Editing Order of the Solar Temple (section)

== Classification ==
[[File:Emblème de l'Ordre du Temple solaire.svg|thumb|The Templar Cross used by the OTS]]
The precise definition or classification as to what kind of movement the Solar Temple was by academics is inconsistent; scholars have labeled it variously as an [[esoteric]] [[new religious movement]], a [[neo-Templar]] group, a [[Rosicrucian]] organization, a [[Doomsday cult|doomsday]] or [[suicide cult]], a new magical movement, a magical-esoteric religion, or a [[secret society]], among others.{{sfn|Bogdan|2006|p=134}} [[Stephen A. Kent]] and Melodie Campbell classified the group as a [[UFO religion]].{{sfn|Campbell|Kent|1998|p=531}} According to Henrik Bogdan, how the OTS is classified depends on "how these labels are defined and what aspects of the OTS are emphasized."{{sfn|Bogdan|2006|p=134}}

Shannon Clusel and [[Susan J. Palmer]] described the OTS as a neo-Templar movement influenced by the philosophies of [[Rosicrucianism]], [[Theosophy]], and the [[New Age]].{{sfn|Clusel|Palmer|2020|p=219}} Bogdan emphasized their status as a [[masonic]] [[initiatory society]].{{sfn|Bogdan|2006|p=134}} [[Massimo Introvigne]] has classified them as one of many neo-Templar movements, organizations that claim, through adherence to a set of myths about the secret survival of the Knights Templar, to be a continuation of that movement. Such groups were often affiliated with masonic rites and freemasonry.{{sfn|Introvigne|2006|pages=19–20}}

The organization was described by the Quebec coroner investigating the case as incorporating a variety of traditions but as primarily inspired by [[occult]]ism due to its belief in pseudoscientific practices and practices unrecognized by other religions, which required special initiation.{{sfn|Michaud|1996|p=33}} Palmer viewed the Solar Temple as fitting within anthropologist [[Mary Douglas]]'s conception of a "strong group, weak grid" society (with a strong sense of social cohesion, or ''group'', and a weak clarity of group meanings system, or ''grid''), due to the immense pressure it placed on individual members in combination with its "vague and confusing classification system". These societies, according to Douglas, often exhibit a [[dualistic cosmology]], in which the group does not view justice as winning over evil forces.{{sfn|Palmer|1996|pp=304–305}}