Heaven's Gate:
A Sociological Perspective

Patricia L. Goerman

MA Thesis, 1998

Department of Sociology
University of Virginia

Table of Contents

 

Abstract
Media Misconceptions
Social Science Theory on New Religious Movements
Objectives of this Study
Terminology
The Belief System of Heaven's Gate
A Chronological History of the Group
The Brainwashing Paradigm
The Anti-Cult Movement
The Birth of New Religious Movements
The Psychopathology Model
The Entrepreneur Model
The Subcultural Evolution Model
The Normal Revelations Model
The Recruitment Process
Defection from New Religious Movements
The Death of the Heaven's Gate Movement
Summary and Conclusions
Works Cited

Heaven's Gate: A Sociological Perspective

 

Abstract

Mass media reports of events surrounding new religious movements are typically sensationalistic and unscientific. In order to better understand Heaven's Gate as a new religious movement in general and the extraordinary event of its demise specifically, a sociological perspective is essential. This study describes the belief system and history of the Heaven's Gate movement, applying Stark and Bainbridge's (1996) theory of new religious movements. Problems with mass media reports including images of brainwashing and the anti-cult movement will be discussed. Sociological discussions of cult formation, recruitment and defection will then be applied to the Heaven's Gate phenomenon. Finally this paper will demonstrate a sociological understanding of the dramatic end of the group.

1. Media misconceptions

When the lives of thirty nine members of the group known as Heaven's Gate came to a dramatic end through a mass suicide discovered on March 26, 1997, what followed in the mass media can be likened to a sort of "feeding frenzy". As defined by Sabato,(1991) such a "feeding frenzy" occurs as a result of "...the press coverage attending any political event or circumstance where a critical mass of journalists leap to cover the same embarrassing or scandalous subject and pursue it intensely, often excessively, and sometimes uncontrollably" (Sabato, 1991: 6).

The news reports and television coverage regarding the deaths of the Heaven's Gate members were rife with disparaging terms such as "feeble minded", "loony" and "bizarre" when describing the leader, followers and ideology of the group (Hoffman & Burke, 1997). Many sensationalistic references were made to the ideas of brainwashing, castration and the overall "incomprehensibility" of the lives and deaths of the group members.

Typical newspaper headlines presented by the mass media were "Follow Me!," "UFO Wackos Blasted off with Vodka and Pills," "Come Die with Me," "Ritual of Death!," and "UFO Freaks Led by 'Bo' and 'Peep'" (Hoffman & Burke, 1997: 63). Obviously such sensationalist images have a strong influence on public opinion.

The image of the Heaven's Gate movement which has been created for the general public by the mass media, is quite inaccurate and in fact a danger to the religious freedom of other marginal groups in this country. There are hundreds of religious cults and sects in the United States whose members exist relatively free of conflict with mainstream society. These groups go unnoticed by the mass media, which causes them to be basically ignored by members of the general public, unless their lives are directly touched by group members.

There have, however, been new religious movements, or cults, which have existed in extremely high tension with broader society, and have consequently had a high profile in the mass media. The extraordinary events surrounding the government siege against the Branch Davidians in Waco, Texas, the mass suicides of Solar Temple members in Switzerland and elsewhere and the terrorism of groups such as Aum Shinrikyo in Japan have caused such publicity. Since the vast majority of the population in the United States does not have personal experience with new religious movements, public opinion about these groups in general is greatly influenced by the media coverage of these extraordinary events.

s many scholars agree, religions currently considered to be "mainstream", including Christianity itself, originally came into existence as new religious movements or cults, in contrast to other mainstream groups prevalent at the time. Stark (1996), in discussing the rise of Christianity, presents the idea that Jesus himself was probably originally a sect leader within the Judaism prevalent at the time. According to Stark, the sect then became a cult with the introduction of the novel belief that Jesus had risen from the dead. (1996: 44). Stark presents early Christianity as a cult movement, placing it within his overall theory of new religious movements. There is clearly a need for a sociological understanding of new religious movements if they are to be understood in their larger historical context.

The explanations offered in the mass media by so-called "experts" on religious cults are many times filled with stereotypes and ideas such as "brainwashing" and "mind control" orchestrated by "manipulative" and "sinister" leaders. The danger that unsuspecting individuals will be swallowed up by these groups against their will is often emphasized and taken for granted. Thomas (1997) calls Marshall Applewhite, one of the leaders of Heaven's Gate, a "master manipulater" and the "most important cause of death" for the group (31). This type of mass media report is neither analysis nor explanation, but rather an account that is grounded in the abiding prejudice which is part of the cultural stock of knowledge in this country.

Many sociologists have expressed concern about mass media portrayals of new religious movements. Wright (1997) for example, cites both cultural and organizational factors contributing to sensationalist and "sinister" portrayals of nontraditional religious groups common in the mass media. He discusses five factors contributing to this apparent media bias; lack of knowledge about the subject matter, insufficient economic and time resources on the part of reporters, the marginality of the group in question as compared with mainstream religious groups, biased sources of information and the tendency to over-report the "front-end" of an event and to ignore later developments and discoveries (Wright, 1997: 104-109).

In describing the media coverage of the Heaven's Gate suicides, Wright (1997) points to media reports of brainwashing, "psychological deficiencies" of group members, use of rigid stereotypes about religious cults and sensationalist claims about the life and reported homosexuality of the leader. He also points to the consultation of so-called "experts" called upon by the mass media who are really members of the anti-cult movement, which will be discussed below. Wright cautions that "journalists who cover religion have an obligation to become familiar with the insufferable role of religious intolerance in history and to exercise caution to avoid becoming parties to reactionary elements aimed at repression of dissident religious expression" (1997: 111).

2. Social Science Theory on New Religious Movements

There exists a considerable body of social science theory that provides insight into the emergence, growth and development of new religious movements. This literature first became abundant in the 1970s when much attention was paid to imported religious movements and cults in the United States. A paradigmatic work which can be used to analyze the phenomenon of new religious movements is that of Stark and Bainbridge (1996), entitled A Theory of Religion. However, neither this literature nor the scholars who have produced it have been called upon by the mass media to offer interpretations of crisis episodes involving cults, on the rare occasions that they occur.

