2015 Best Book Award from the Communal Studies Association
The captivating story of the people 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 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.
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 its people.
"Zellers prose is clear and attractive, and he has a great story to tell, makingHeavens Gatea sparkling read. This book is highly recommended to all interested in new religious movements, apocalypticism, and American religions. Its relevance extends far beyond the small group that became forever notorious in 1997." - Journal of Religious History
"Zeller has written the most thorough work on the cult of Heaven's Gate that is presently available...Zeller provides a thorough presentation, and his 'Why Suicide' chapter is the most comprehensive in this fine publication." - Choice
