"Jonestown" is a word with several meanings. First, it refers to an agricultural project established by the Peoples Temple, a religious group based in California which immigrated to Guyana in the mid-1970s to establish an agricultural utopia. Second, it refers to the events of 18 November 1978 in which a U.S. Congressman was assassinated, along with four other individuals, at a jungle airstrip in South America. These tragic killings were followed by the mass murders and suicides of 900 men, women, and children by ingesting potassium cyanide mixed into a vat of fruit punch and tranquilizers. Finally, the word "Jonestown" has been used to describe any New Religious Movement which may or may not have the potential for violence, as in "Heaven's Gate was another Jonestown."

The following answers to Frequently Asked Questions about Jonestown provide additional information about the group, its beliefs, and its practices.

1. How did Peoples Temple begin? Answer.
2. Who was the leader of Peoples Temple? Answer.
3. Who joined Peoples Temple? Answer.
4. What were the beliefs of Peoples Temple members? Answer.
5. Where exactly was Jonestown? Answer.
6. What were conditions like in Jonestown? Answer.
7. What exactly happened on 18 November 1978? Answer.
8. How many people died on November 18? How many survived? Answer.
9. Who shot Jim Jones? Was it murder or suicide? Answer.
10. Was there Social Security fraud in Jonestown? Answer.
11. Is there any reasonable explanation for the wide discrepancies in the body count at Jonestown? Answer.
12. What happened to Peoples Temple and Jonestown after 18 November 1978? Answer.
13. Did Peoples Temple commit fraud in its relationship with state welfare agencies, especially with the foster children under its care? Answer.
14. Was Jonestown an armed camp? Answer.
15. What are White Nights? How many of them were there? Answer.
16. Who is entitled to Unclaimed Property from the California State Controller? Answer.
17. What happened to the bodies from Jonestown? Answer.
18. Should the deaths in Jonestown be considered as suicides or murders? Answer.
19. What happened to Peoples Temple after 18 November 1978? Answer.
20. What happened to Jonestown after 18 November 1978? Answer.