The abundance of social science analysis of "cult controversies" has been treated elsewhere [See Ammerman (1993), Shupe & Hadden (1995), Lewis (1989)]. The purpose of this analysis is to illustrate the utility of social science theory in understanding new religious movements, particularly in situations of what seems to be the most spectacular collective behavior.

3. Objectives of this Study

The Heaven's Gate movement provides an extraordinary opportunity to apply social science concepts and theory to better explain the evolution of a cult and the unusual event of its demise by suicide, which although widely publicized, is little understood. This group offers a unique opportunity for study in several respects. First of all, the group was discovered and studied early in its life by sociologists Robert Balch and David Taylor. During the group's relatively brief existence, members of the media have also documented its actions at various times. The biographies of the founding leaders are known, and the group kept detailed records of its own history and ideology which are easily accessible on the Internet. Finally the short history of the group and the small number of followers involved facilitates the reconstruction of its social history.

This study will be an analysis of the Heaven's Gate movement applying the principles of Stark and Bainbridge's (1996) A Theory of Religion, among others, to arrive at a more complete understanding of the overall movement. Before beginning a sociological analysis of the group, it will be necessary to discuss mass media misconceptions about them, including the idea of brainwashing, and to place this idea in an historical context. The main body of the paper will first describe the belief system and a brief history of the Heaven's Gate movement. The anti-cult movement will be discussed as well. Next I will draw upon Stark and Bainbridge's theories of the formation of new religious movements to analyze the beginnings of Heaven's Gate as a religious group, the development of the group's ideology, and its recruitment of new members. The all important idea of the defection of dissatisfied members will be analyzed as well. Finally, the study will attempt to place the death of the movement, along with its members, in a sociological context.

4.Terminology

Before beginning, it is necessary to establish the conceptual terminology to be used in this analysis. Heaven's Gate has been characterized by many as a religious cult, but it is important to define this term, since it has historically carried negative connotations. Following the model of Stark and Bainbridge (1996), I will distinguish between churches, sects and cults in the following manner: A church is defined as "a conventional religious organization" (Stark and Bainbridge 1996: 124). A sect movement is "a deviant religious organization with traditional beliefs and practices" and a cult movement, which will be the focus of this study, is defined as "a deviant religious organization with novel beliefs and practices" (Stark & Bainbridge, 1996: 124).

Stark and Bainbridge utilize the concept of tension with the sociocultural environment to distinguish between these three types of groups, stating that "tension is equivalent to broad subcultural deviance" (1996: 122). In general, they create a spectrum with churches and mainstream religious groups at the low tension end and sects and cults at the higher tension extreme.

Rooting their ideas in Rational Choice theory, Stark and Bainbridge have created a deductive theory of religion, with a focus on the idea of rewards and costs to explain human religious behavior. An important idea in the theory is that of the compensator, or that which a person will accept in place of a reward when a reward is difficult or impossible to attain in the here and now. They distinguish between specific and general compensators, saying that specific compensators "...substitute for a single specific reward", whereas general compensators, "...substitute for a cluster of many rewards of great scope and value" (Stark & Bainbridge, 1996: 36). This analysis will adhere to the definition of religion put forth by Stark and Bainbridge, which is a "...system [ ] of general compensators based on supernatural assumptions" (1996: 39), with supernatural referring to "forces beyond or outside nature which can suspend, alter or ignore physical forces" (1996: 39).

5. The Belief System of Heaven's Gate

The dawning of the Heaven's Gate movement occurred in 1972, when Marshall Herff Applewhite, the son of a Protestant minister, met Bonnie Lu Trousdale Nettles, a nurse in the hospital where he was reportedly seeking treatment. The belief system created by these two individuals was constructed taking elements from Christianity, Science Fiction, Theosophy, New Age movements and popular culture myths and stories.

Heaven's Gate, which has been known also as Human Individual Metamorphosis and various other names such as "the Bo and Peep UFO Cult", which were invented by the mass media, was a millenarian movement, which incorporated traditional Biblical teachings with the idea of space travel and beings from other dimensions. The belief system of the group went through several transformations in the over two decades of its existence. In its maturity, the group's belief system essentially stated that the leaders of the group, Bo and Peep, or Ti and Do as they were later known, were sent to the "Human Level" from the "Next Level" to prepare and guide prospective candidates through their journey into this higher evolutionary existence.

Ti and Do viewed themselves as a parallel to the coming of Jesus two thousand years ago. In their view, Jesus was also an individual from this higher plane of existence, sometimes misrepresented as "Heaven" by ordinary humans. In this "second coming", both the being who was formerly Jesus and his "Older Member" have come to earth. Applewhite portrayed himself as the younger member with Nettles as his teacher and guide. Unlike the traditional idea of Heaven, however, the Next Level was said to be a physical kingdom, where members would be issued a "Next Level body", which would be genderless, and lacking reproductive and digestive organs ('88 Update: 20). Next level physical beings were said to have been misrepresented as "aliens" in human understanding and are often physically present in this world, traveling in vehicles which mainstream society has labeled "UFOs", or spacecrafts ('88 update: 4).

According to the group's ideology, all humans do not have the potential to be able to graduate to the Next Level. A few, however, have received "implants" which help them to understand and recognize the Next Level information ('88 Update: 25). These are the individuals who were drawn to the group, and they are seen as a parallel to Jesus' disciples in the Bible. To ready oneself to move to the next level, the individual must overcome his or her human ways by going through the "Process". This means becoming genderless, leaving behind human attachments, and trying to divorce oneself from his or her earthly body in general. (The 17 Steps: 1).

There was an urgent millenarian tone to the ideology, particularly with the approach of the year 2000. In fact, the group members frantically tried to reach all potential members towards the end of their lives. They warned that "the Earth's present 'civilization' is about to be recycled - 'spaded under' in order that the planet might be refurbished" (Last Chance 1994: 1). The beings from the Higher Level would be coming in a spacecraft to pick up those ready to graduate to the Next Level. And those left behind would be "spaded under" in Earth's garden in order to make room for the next civilization to be created here in a future time.

6. A Chronological History of the Group

Sociologists Robert Balch and David Taylor lived with the group for a time as participant observers during the early years of the movement and have a great deal of information to offer about the group's history. According to Balch, after their meeting in 1972, Applewhite and Nettles traveled together for a time before giving a speech for a group of metaphysics students in 1975 in Los Angeles, as a result of which they gained their first twenty-four followers. Shortly thereafter, they travelled to Waldport, Oregon, where they gained national attention when network television news reported the mysterious disappearance of thirty people from the town.

