The Branch Davidians and the Waco Massacre
There are many strange and crazy groups around the United States that are centered around beliefs thought of as weird, unusual, and even radical by most people. Many of these groups are identified by others as cults and tend to be looked down on. My group this semester has chosen to focus our research on cults in order to try to have a better understanding on them. I have personally chosen to do my research on the Branch Davidians who are famously known for their 51 day standoff with the ATF and FBI in Waco, Texas, in 1993. Since they tend to be looked at as a crazed group of “doomsday preppers” I wanted to to learn more about them while giving them the benefit of the doubt. Maybe they weren’t as bad as they seem, or maybe they are just a crazy cult just like society sees them. In my podcast I try to have empathy for the cult by focusing the blame on the federal government for the terrible incident that occurred in Waco, Texas, in 1993. I bring into question whether or not the “strong arm of the law” is sometimes too strong.
References:
Wood Jr., James E. “The Branch Davidian Standoff: An American Tragedy.” Journal of Church & State, vol. 35, no. 2, Spring 1993, p. 233. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1093/jcs/35.2.233.
Pitts, William L., and William L. Pitts Jr. “Changing Views of the Millennium in the Davidian Tradition.” Journal of Religious History, vol. 24, no. 1, Feb. 2000, p. 87. EBSCOhost, proxygsu-bru1.galileo.usg.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=khh&AN=4369778&site=eds-live&scope=site.
Pieter G.R. de Villiers. “The Spirituality of Apocalyptic and Millenarian Groups. The Case of the Branch Davidians in Waco.” HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies , Vol 74, Iss 3, Pp E1-E10 (2018), no. 3, 2018, p. e1. EBSCOhost, doi:10.4102/hts.v74i3.5152.
“Agents of Apocalypse.” Commonweal, no. 9, 1993, p. 3. EBSCOhost, proxygsu-bru1.galileo.usg.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsglr&AN=edsgcl.13869451&site=eds-live&scope=site.
Weitzman, Steven P. “Religious Studies and the FBI: Adventures in Academic Interventionism.” Journal of the American Academy of Religion, vol. 81, no. 4, Dec. 2013, pp. 959–995. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1093/jaarel/lft033.
Gaffney, Edward McGlynn, Jr. “Enforcing the Law.” Commonweal, no. 10, 1993, p. 5. EBSCOhost, proxygsu-bru1.galileo.usg.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsglr&AN=edsgcl.13784192&site=eds-live&scope=site.