David on Sect

“Jonestown was at heart a religious community, whether classified as a new religious movement, a cult, a sect, or a church.”

“As with its disciplinary practices and its round of daily life, the community of goods in the Peoples Temple at Jonestown emphasizes its similarities to otherworldly sects—both the contemporary ones labeled 'cults' by their detractors, and historical examples which are often revered in retrospect by contemporary religious culture.”