Cults and Sects Across Time Trivia Quiz

The Bacchanalia was a secret religious group and set of festivals in ancient Rome. It centered around the god Bacchus, who was the Roman god of wine, celebrations, and ecstasy. The cult appeared in Rome around 200 BC. It was thought people originally joined because the ceremonies offered (how best to say it?) fun. The cult grew to include people from varied social groups.

That fun mentioned earlier? The cult's reputation grew to be one of wild behavior, nighttime meetings with drink, music, sexual initiations, and secret rituals. Between that and the Senate's determination to assert its authority over Rome and its allies, the government stepped in during the year 186 BC and heavily restricted the cult's activities. The group, although diminished, had covert activities for several years afterward.

In the early 1000s AD a group separated from other Muslims after a disagreement. They were called the Nizari Ismailis and followed a line of spiritual leaders called Imams. In 1090 AD a group splintered off of the Nizari Ismailis and called themselves the Hashashin, led by Hassan-i Sabbah. They followed their own special leadership, beliefs, and practices and lived in isolated mountain fortresses.

They used targeted assassinations against powerful rulers and leaders, which shocked people at the time. (In fact, the word "assassin" is said to come from the word "Hashashin") Travelers told tales of members being brainwashed and drugged in order to become blindly obedient. The group survived for almost 200 years before the Mongols destroyed their home base of Alamut Castle in 1256 AD, which brought the movement to an end.

During the medieval times in Europe (circa 1200s AD) a religious movement appeared called the Brethren of the Free Spirit. It was not a single group with a single leader, but various communities and people who followed the ideas outlined by the Brethren. They maintained that the true children of God were invested with perfect freedom from the jurisdiction of the law. Even outside of the law, they thought that a person could become so spiritually united with God that they could reach a state of total perfection while alive.

The Brethren emphasized a personal connection with God rather than relying on church authorities. Those same authorities were not pleased (to say the least) that the followers said that once they reached a perfect state, normal rules about sin and morality no longer applied to them. In the wake of this, by the 1400s, church investigations and persecution had caused the movement to disappear.

Anabaptists generally believed that baptism is valid only when candidates freely confess their faith in Christ and request to be baptized (as opposed to baptism of infants who are too young to make a conscious decision). In 1534 AD, a group splintered off in Germany and became much more extreme than most Anabaptists. Led by figures such as John of Leiden, they believed the city of Munster, in northwestern Germany, would become a "new Jerusalem". They took control of that city.

They abolished private property, enforced strict religious rules, and John of Leiden even called himself a king. Soon they also introduced polygamy and other extreme actions. Rulers in the area, not shockingly, saw this as a dangerous rebellion and performed a long siege of the city before it was recaptured in 1535. The leaders were tortured and killed, and their bodies displayed in iron cages.

The Buchanites were a small religious sect that started in 1783 AD in Scotland under the leadership of a woman named Elspeth Buchan. She claimed to be the Woman Clothed with the Sun, one of the figures named in the Book of Revelation. She also believed she was immortal. She and her followers believed that they were a chosen group who would experience the end of time and avoid death by being transformed.

The members left their homes, jobs, and families in order to follow Elspeth. This alarmed those families and neighbors and various church leaders. The group practiced communal living, rejected many social rules, and were even accused of having orgies in the local woods. The Buchanites were driven out of many towns and finally settled near Dumfries. After Elspeth died in 1791 (thus disproving her immortal claim) the movement faded away.

The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom began in 1851 AD in China. It was founded by Hong Xiuquan, a man who claimed he had visions. These insights showed that he was the younger brother of Jesus Christ and, furthermore, had been chosen to create a new heavenly society down on Earth. His followers mixed Christian ideas along with their own beliefs. A big goal the group had was to replace the ruling Qing dynasty (something the current Qing rulers were not happy about). The group captured Nanjing in 1853 and made it their own "Heavenly Kingdom".

The Taiping had very strict rules. They banned opium use, promoted shared property across their group, separated men and women, and tried to even create a whole new religious order. Their rebellion was so upsetting it turned into a full scale civil war called the Taiping Rebellion, which cost upwards of 20 million deaths. The Qing faction finally defeated the Taiping in 1864.

The I AM Temple (also called the I AM Activity) began in 1930 AD. A man named Guy Ballard was hiking on Mount Shasta, in California, one day when he claimed he met a supernatural teacher named St. Germain who was an "Ascended Master". Guy and his wife, Edna, soon founded the temple and taught that certain enlightened beings (including Jesus Christ) have so much spiritual power that they can communicate with the rest of humanity through special messengers (which Guy and Edna claimed to be). Their followers could improve their lives by listening to these messengers, speaking positive affirmations, and usig the phrase "I AM" to connect with energy.

The movement grew quickly during the 1930s and corresponded with the Great Depression, when people were looking for positive hope during troubling times. Supporters believed the teachings brought healing and success while detractors accused the group of grossly controlling the followers. In the 1940s, the movement faced legal challenges over their claims. The I AM Temple became much smaller over time, but it influenced later New Age movements.

The People's Temple was a religious and social movement started in 1955 AD in Indiana by Jim Jones. It promoted a blend of Pentecostal Christianity, socialism, and Marxism. At first, it attracted many followers by promoting racial equality, charity, and aid to the poor. The group operated soup kitchens, nursing homes, and free medical clinics. However, over time, Jones became paranoid and increasingly controlling. After a short move to California, the group settled in Jonestown, Guyana, in 1974.

There, unfortunately, it became infamous on November 18th of 1978. After concerns grew about potential abuse and people being prevented from leaving, a Congressman named Leo Ryan traveled there to check it out. Ryan and others were killed as they tried to leave, and soon after Jones ordered a mass murder-suicide (by ingesting cyanide-laced fruit punch) in which more than 900 people died, including children.

Heaven's Gate, called a UFO religion, was founded in the early 1970s AD. It was started by Marshall Applewhite and Bonnie Nettles (called Do and Ti, respectively) as they traveled around the western part of the United States. They combined ideas from Christianity, science fiction, and UFO beliefs. The group taught that Earth was just a temporary place and humans could leave their earthly lives behind and join advanced beings on the "Next Level". Members lived communally, followed strict rules, gave up much of their lives (including possessions) and believed in their leaders.

In 1997, Applewhite convinced the group that the appearance of the Hale-Bopp Comet signaled the chance to leave Earth and move on. He said a spacecraft was traveling right behind the comet. No evidence supported this claim. In March of that year, however, 39 members believed him and died by mass suicide in a house in California.

Aum Shinrikyo was a Japanese doomsday cult founded in 1987 AD by Shoko Asahara. He declared himself to be the first enlightened one since Buddha and a reincarnation of Jesus Christ. He and his followers mixed ideas from Buddhism, Hinduism, yoga, and Christian apocalyptic predictions. Asahara claimed he could guide the people to both total enlightenment and survival during a coming world disaster. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the group attracted thousands of members.

Over time, Shinrikyo became increasingly paranoid and secretive. He taught that a final great war was approaching and he and his group played a special role. As part of this belief, in 1995 the movement gained infamy when some members released poisonous sarin gas on Japanese trains, killing 14 people and injuring thousands. Asahara was convited and executed in 2018, and the original group splintered into much smaller successor groups.