After gathering followers through various meetings, the second phase of the group's lifespan began as they were sent on the road, in groups of male-female platonic pairs, to be tested by the next level. During this phase they tried to overcome human feelings and desires as well as recruit new members. At this point Bo and Peep decided to "withdraw into the wilderness" to prepare for "the demonstration", whereby they would be killed and resurrected to demonstrate the truth of their prophecy (Balch, 1994: 100). Nettles and Applewhite saw themselves as a new incarnation of the two witnesses from the eleventh chapter of the book of Revelation. They prophesied that they would be killed by their enemies after 1260 days of bearing witness to the truth, upon which they would ascend to "Heaven" in a "cloud". This cloud would actually be a spacecraft to take them to the Next level (Hadden, 1997). Also note here the obvious parallel to the life of Jesus Christ. Balch estimates the group to have numbered about two hundred at the height of its growth in 1975 (1994: 110).

Interestingly, Balch reports that this was also a period of disillusionment for the followers. After Bo and Peep had been gone for a time, group members began to feel demoralized and high rates of disagreement and defection began to occur. He calculates that nearly half of the followers had defected by the end of 1976.

Around one hundred members were eventually reunited with the leaders to begin a revitalization of the movement. In 1976, the demonstration was called off and the group stopped recruiting new members. The remaining members then went into seclusion in the mountains of Wyoming and lived at a camp. There they worked on "tuning in" to the next level and overcoming human ways. Their lives became rigidly structured, practicing drills and exercises, wearing uniforms and limiting their contact with others. (Balch, 1994: 108). When the group reportedly received an inheritance, they ended the camping phase and began to rent houses in various cities, where activities continued to be strictly regulated and scheduled (Balch, 1994: 109).

From about 1992-1996, the group reemerged from seclusion and began efforts to spread their message once again, through videos, meetings, newspaper ads and the Internet. In 1994 it was reported by Balch that there were twenty-four members. (Hadden, 1997: 2). From about 1996, the group spoke of the Hale-Bopp comet as a sign that the apocalypse was approaching, and they stepped up efforts to collect remaining followers. (Washington Post, Overview, 1997). Much of this recruiting involved searching for former members to help them find their way back to the fold.

On March 26, 1997, the bodies of thirty-nine group members were discovered in their rented mansion in Rancho Santa Fe, California. There were twenty women and nineteen men ranging in age from twenty six to seventy-two, with the mean age being 47.6 years (Hoffman & Burke, 1997: 67). The group's followers were dressed identically in death, wearing all black clothing and new Nike shoes with purple shrouds covering their faces and bodies. They are each reported to have placed five dollars and several quarters in their pockets. They had apparently died in three shifts, helping each other to ingest large doses of Phenobarbitol and alcohol and then placing plastic bags over their heads. Remaining groups apparently cleaned up after the first groups had passed away. (Hoffman & Burke, 1997).

The spectacular scene of the group's demise was logically a shock to mainstream society and seemed incomprehensible to many without an extraordinary explanation. Upon discovery of the bodies, the mass media immediately began to mention the idea of a crazed leader and brainwashed followers.

7. The Brainwashing Paradigm

Many mass media accounts of the Heaven's Gate phenomenon have emphasized the effects of "brainwashing" on "powerless" and "unsuspecting" followers. This type of statement, in fact, ignores much of the consensus of the scientific community on the subject.

Anthony and Robbins (1994) treat the history of the brainwashing paradigm quite extensively. Their definition of the term will be adhered to in this analysis. Brainwashing will therefore be defined as "a coercive style of persuasion which allegedly radically alters beliefs against the will of the individual through the induction of primitive states of consciousness in which the person is powerless to resist new ideas" (Anthony & Robbins, 1994: 1).

Running through the history of the brainwashing theory from its introduction with Western prisoners of war in Korea to the present, Anthony and Robbins (1994) discuss various studies carried out by the United States government in an attempt to master the technique of brainwashing. All of these have come to the conclusion that there is no known method to coerce an individual into accepting a new belief system. Of course, through physical force and intimidation, the outward behavior of an individual can be influenced, but the idea of brainwashing as a form of altering consciousness has been largely debunked within the scientific community. [See also: Lifton, (1989), Barker (1984), Bromley & Richardson (1983)].

The scientific evidence, as earlier mentioned, has been largely ignored by the mass media, particularly through the promotion of the anti-cult activists, who will be discussed in detail below.

Anthony and Robbins (1994) discuss the common ideas about cults that have dominated popular culture, breaking them down into five generalizations. First of all the abilities of cults to carry out mind control is assumed to be highly effective. Secondly, predisposing factors which may cause an individual to seek a new religious movement are denied or minimized. Another false idea which is emphasized is that cult members are operating under altered states of consciousness or impaired thinking. Fourthly members are presumed to have lost all decision-making ability. And finally, religious cults are presumed to use techniques of influence that are completely different from those used in mainstream institutions.

When presenting actual conclusions from some of the many studies carried out on new religious movements, Anthony and Robbins demonstrate the falsity of these prevailing assumptions. They point out, among other ideas, the predisposition among certain groups of the population for experimentation with ideas aside from the mainstream. These people, many of whom are young adults, can be considered "spiritual seekers". The general process of ever-deepening stages of affiliation with a group is also emphasized. New religious movement members rarely experience an all or nothing, rapid transition to a new world view. The fact that the majority of converts do not remain with cults for long periods also demonstrates the ineffectiveness of so-called "mind control" (Anthony & Robbins, 1994).

In his study of Chinese thought reform (as cited in Anthony & Robbins, 1994) Lifton warns that, misuse of the term "brainwashing", makes it "... a rallying point for fear, resentment, urges for submission, justification for failure, irresponsible accusation, and for a wide gamut of emotional extremism". (Anthony & Robbins, 13).

One may go so far as to debate the difference between the elements of nonphysical coercive persuasion present in religious cults versus those in mainstream societal institutions such as the military, fraternities and sororities and even mainstream religious groups.

