacht is om onze vrijheid af te staan aan een organisatie.
The Order of the Solar Temple. 8. But Was It a “Typical Cult”?
Few days after the 1994 tragedy, Swiss media had already to deal with the problem that it did not look like the average “cult.”
Edward Wilson’s Legacy: Ants and Religion
The great biologist who died the day after Christmas disliked organized religion but was not an atheist, as his tale of believing and atheistic ants demonstrates.
The Order of the Solar Temple. 7. Suicides and Murders Continue
The Swiss tragedy of 1994 was repeated in 1995 in France and in 1997 in Quebec.
The Order of the Solar Temple. 6. Tragedy in Switzerland
Order of the Solar Temple: on October 5, 1994, the police found 48 dead bodies in the villages of Cheiry and Salvan.
The Order of the Solar Temple. 5. Under Attack
In 1993, the Solar Templars had to confront both a persisting disgruntled ex-member and suspicious Canadian police officers.
The Order of the Solar Temple. 4. Waiting for the End of the World
By the late 1980s, the Solar Templars’ message was becoming increasingly apocalyptic.
The Order of the Solar Temple. 3. Joseph Di Mambro and Luc Jouret
A French jeweler turned esoteric teacher and a Belgian homeopathic doctor were at the origin of the murderous organization.
Massimo Introvigne
Massimo Introvigne (born June 14, 1955 in Rome) is an Italian sociologist of religions. He is the founder and managing director of the Center for Studies on New Religions (CESNUR), an international network of scholars who study new religious movements. Introvigne is the author of some 70 books and more than 100 articles in the field of sociology of religion. He was the main author of the Enciclopedia delle religioni in Italia (Encyclopedia of Religions in Italy). He is a member of the editorial board for the Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion and of the executive board of University of California Press' Nova Religio. From January 5 to December 31, 2011, he has served as the "Representative on combating racism, xenophobia and discrimination, with a special focus on discrimination against Christians and members of other religions" of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). From 2012 to 2015 he served as chairperson of the Observatory of Religious Liberty, instituted by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in order to monitor problems of religious liberty on a worldwide scale.