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Dive into the fascinating and complex world of cults with our free 97-question trivia quiz with answers. Test your knowledge about historical cult movements, their leaders, beliefs, and impact on society. Whether you're a history buff or simply curious about this intriguing topic, this quiz will challenge your understanding of one of humanity's most controversial phenomena.
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Q 01Sharon Tate was married to which film director?
Roman Polanski
Roman Polanski was Sharon Tate's husband; the director was in London when Manson Family members killed her and four others at the couple's rented Los Angeles home.
Q 02Jim Jones's Peoples Temple built its remote jungle commune, Jonestown, in which South American country?
Guyana
Guyana's jungle held Jonestown, where the commune members went to their deaths on November 18, 1978.
Q 03On which Beatles album does the song 'Helter Skelter' appear?
The White Album
'Helter Skelter' is on The White Album, the Beatles' 1968 double LP officially titled The Beatles; Manson read its lyrics as a coded prophecy.
Q 04David Koresh, leader of the Branch Davidians, was born with what surname?
Howell
Born Vernon Wayne Howell in Houston, Texas, in 1959, he was 33 when the Waco siege ended in 1993.
Q 05In 1969 David Berg took his followers on the road after a 'revelation' that his home state would suffer what?
A major earthquake
His group had started a year earlier as Teens for Christ, gathering 'born-again hippies' at a coffeehouse in Huntington Beach.
Q 06What did Heaven's Gate members believe was their ultimate destiny?
To shed their bodies and board an alien craft
Members believed their destiny was to shed their bodies and board an alien craft, treating the human body as a mere 'container' to be left behind for the 'Next Level'.
Q 07Which federal agency's raid on February 28, 1993 began the Waco siege?
ATF
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) tried to serve warrants at the Davidian compound; four ATF agents died in the gunfight, and the FBI then took over the siege.
Q 08In what year did the Tate-LaBianca murders, associated with the Manson Family, occur?
1969
The notorious Tate-LaBianca murders, carried out by members of Charles Manson's 'Family,' took place in Los Angeles in August 1969.
Q 09In which year did L. Ron Hubbard die?
1986
L. Ron Hubbard died on January 24, 1986, at a ranch near Creston, California, after years living in seclusion.
Q 10The Order of the Solar Temple's 1990s murder-suicides took place across which countries?
Switzerland, Canada, France
The Order of the Solar Temple, a neo-Templar cult, was responsible for the deaths of 74 members in murder-suicides that occurred in Switzerland, Canada, and France between 1994 and 1997.
Q 11Before moving his followers to South America, Jim Jones headquartered his church in which U.S. city?
San Francisco
From there Jones became deeply involved in local politics and charity work through the 1970s before ordering the jungle commune built in 1974.
Q 12Heaven's Gate's two founders claimed to be the 'two witnesses' of which Bible book?
Revelation
The founders identified themselves with the two witnesses of Revelation 11, prophets who are killed and rise again after three and a half days.
Q 13The Branch Davidians were a splinter group of which larger religious denomination?
Seventh-day Adventists
Q 21How many people died in the Jonestown massacre in 1978?
Over 900
Over 900: 918 people died on November 18, 1978, 909 of them at the commune, most from a cyanide-laced grape drink; those who resisted were injected.
Q 22In which U.S. state was the Children of God founded in 1968?
California
The group began in 1968 at the Light Club coffeehouse in Huntington Beach, California, where Berg preached to hippies and surfers.
Q 23What was the name of the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas?
Mount Carmel Center
The Branch Davidians' compound, the site of the 1993 siege, was known as the Mount Carmel Center, located near Waco, Texas.
The Branch Davidians originated as a schism from the Seventh-day Adventist Church, with their own interpretations of biblical prophecy.
Q 14Which Manson Family victim was a celebrity hairstylist?
Jay Sebring
Jay Sebring, Sharon Tate's former fiancé and a Hollywood hairstylist, was one of the five people killed at the Cielo Drive house.
Q 15In which U.S. state was the Church of Scientology first incorporated, in 1953?
New Jersey
Hubbard incorporated the first Church of Scientology in Camden, New Jersey, in December 1953, months before a church opened in Los Angeles.
Q 16What common term describes the psychological manipulation cults use on members?
Brainwashing
Brainwashing, or thought reform, is a term often used to describe the coercive persuasion and psychological manipulation tactics employed by cults to indoctrinate members.
Q 17Which cult leader, known as 'Moses David' or 'Mo,' communicated with his followers through 'Mo Letters'?
David Berg
David Berg, the founder of the Children of God (later The Family International), used 'Mo Letters' as his primary means of communication and instruction to his followers.
Q 18The mass suicide of Heaven's Gate members in 1997 was associated with the appearance of which comet?
Comet Hale-Bopp
The Heaven's Gate cult believed that an alien spacecraft was trailing Comet Hale-Bopp, and their mass suicide in March 1997 was an attempt to join this spacecraft.
Q 19In which year did Charles Manson die in custody?
2017
Charles Manson died on November 19, 2017, aged 83, at a Bakersfield hospital while serving a life sentence at Corcoran State Prison.
Q 20Before founding Scientology, L. Ron Hubbard was primarily known for working in what profession?
Science Fiction Writer
Science Fiction Writer is the short version: Hubbard was a prolific author of pulp science fiction and fantasy novels in his early career.
Q 24What did the Children of God call its practice of using sex to win converts?
Flirty Fishing
Flirty Fishing, begun in the mid-1970s, had female members offer sex to win converts and support; Berg framed it as showing God's love.
Q 25The Tate murders took place at 10050 Cielo Drive, in which Los Angeles canyon?
Benedict
10050 Cielo Drive sits in Benedict Canyon above Beverly Hills; Sharon Tate and four others were killed there on the night of August 8–9.
Q 26Which cult founded by Joseph Di Mambro and Luc Jouret drew on Rosicrucianism and Theosophy?
Order of the Solar Temple
The Order of the Solar Temple, founded by Di Mambro with Jouret as its charismatic spokesman, blended Rosicrucian, Theosophical and New Age ideas into its doctrine.
Q 27In January 2000 Aum Shinrikyo renamed itself 'Aleph', after the first letter of which alphabet?
Hebrew
Aleph is the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet; the renamed group later split in 2007, spawning the offshoot Hikari no Wa.
Q 28Heaven's Gate members earned money through a web-design business called what?
Higher Source
Higher Source, the group's web-design firm near San Diego, built websites for local businesses and paid many of the cult's bills.
Q 29Which cult leader was nicknamed 'Bo' by his followers, while partner Bonnie Nettles was 'Ti'?
Marshall Applewhite
Marshall Applewhite, co-founder of Heaven's Gate, was known as 'Do' (originally 'Bo') to his followers, while Bonnie Nettles was known as 'Ti' (originally 'Peep').
Q 30'Drinking the Kool-Aid' comes from Jonestown, but the poisoned drink there was actually which brand?
Flavor Aid
Aides mixed grape Flavor Aid in a metal tub with cyanide and a cocktail of sedatives; the phrase now means holding a belief without critical examination.