This distortion of the facts by the media is certainly something which has taken place for Heaven's Gate followers. Early in the life of the movement in the 1970s there was a media storm when large numbers of people joined the group, such as what happened in Waldport, Oregon. The "disappearance" of 35 people who decided to join the group brought about mass media speculation of "brainwashing" and "mind control". There have been other incidents of what may be considered harrassment by the mass media, so much so that the "demonstration" which was originally to have taken place through the deaths and resurrections of Ti and Do in the 1970s, was reinterpreted by the group to have already taken place as a result of the onslaught of negative media attention. This type of media accusation, which has a profound effect on the mainstream public, can go a long way towards restricting the freedom of a new religious movement.

8. The Anti-Cult Movement

The Anti-cult Movement, or ACM, is a movement of organized opposition to new religious movements or cults. ACM activists became vocal in the mid-1970s, when cults were receiving a great deal of attention in the mass media.

ACM groups have been known to use the brainwashing argument as a justification for forcibly removing cult members from their groups and practicing "deprogramming", and "exit counseling" to bring a person back to a mainstream interpretation of life. They have also been active in seeking changes in legislation to control new religious movements.

Bromley and Shupe (1995) have identified four stages in the development of the ACM beginning with the formative period in the early 1970s during which there was a high rate of growth and recruitment of New Religious Movements, or NRMs, and a small number of defections. During this period the ACM was composed mainly of small, dispersed and disorganized groups of concerned family of cult members (Bromley & Shupe, 1995).

In the mid-1970s during the expansionist period, along with greater number of defections from NRMs there was a greater incidence of abductions and deprogrammings of cult members and both the NRMs and the ACM actively sought legal support in the defense of their interests (Bromley & Shupe, 1995).

The consolidation period of the late 1970s and early 1980s was one in which the ACM became a national-level organization. Deprogramming lost some of its popularity and there was a generalized failure in efforts to achieve legislative support for ACM ideology. Civil suits brought in the name of apostates of NRMs and supported financially by the ACM became the method of choice in the fight against the NRMs (Bromley & Shupe, 1995).

Finally in the institutional network period of the mid-1980s the legal battles became less frequent, but the group took on a sort of "public watchdog" role proclaiming "public education" to be their primary goal (Bromley & Shupe, 1995). It is from the ACM that the mass media has received much of the information and "expert testimony" presented to the public about cults in the case of Heaven's Gate as well as many others. [See also Wright (1997), Shupe & Bromley (1980), Barker (1984)]

9. The Birth of New Religious Movements

Both sectarian and cultic movements have more or less predictable life cycles. What is unique about Heaven's Gate is that it experienced a complete lifecycle in a very short period of time. This condition facilitates a fairly comprehensive application of a vast amount of sociological theory on new religious movements. Examining the lifespan of Heaven's Gate from the perspective of a general sociological theory of cult formation can help us better understand this group as well as demonstrate the quality of the general theory.

The Stark and Bainbridge (1996) theory of cult formation begins with an assesment of research literatures which they then integrate into a single theory. Cult formation, they argue, can come about by one of three processes, the Psychopathology Model, the Entrepreneur Model, and the Subcultural Evolution Model. These processes are not discrete, but can occur more or less at the same time. In a later piece, Stark (1991) argues for the existence of a fourth model, that of Normal Revelations. Interestingly all four of the models can be successfully applied to the Heaven's Gate movement.

10. The Psychopathology Model

The most frequently employed model of cult formation is characterized by Stark and Bainbridge (1996) as the Psychopathology model. The authors state that novel religious ideas many times come about due to the "mental illness" of a leader, which they define as "the imputed condition of any human mind that repeatedly fails to conform to the propositions of the prevailing theory of human action" (Stark & Bainbridge, 1996: 159). A New Religious Movement is said to arise during times of social crisis, when a prospective leader is experiencing personal and social turmoil, and may become preoccupied and withdraw from social life. This individual may also experience self-initiated sensory deprivation and/or supernatural visions, which can result in a new religious movement if his or her novel visions are shared with others, (Stark & Bainbridge, 1996).

In the case of Heaven's Gate, it can certainly be argued that Marshall Herff Applewhite had experienced a time of intense personal and social problems immediately prior to the formation of the group. First of all, Applewhite had reportedly experienced homosexual feelings and relationships with which he was not able to come to terms. Balch (1994) reports that while married with two children, Applewhite had a number of secret homosexual affairs, which caused him a great deal of guilt. After his divorce he reportedly wavered between heterosexual and homosexual feelings, never coming to terms with either lifestyle. He reportedly confided to a lover that he longed for a "meaningful, platonic relationship where he could develop his full potential without sexual entanglements" (Balch, 1994: 98).

Subsequently adding to Applewhite's feelings of social marginality must have been his run-ins with the law when he and Nettles first began to travel together. In their essay, "88 Update - The UFO Two and their Crew", the group released a statement, which discusses these incidents in detail. While traveling in the early seventies, the pair met a woman, who offered them the use of her gasoline credit cards, only to have her husband later report the cards stolen. When their money started to run out, the pair also rented a car, for which they were subsequently unable to pay. These incidents led to their arrest, and to Nettles spending thirty days in jail and Applewhite receiving a four-month sentence. By the group's own accounts, these incidents led to their mistrust of mainstream society and their further marginalization. As stated in their own report, "the felon record was taken in stride as an assurance that now they couldn't turn back" ('88 update: 7).

After meeting, Nettles and Applewhite spent six weeks in Texas in social isolation, and have stated that this is when they first began to learn about their "Next Level mind". In this period of isolation they began to have supernatural visions telling them that they had been sent to the human plane from the Next Level in order to carry out an "update in understanding and Prophecy fulfillment" of the Bible, ('88 Update: 2). Here, as is common in the beginning of many new religious movements, an evolution of Biblical traditions can be seen quite clearly in their tenets. They also quite clearly experienced cognitive reorganization of traditional Christian beliefs with the new cultural elements of Science Fiction and New Age theories, which will be discussed in detail below.

11. The Entrepreneur Model

Once a new ideology has been formulated, it is necessary to share it with others in order that a movement might arise. This brings us to another of Stark and Bainbridge's (1996) models of cult formation; the Entrepreneur Model. Cult leaders can be considered entrepreneurs who manufacture and sell their novel compensators and ideas. Entrepreneurs frequently have experience in other cults or movements and incorporate those ideas and practices into their movement. As Stark and Bainbridge also point out, "the manufacture of salable new compensators is most easily accomplished by assembling components of pre-existing compensator-systems into new configurations, or by further development of successful compensator-systems" (1996: 169). An important characteristic of successful entrepreneurs is that they often restructure and experiment with their products, (Stark & Bainbridge, 1996).

