I had always assumed that the infamous Jonestown cult was a religious cult, but it wasn’t — unless you consider politics the religion of the modern era:
The Peoples Temple was formed in Indianapolis, Indiana, during the mid-1950s. It purported to practice what it called “apostolic socialism.” In doing so, the Temple preached to established members that “those who remained drugged with the opiate of religion had to be brought to enlightenment — socialism.”After Jones received considerable criticism in Indiana for his integrationist views, the Temple moved to Redwood Valley, California in 1965.
In the early 1970s the Peoples Temple opened other branches in California, including in Los Angeles and San Francisco. In the mid-1970s, the Temple moved its headquarters to San Francisco.
After the Temple’s move to San Francisco, it became more politically active. After Peoples Temple participation proved instrumental in the mayoral election victory of George Moscone in 1975, Moscone appointed Jones as the Chairman of the San Francisco Housing Authority Commission. Unlike other figures considered as cult leaders, Jones enjoyed public support and contact with some of the highest level politicians in the United States. For example, Jones met with Vice Presidential Candidate Walter Mondale and Rosalynn Carter several times. Governor Jerry Brown, Lieutenant Governor Mervyn Dymally and Assemblyman Willie Brown, among others, attended a large testimonial dinner in honor of Jim Jones during September 1976.
By the way, when they drank the Kool-Aid, it wasn’t Kool-Aid; it was Flavor Aid, a cheap knock-off. I suppose the potassium cyanide was generic too.