Order of the Solar Temple

The Order of the Solar Temple was a cult founded in 1984 by Luc Jouret and Joseph Di Mambro. The belief system of the group seemed to be a combination of Protestant Christianity, New Age, and Freemason beliefs. The Solar Temple also believed that the Second Coming of Christ was imminent, and that he would return as a solar god or king to restore order to the world.
The Solar Temple was involved in a series of mass suicides throughout the 1990s, totalling a number of seventy-four dead. The stated reason behind the suicides was to 'escape the hypocrisy and oppression of the world'. All the suicides took place on equinoxes or solstices, which many believe may have had some symbolic meaning for the cult.
Category:Cults