In the "selling" of their compensator system, Applewhite and Nettles clearly attempted entrepreneurial activities, particularly in the early years of the group's life. At that time, the group carried out self-consciously entrepreneurial activities, as when they formed an organization called "Anonymous Sexaholics Celibate Church", which was a sort of support group to help people to overcome sexual addictions. They describe the organization as similar in approach to Alcoholics Anonymous, but with a more "Godly focused fellowship" ('88 Update: 32). They do not report when this venture took place, but say that at that time they did not reveal other aspects of their philosophy to their clients, but rather focused only on teaching them to live a celibate life. They found that there was not an extremely positive response to this endeavor and that people "...couldn't tell where we were coming from" ('88 Update: 33).

Balch (1994) reports another short lived entrepreneurial endeavor carried out by Nettles and Applewhite before they had recruited any followers. In the early 1970s they started a business called the Christian Arts Center. There Nettles offered courses in astrology, mysticism and theosophy, while Applewhite taught classes in the performing arts. After this center failed, they also held classes in a house which they called "Knowplace". Eventually they gave up on these enterprises and focused on developing their philosophy more fully (Balch, 1994: 99).

Although Nettles and Applewhite clearly attempted specifically entrepreneurial activity, they were not particularly successful in their attempts to attract a large following. The group was never comprised of a vast number of members at any point, and many who joined it left after a short time. Some reasons for this may be that although the idea of UFO's was attractive to some, the idea of a celibate life was difficult to accept in the long term. They also may not have had an extremely successful sales technique. In the end, their ideas appealed to only a few who eventually imploded into themselves, becoming withdrawn from mainstream life.

The importance of evolution and innovation is also an central part of the Entrepreneur Model. When trying to "sell" a compensator package, it will be necessary to make changes to make the system more appealing to attract and maintain followers. Nettles and Applewhite clearly continued to innovate after the belief system of the group had been established. As previously mentioned, originally believing in the "demonstration", Ti and Do later revised their ideas after they were not assassinated within the time frame they had expected. They announced that they had, "... received instruction not to walk into a physical demonstration but rather to know that the 'killing in the street' of the two witnesses had occurred at the hands of the media" ('88 Update: 16).

Another idea which was changed over the years was that of the Process. At first Ti and Do had proclaimed that all of the followers were working toward "graduation to the Next Level" by physically changing their bodies to become more like next level beings. They have stated that they later realized that they were all actually in the Next Level prior to being sent to earth and they had been sent here to carry out the task of personal growth before returning to the Next Level ('88 Update: 20). These are examples of the evolution of theology which took place throughout the lifetime of the group. The new compensators (ideas) must have been more appealing to the leaders as well as to their followers over the years of development of the group.

It is obvious that the beliefs of the group were shaped through "freshly packaged compensators" (Stark & Bainbridge 1996: 169) from a variety of parent organizations. At this point, it is important to examine more closely the organization and origins of this freshly packaged "compensator system" created by the two leaders.

12. Elements of the New Compensator System of Heaven's Gate

Nettles and Applewhite were able to incorporate many ideas from their previous spiritual backgrounds and create the belief system which was later "sold" to their followers. First of all, it is to be noted that Applewhite's father was a Protestant minister. Applewhite himself studied for the ministry at the Presbyterian Union Theological Seminary in Richmond, Virginia before concentrating on music and teaching. Nettles was raised a Baptist and later belonged to the Houston Theosophical Society, participating in a meditation group which is said to have channeled spirits, (Balch, 1994: 98). A number of the Heaven's Gate beliefs came directly from the former religious backgrounds of its leaders.

In their ideology, the Bible is quoted innumerable times to explain their ideas. Most importantly, Applewhite, as previously stated, saw himself and the group as a later incarnation of Jesus Christ and his disciples. Citing the Book of Revelation, Applewhite and Nettles proclaimed themselves to be the Two Witnesses ('88 Update: 3). They also cite the Bible in stating that it is necessary to give up all worldly ties in order to prepare to move into the Next Level, using examples such as Corinthians 7:32-35, "The unmarried man is anxious about the affairs of the Lord, how to please the Lord; but the married man is anxious about worldly affairs, how to please his wife, and his interests are divided..." ('88 Update: 28). This quote goes on to express the same idea about the married woman. They lend support to the necessity of embarking on the "Process", citing Matthew 5:48, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father in Heaven is perfect" ('88 Update: 33). Clearly, Biblical parallels are used to give weight to their own theology.

These Biblical elements are also merged with ideas from other sources. The group's "'88 Update" states that "there are records of how in Biblical times hoards of Angels came and won this battle, or did this or that act (actual close encounters of the third kind)" ('88 Update: 31). This connection brings us to another source for their belief system, that of Science Fiction.

Much of the group's ideology is based upon the belief in extraterrestrial life, a part of North American popular culture since at least the 1940's, after incidents such as the Roswell and Aztec, New Mexico alleged UFO crashes and rumored government cover-ups. Since alien bodies are believed by some to have been retrieved by the government in these incidents, they are cited as evidence by the group that Next Level beings with physical bodies do in fact exist, ('88 Update: 29).

A number of the group's ideas can be seen to come directly from specific Science Fiction sources such as the movie, Close Encounters of the Third Kind. In this film, as a result of close encounters with UFOs, a group of people is "implanted" with the idea that they need to get to Devil's Tower, Wyoming. They do not understand why, but feel compelled to be there, despite government efforts to evacuate the area. Roy Neary, the protagonist, realizes that he must sever all ties with his wife and three young children to embark on this journey. In the end, he is chosen by the aliens, from a group of military personnel, to be the one to accompany them in their ship. The aliens in the film are short and seem genderless. Interestingly, they resemble a picture of the "Next Level being" found on the Web page of the Heaven's Gate group (How a Member of the Kingdom of Heaven Might Appear).

