The problem of collective religious violence is poorly understood, in part, because it is relatively rare. In the decade before the dawn of the new millennium, a cluster of incidents involving apocalyptic new religious movements captured the attention of scholars, government authorities, and the public. Four prominent cases of collective religious violence in the 1990s can be singled out: the Branch Davidian standoff near Waco in 1993; the Solar Temple mass suicides in Switzerland and Canada in 1994, 1995, and 1997; the Aum Shinrikyô sarin gas attacks and homicides in Japan in 1995; and the Heaven's Gate mass suicides in California in 1997. The question of pinpointing a common set of variables to explain violence among the few cases on record remains a formidable challenge to researchers. Clearly, the greatest obstacle to developing such a theory or model is that the circumstances and conditions are varied, making comparisons and generalizations difficult. The point can be illustrated through a brief overview.

Four Cases of Religious Violence

The Branch Davidian incident began as a government raid that triggered a shootout between the agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (BATF) and sect members on February 28, 1993. Four federal agents and six Branch Davidians died in the gunfire. The failed raid led to a fifty-one-day standoff in which the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI's) Hostage Rescue Team conducted negotiations and applied tactical pressures to force the Davidians to surrender.