Leaders of Synanon and the Peoples Temple

Blog #1 

By Ryley Chong 

           

            When we look at the history of New Religious Movements there are several that are better known than others. Two of the most notable New Religious Movements is the PeoplesTemple and Synanon. So question becomes, what makes these New Religious Movements so special, iconic and a little more memorable than the rest? The answer can be broken down into three different parts. Both Synanon and the Peoples Temple had iconic leaders, a transition/change in beliefs over time and have both come to an end.

           

The Peoples Temple originated in the Midwest in the 1950s. In the 1960s, the Peoples Temple would move to Northern California, first to Mendocino County, near Ukiah and later in the 1970s south to San Francisco. In the late 1970s the Peoples Temple would move again, for the last time to South America. Lead by the leader, Reverend Jim Jones, the Peoples Temple had a diverse following with people from all racial backgrounds.

Jim Jones is best described as a charismatic, well liked, and very personable leader. These characteristics of Jim Jones attracted many followers to his Temple. The Peoples Temple’s racially diverse following viewed Jim Jones as a person who could change their lives. Many felt that the Peoples Temple was the best thing that had ever happened in their lives. The people believed that Jim Jones had special healing powers and that he could literally perform miracles.

Over time Jim Jones became a well-respected public figure. Jim Jones was recognized and well liked by the media. As his influence grew, he would become involved in politics. As an influential public figure, Jim Jones was appointed by San Francisco Mayor at the time, George Moscone to be the chairman of the San Francisco housing authority commission.

           

In 1958 Charles Dederich founded Synanon in Santa Monica, California. Charles Dederich a recovering alcoholic, inspired by the work of Alcoholics Anonymous decided to create Synanon as place for addicts to recover and to later rejoin society. Impressed with the Alcoholics Anonymous tactics, Charles Dederich decided to employ similar techniques in Synanon, and created the recovery method called “the game.” This method of recovery was considered a form of group therapy but to some degree the verbal and mental abuse was harmful to the individual. Overall, Charles Dederich was a leader who loved organization and control.

Synanon’s original intent to rehabilitate individuals and return them back to society fully sober. But, as time passed Synanon would become much more than a place of recovery and shifted to a religious cult with Charles Dederich as its fearless leader. Establishing itself as a religion meant that Synanon could retain more membership and receive a tax exemption. As a result, Synanon distanced itself from the rest of the world and preparing its own armed military forces. Synanon would become associated with crime and with help from the media, Synanon became a problem in society.

When we analyze the characteristics of the leaders of Synanon and the Peoples Temple it is not difficult to see the similarities. In the beginning each leader had the charismatic nature to earn the approval of the community. Both Jim Jones and Charles Dederich were very influential individuals. The characteristics of both these leaders attracted a large following of people who seemed to be searching for someone to guide them in the right direction. These followers felt that these leaders could provide them with the guidance that they needed in their lives. Both leaders seemed to empower their large groups of followers by providing them with a clearly defined organizational structure to where individuals felt in control of their lives. The nature of both Jim Jones and Charles Dederich made them well liked by everyone.

At the beginning, both Synanon and the Peoples Temple seemed to have good intentions. Both organizations received support from the government and had a favorable relationship with the media and politicians. However, it seems that as time passed both Jim Jones and Charles Dederich became obsessed with preserving their organization and would do anything to maintain control over their people. Both Jim Jones and Charles Dederich made their followers feel as if they were dependent on their leaders to survive. In the end, both leaders would do whatever it took to maintain their reputation and image, Jim Jones would even die for this cause.

Towards the end, Jim Jones and Charles Dederich seemed to believe that the world and especially the government were out to get them. Both became obsessively paranoid with the outside world. With a deteriorating relationship with the media and a growing negative public perception of their religious movement, Synanon and the Peoples Temple would start to acquire weapons and their own military forces. In an effort to maintain control both leaders took violent approaches and worked to demonstrate authority. Feeling as if all of their hard work was going to turn to nothing just because of the negative public perception from the media both leaders took action in what can only be described as extreme.

In the end, both leaders seemed to have their own agendas. For Charles Dederich this meant creating his own holy war and military to separate Synanon from the outside world. Both Synanon and the Peoples Temple would establish borders and restrict access from outsiders. For Jim Jones, this meant causing the largest mass suicide, in what should be considered as killings and not a voluntary act.

Work Cited

History.com Staff. (2010). Jonestown. Retrieved April 05, 2016, from http://www.history.com/topics/jonestown

Morantz, P. (2009). The History of Synanon and Charles Dederich. Retrieved April 05, 2016, from http://www.paulmorantz.com/cult/the-history-of-synanon-and-charles-dederich/

Van Gelder, L. (1997, March 4). Charles Dederich, 83, Synanon Founder, Dies. Retrieved April 5, 2016, from http://www.nytimes.com/1997/03/04/us/charles-dederich-83-synanon-founder-dies.html