The idea that some individuals have been implanted with Next Level knowledge, as well as the idea that one must sever all ties to be able to develop and follow this knowledge, are crucial elements of the Heaven's Gate belief system. As Lacombe, one of the military officers in the film says of those who had received the implant, "We did not choose these people, they were invited" (Phillips, 1977). The group is also said to have regularly watched Science Fiction programs such as Star Trek and the X-Files (Hoffman & Burke, 1997: 4).

Elements of the New Age Movement can also be seen quite clearly in the ideology of Heaven's Gate. This movement has been defined by Bainbridge as, "a strange potpourri of myths and rituals drawn from Asian religions, European legends and the imaginations of its practitioners" (1997: 363). Some examples of New Age topics are "alien abduction, astrology, biorhythms, channeling, dream interpretation, healing crystals, near-death experiences, Nostradamus prophecies, palm reading, past lives, ritual magick (sic), spiritualism, werewolves and Wicca (witchcraft)" (Bainbridge, 1997: 363).

The New Age beliefs which have influenced the group's ideology can clearly be tied to Nettles' background in Theosophy and meditation, as discussed above. Originally the group held the individualistic belief that all members must "tune in", or try to establish a psychic connection with members of the Next Level. (Balch, 1977: 843). After the revitalization in 1976, this belief was revised to say that communication with the Next Level would take place only through Bo or Peep. They stated that there was a "chain of mind", which linked their followers to the next level only through them. (Balch, 1994: 107). This idea also clearly functioned to give the leaders greater control of prophecy.

A parallel can easily be drawn between the idea of "tuning in" and the New Age ideas of channeling and spiritualism. Channeling can be defined as the "... process by which a person becomes a conduit for a deceased person, as someone from an ancient culture, who imparts information about a previous life" (Neufeldt & Guralnik: 234). Spiritualism can be defined as "the belief that the dead survive as spirits which can communicate with the living, especially with the help of a third party (medium)" (Neufeldt & Guralnik: 1293).

A final influence on the ideology of the group is that of technology, specifically ideas from the computer age. This element can be seen specifically in the terminology of the group, which has influenced the conceptualization of some of their beliefs. In their writings, Heaven's Gate members discuss their use of "N.L. (Next Level) Base computer language", as a way to express their "higher level" of understanding of Biblical and other ideas as compared with the average human. For example, Biblical ideas such as "the Father is in Me and I am in My Father", were said to actually refer to the relationship between Do and Ti, his Older Member. They say that those who have the same "computer program" or "software" will interpret this type of statement differently than the average human. They also state that "...those who have like minds might also share a same kind of implant (not unlike an advanced computer chip) and recognize the same language or basis for understanding" ('88 Update: 24).

Similarly, one of the group's followers who went by the name of Anlody, discussing the apocalyptic views of the group, has written that, "everything ...here is subject to crashing once the program of this hologram gets rebooted", (Investments, 1997: 6). The group's use of the Internet to communicate their message and for its business, Higher Source Contract Enterprises, which specialized in Web page design, evidently exerted a certain influence on its ideology.

Clearly, the overall compensator package of the group was constructed drawing from a great many sources. This is quite common in new religious movements in general as new ideas are rarely developed in a vacuum. As stated by Stark and Bainbridge (1996), the degree of innovation with respect to parent movements varies in cult formation. They state however, that "the invention of religious culture is easier to the extent that the inventor is able to use elements and sub-systems from existing religious systems" (Stark & Bainbridge, 1996: 175). It is evident that the Heaven's Gate founders drew from a great many sources in the construction of their theology.

13. The Subcultural Evolution Model

Stark and Bainbridge (1996) identify a third model of cult formation, which they call the Subcultural Evolution model. This model too has significant relevance for understanding the life and fate of Heaven's Gate. In this model the most important aspect is the role of the group in the development of a new religion. Stark and Bainbridge emphasize the importance of rewards and compensators in group interaction and state that as this exchange becomes more intense, the group becomes socially encapsulated and experiences a social implosion, which "results in a cohesive, closed group broken away from the rest of society" (Stark & Bainbridge, 1996: 180). Once this separation has taken place, the group is more free to evolve into a novel culture.

It is difficult to say to what extent the rank and file members of Heaven's Gate were allowed to influence the development of the belief system of the group over the years. This may become clearer as scholars are able to examine more of the voluminous writings that the group left behind. In their writings, all of the ideology of the group is said to have come from the Next Level through Ti and Do, since this is a major part of their philosophy. The second phase of the cult, however, from 1976-1992, was a phase of extreme social implosion with almost complete isolation from the outside world. During this time period, many of their beliefs, such as those discussed above, were fine tuned. It is entirely possible that this was, to some extent, a group process.

14. The Normal Revelations Model

A final model of cult formation, discussed by Stark (1991), is the Normal Revelations Model. In this model, a cult is formed after normal thought processes are perceived as contact with the supernatural. Creativity is often externalized and attributed by leaders to supernatural sources.

In the Heaven's Gate experience, the Normal Revelations Model clearly fits the group in many respects. Nettles and Applewhite have attributed all of their ideas to members of the Next Level. At one point while he is writing, Applewhite even claims to hear the voice of a higher being directing his words. After a brief digression in his narrative of the group's history, he says that, "the writer is consciously on the same 'wavelength' as the Father or Older Member, who is coming through. The writer has just received instruction to switch back to more mundane information" ('88 Update: 23).

Essentially, none of Applewhite's actions or ideas are attributed to his own creativity. Rather he reports them to be guided and controlled externally. Whether or not Applewhite actually believes that he is being guided by another being is irrelevant to this analysis. The important idea here is that he presented himself to his followers and perhaps even to himself as someone following the instructions of a supernatural entity.

Heaven's Gate is an interesting study in that it combines elements of all four of Stark and Bainbridge's models of cult formation. It is clearly possible to attribute the group's existence as originating in psychopathological ideas, or those outside the dominant mainstream "theory of human action" (Stark & Bainbridge, 1996: 159) to some extent. The normal thought processes of the leaders have been attributed to supernatural sources. Finally there is evidence of self-conscious entrepreneurial activity, as well as sub-cultural evolution in the establishment of the group's ideology. The establishment of Heaven's Gate as a religious movement is quite typical of the dawning of other new religious movements throughout history.

15. The Recruitment Process

It is important to study the recruitment process of any new religious movement to fully understand the group, but it is particularly important to understand this process when charges of "brainwashing" have been made.

