November 18, 1998 is the twentieth anniversary of the deaths of over 900 Americans in Jonestown, Guyana. Anticipating much media interest and coverage, as well as scholarly and popular study of Peoples Temple as a result, the Department of Philosophy and Religion at the University of North Dakota inaugurated this website to present an alternative view to the usual anti-cult hysteria which characterized discussion of Peoples Temple.

In general this website will focus on the people who belonged to Peoples Temple and who were committed to the ideals of racial justice and human equality. It will also raise questions about the treatment of Peoples Temple -- both in life and in death -- by various governmental agencies: local, state, and federal.