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In March 1997, thirty-nine people in Rancho Santa Fe, California, ritually terminated their lives. To outsiders, it was a mass suicide. To insiders, it was a graduation. This act was the culmination of over two decades of spiritual and social development for the members of Heaven's Gate, a religious group focused on transcending humanity and the Earth, and seeking salvation in the literal heavens on board a UFO.
In this fascinating overview, Benjamin Zeller not only explores the question of why the members of Heaven's Gate committed ritual suicides, but interrogates the origin and evolution of the religion, its appeal, and its practices. By tracking the development of the history, social structure, and worldview of Heaven's Gate, Zeller draws out the ways in which the movement was both a reflection and a microcosm of larger American culture.The group emerged out of engagement with Evangelical Christianity, the New Age movement, science fiction and UFOs, and conspiracy theories, and it evolved in response to the religious quests of baby boomers, new religions of the counterculture, and the narcissistic pessimism of the 1990s. Thus, Heaven's Gate not only reflects the context of its environment, but also reveals how those forces interacted in the form of a single religious body.
In the only book-length study of Heaven's Gate, Zeller traces the roots of the movement, examines its beliefs and practices, and tells the captivating story of the people of Heaven's Gate.
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Heaven's Gate: America's UFO Religion
2014, New York University Press
in English
1479825395 9781479825394
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Heaven's Gate: America's UFO Religion
2014, New York University Press
in English
1479811130 9781479811137
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Book Details
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Includes bibliographical references (pages 227-273) and index.
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- Created July 18, 2019
- 10 revisions
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February 2, 2023 | Edited by ImportBot | import existing book |
January 8, 2022 | Edited by Star Squirrel | Edited without comment. |
January 8, 2022 | Edited by Star Squirrel | Added new cover |
March 3, 2021 | Edited by MARC Bot | import existing book |
July 18, 2019 | Created by MARC Bot | Imported from marc_openlibraries_sanfranciscopubliclibrary MARC record |