Using rational choice theory, Stark and Bainbridge (1996) describe recruitment and affiliation with a religious group as a two-sided process. They theorize that there are specific conditions which are conducive to the affiliation of individuals with religious cults. First of all, they discuss the relative deprivation of potential converts as a factor in their recruitment. They also discuss the difficulty of groups who are socially isolated in attaining new members, reducing their chances of becoming a mainstream group (Stark & Bainbridge, 1996).

A great deal of theoretical information is available related to the recruitment of members to new religious movements. Theories to explain recruitment range from those of relative deprivation to membership in social networks [See for example Machalek & Snow (1993), Stark & Bainbridge (1980), Balch (1980)]

Many mass media reports on Heaven's Gate, both in the 1970s and after the deaths of the group members have emphasized the effects of "brainwashing" to explain the recruitment of followers to the group. Through examining the actual recruiting process which took place in this particular case, the brainwashing theory can be completely eliminated as an explanation for the attraction of followers to the group. Conveniently, Balch and Taylor carried out extensive studies of the recruitment process, specifically in the Heaven's Gate movement in the 1970s, and found that it was, in fact, quite straightforward.

During the 1970s, group members often held meetings at which they described their philosophy to an audience. Meetings were usually advertised on college campuses and in health food stores. Audience members who appeared to be interested in joining the group were asked to leave their phone numbers and were later called and invited to a second meeting. Balch reports no evidence of any "hard-sell" tactics on the part of recruiters in presenting the message. In fact, the group seems to have consistently discouraged members with low levels of commitment from remaining with the group, eliminating the "free rider" problem (Balch, 1977).

Prospective followers who seemed serious about joining were then given directions to a "buffer camp" where they would be inducted into the group. There each individual was assigned a partner of the opposite sex, whom he or she would accompany at all times. At the camp, the new members participated in informal discussions and Balch reports a lack of intense social pressure. There was actually limited contact between established members and new recruits, which caused the new members to lack intense social bonds with the group. This contrasts with much sociological theory concerning social bonds as a principal factor in conversion. Balch also notes that large numbers of new recruits dropped out of the cult within weeks of joining, possibly due to this lack of strong social bonds (Balch, 1977: 844-6).

It is important to note the demographic characteristics of the new followers. According to Stark and Bainbridge (1996), religious cults tend to attract members who are relatively deprived, have low stakes in conformity, and have weak attachments to outsiders. People with low stakes in conformity are defined as those who are, "...relatively deprived in terms of rewards, compensators, and self-esteem" (Stark & Bainbridge, 1996: 246). These are people who are relatively more free than the average person to deviate from mainstream society.

In fact, we see that the first recruits to Heaven's Gate in the early 1970s were "spiritual seekers" as described by Balch. He emphasizes the fact that since social bonds within the group were not the principal attraction for new followers, there must have been another factor. He believes this factor to be involvement in the "cultic milieu" of the 1970s. This cultic milieu is defined as, "a loosely integrated network of seekers who drift from one philosophy to another in search of metaphysical truth" (Balch, 1977: 850). In the context of this milieu, the beliefs of the cult may not have seemed as strange as they did to mainstream society, and joining the group may have seemed like a logical next step in an individual's quest for meaning.

Balch divides early recruits into two groups, the first being comprised of individuals who had, "middle-class jobs and led conventional lives, rejecting both drugs and anti-war protests" (Balch, 1994: 101). He states that the only thing that made these people stand out from mainstream America was their interest in metaphysics. The second category of new recruits is the most important one, according to Balch. These were younger people, in their early 20s, who were involved in the hippie counterculture. These people lived more marginal lives with regard to mainstream society and had low stakes in conformity. Giving up worldly belongings, to these people, was probably not a drastic action, since a large number of them had very few to begin with (Balch, 1994: 101). This second group fits the Stark and Bainbridge model of new recruits particularly well.

An important characteristic of cult members is the drastic change in observed personality characteristics reported by family members and friends, which can contribute to suggestions of "brainwashing" at work. Balch points to role theory to explain these apparently dramatic shifts in personality and behavior.

In discussing role theory, one must inevitably examine Goffman's (1959) idea of the front versus the backstage. Goffman uses the metaphor of the theater in discussing interactions between people in everyday life. In his analysis, the frontstage is where a performance, or ritual takes place before an audience. The backstage, on the other hand, can be considered the profane realm, where performers can relax and prepare for the performance at hand. The audience is prohibited from entering this realm and the result is that the ideal image projected by the performance is preserved. The place where the ritual takes place is more sacred and the profane aspects of the lives of the performers before their social "masks" are in place are not found in the sacred realm (Goffman, 1959). The performance of cult members in front of other group members or outsiders can be considered front stage behavior, while their private feelings belong to the realm of backstage behavior.

During his participant observation of Heaven's Gate Balch noted, interestingly, that new recruits seemed to adopt the role of cult member immediately upon arriving at the buffer camp. In many cases, however, at the same time, there seemed to be a gap between behavior and beliefs (Balch, 1980). He noticed that his own partner expressed doubts about being in the group to him privately, but while with the rest of the group she behaved as if she were highly committed. He also observed that other members expressed doubts directly to the group, but then went on to hold public meetings to help recruit new followers, (Balch, 1980).

16. Defection from New Religious Movements

A final aspect of New Religious Movements, which is often overlooked, but can help to arrive at a more complete understanding of any movement is the defection process. The high rate of defection from Heaven's Gate in addition to its theology goes a long way towards explaining its failure to establish itself as a mainstream religious institution.

There are various theoretical beliefs as to why an individual may make the decision to leave a cult. Wright and Ebaugh (1993) have completed a comprehensive review of the existing literature on leaving new religious movements. They point out that in the early years of the popularity of the brainwashing theory, the media, as well as the public, focused only on the number of converts entering new religious movements, largely ignoring the "...steady flow of disaffected members exiting by the back door" (Wright & Ebaugh, 1993: 1).

They cite three main aspects of the detachment of an individual from a group. The first is disaffection, in which the convert becomes emotionally withdrawn from the group. The second aspect is that of disillusionment, which occurs when the individual has reason to doubt the teachings or prophecies of the group. A final and essential phase is that of disaffiliation, in which the group member actually separates him or herself from the group becoming an apostate.

An important idea brought up by Wright and Ebaugh (1993) is that of the dangers of retrospective reporting. They state that, "... personal biographies and identities are constantly being redefined in the light of current experiences" (Wright & Ebaugh, 1993: 4). This idea underscores the importance of avoiding the assumption that retrospective reports from apostates are "objective" views of their cult experiences.

Balch (1985) has done extensive work interviewing defectors from Heaven's Gate, particularly those who left during the early years of the movement. He takes the retrospective reporting problem into account in his examination of the issue. Through a combination of interviews of former members along with participant observation, Balch has formulated a view of the defection process from Heaven's Gate, which seems to be relatively more objective than would be a study based upon interviews alone.

The defectors studied by Balch had all left the group within six months of joining and a number of these members had defected during the period in 1975 when the group was loosely organized, during Bo and Peep's absence. This period marked the highest rate of defection in the group's history as estimated by Balch. He estimates that in 1975, when the group was at it's maximum size of about two hundred, the defection rate was at least fifty percent. After the group was gathered together by the leaders in Wyoming, he estimates the defection rate to have dropped to about twelve percent per year for the next two years. (Balch, 1994: 110).

Rates of defection are not available for the following years, but it seems reasonable to assume that membership numbers remained relatively stable over the next two decades. Balch estimates that in 1978 there were forty-eight members and we know that thirty-nine were with the group when they "graduated" to the next level in March of 1997. On the 6th of May, 1997, two former members attempted to follow the group by committing suicide. One was successful and the other survived, but remained hospitalized. It is difficult to say how many more former followers there are who continue to share the beliefs of the group, but here we will focus on active group members alone.

Having interviewed members who defected before, during and after the absence of the leaders in the 70s, Balch has constructed a causal process model of defection. His model outlines a process of roughly nine stages of defection experienced by Heaven's Gate members. The first stage is defined as the crack in consensual validation. The obvious lack of authority in the absence of the leaders was an important factor for those defecting in 1975. There was a great importance placed on the idea of individualism as every member was thought to be in contact with the next level and therefore could interpret the rules of behavior as he or she wished. The group was also widely dispersed at this time, separated into many small groups around the country with little or no contact with other members. The rules, such as those of avoiding socialization with other group members or outsiders were not strictly adhered to, causing people to express doubts openly (Balch, 1985: 20-21).

The second phase discussed by Balch is that of having demoralizing experiences. These experiences included receiving information which undermined the authority of the leaders, or of their message, interpersonal conflict among members, and feeling as if one's personal growth had been arrested. At this point, dissonant ideas could be explained away using the group's philosophy, for example, defining hardships as a "test" from the Next Level, (Balch, 1985: 24-27).

The third phase was one of vacillation. At this point a group member would waver between conviction and disillusionment. Doubts were not yet verbalized and the individual continued to play the role of the firm believer. This was followed by the fourth phase, one of disaffection. At this point the potential defector began to express doubts verbally, (Balch, 1985: 28-31)

Behavioral disengagement, the fifth phase followed. At this point, members would make their doubts known to others and overtly break rules. This lead to the sixth phase, or actual departure from the group, (Balch, 1985: 35-42).

After leaving the group the former members experienced a period of floating, which marks the seventh phase of defection. This was experienced as a state of being trapped between two conflicting realities and not belonging to either. This period would either culminate in a rejoining of the cult or in reentry to society, the eighth phase. This was a period of taking decisive action to reestablish oneself in mainstream society. (Balch, 1985: 44-5).

Finally the former members experienced a period of cognitive reorganization. This is described as a process of "evolving a new symbolic framework that reconciled the confusing events in their recent past," (Balch, 1985: 49). This marked the final phase of readjustment into mainstream society.

Towards the beginning of the life of the movement it appears that there was a much higher rate of turnover of members than existed during the years of social isolation. The fact that there was such a high rate of defection in the early years, incidentally goes a long way towards refuting the brainwashing theory.

17. The Death of the Heaven's Gate Movement

The high defection rates before the social implosion of the group in 1976, as well as the desire to eliminate "free-riders" go a long way towards explaining the failure of Heaven's Gate to establish itself as an institutionalized religion. Their end as a group and failure to gain acceptance in the mainstream were also predetermined to a large extent by their own theology.

In order to understand the events leading to the deaths of the 39 members of the group known as Heaven's Gate, it is important to study the movement in terms of the framework of existing sociological theories of new religious movements. It is all too easy to attribute a mass suicide of this type to "brainwashed" cult members "blindly" following a "deranged" leader, which is what has been put forth frequently in this case by the mass media.

When examining the theology of the group, however, it is all too clear that their projected "graduation" to the Next Level was the principal driving force of their belief system. Drawing closer to the millennium, it is easy to see how the reports of an object following the Hale-Bopp comet could have been taken by the group as a sign. By taking the matter of their deaths into their own hands, the members of the group circumvented the risk of the disconfirmation of their beliefs. For those who had been group members for over twenty years, there was clearly a lot at stake. Within the framework of beliefs constructed by the group, the end of their lives, or the "graduation" to the Next Level, seems entirely logical. The obvious conclusion is that the group members were not coerced into remaining with the group and that aside from their spectacular end, which was in some sense predetermined by their belief system, this group is not significantly different from many other New Religious Movements that have existed throughout history, and some that have even become mainstream institutions.

18. Summary and Conclusions

This study has attempted to demonstrate that through a sociological analysis of the group known as Heaven's Gate, a far more complete understanding of the group can be reached than the common notions put forth by the mass media. We have seen that despite the spectacular end of the group, they were not significantly different from other new religious movements which have arisen throughout history. The formation of their theology, the recruitment process and even their deaths can be understood under general sociological theory.

This type of analysis is in sharp contrast with the type of analysis offered by the mass media to the general public. In the world of reporters jockeying for the most sensational items to attract advertising dollars, the stereotypical, and overly simplified version of events prevails. The anti-cult movement and ideas about brainwashing provide ready-made and packaged explanations for the seemingly outrageous occurance of a mass suicide. In spite of the obvious utility of this type of analytical framework, popular culture ideas and the influence of the mass media on the prevailing interpretation of events will not die easily. One can only hope that the religious freedom of future new religious movements will not be compromised by this type of reporting.

 

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