imported>JJMC89 bot III: Moving :Category:Christian fundamentalist organizations in the United States to :Category:Christian fundamentalist organizations based in the United States per Wikipedia:Categories for discussion/Speedy

2026-04-02T02:59:08Z

Moving Category:Christian fundamentalist organizations in the United States to Category:Christian fundamentalist organizations based in the United States per Wikipedia:Categories for discussion/Speedy

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{{Short description|American religious cult}}
{{Infobox religious group
| group = Alamo Christian Foundation
| image =
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| image_caption =
| population =
| founder = {{ubl|Tony Alamo|Susan Alamo}}
| regions =
| tablehdr =
| region1 =
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| religions = [[Cult|Self-created cult]]
| scriptures =
| languages = English
| related-c =
| website = {{url|http://www.alamoministries.com/content/english/|AlamoMinistries.com}}
| notes =
}}
The '''Alamo Christian Foundation''' was an American [[cult]] which was founded in 1969 by '''Tony Alamo''' and his wife, '''Susan Alamo'''.<ref name="NYTimes2017"/><ref name="Time2017"/> Susan Alamo died in April 1982.

After years of legal troubles during which he engaged in abusive behavior against his followers,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lewis |first=James R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lk8_ARNz-dYC |title=The Encyclopedia of Cults, Sects, and New Religions |date=2001 |publisher=Prometheus Books |isbn=978-1-61592-738-8 |pages=42–43 |language=en}}</ref> Tony Alamo was convicted of 10 [[Child sexual abuse|child rape]] offenses in 2009. He received a maximum sentence of 175 years and was imprisoned until his death in May 2017.

==Founders==
'''Tony Alamo''' (September 20, 1934 – May 2, 2017) was born '''Bernie Lazar Hoffman''' to a [[Jews|Jewish]] family in [[Joplin, Missouri]].<ref name="NYTimes2017"/><ref name="Time2017" /> At the age of nine years old he was abandoned at the [[Boys Town (organization)|Father Flanagan Boys Town]], where he claimed to have been abused for his Jewish ancestry. He grew up there and went to local schools, but later, he migrated to the West Coast, where he adopted Christianity as his faith.

By the 1960s, he had settled in [[Hollywood, Los Angeles|Hollywood]], where he performed as a pop singer under the names Mark Hoffman and Marcus Abad. He was a petty criminal who was convicted of statutory rape, burglary, and theft before he was 21 years old. He also claimed to be a music promoter<ref name="NYTimes2017"/> and owned the Little Mark, Alamo, and Talamo Records record labels.<ref name="Tucker">{{cite book |author=Tucker, Ruth A. |title=Another Gospel: Cults, Alternative Religions, and the New Age Movement |publisher=Zondervan |year=1989 |isbn=978-0310404408 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/anothergospelalt00tuck/page/358 358-59] |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/anothergospelalt00tuck/page/358 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://scvhistory.com/scvhistory/lw3595.htm|title=SCVHistory.com LW3595 | People | Tony Alamo: ''The Robot Walk,'' Advertisement and Audio File, 1964|website=scvhistory.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.45cat.com/label/talamo|title = Talamo Label Discography – USA – 45cat}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://ugly-things.com/the-sons-of-adam-saturdays-sons-of-the-sunset-strip/|title=The Sons of Adam | UglyThings Magazine|date=8 January 2014 }}</ref>

'''Susan Alamo''' (April 25, 1925 – April 8, 1982) was born '''Edith Opal Horn''' in [[Alma, Arkansas]]. Twice married and with a daughter, she moved to Hollywood and attempted to become an actress.<ref name=EncycArkansas/> She had Jewish roots, but was reared a Christian [[Church of the Nazarene|Nazarene]], never needing to convert from [[Judaism]] to [[Christianity]]; she became an [[Itinerant preacher|itinerant evangelist]], modeling her ministry after her idol [[Aimee Semple McPherson]] before she met Hoffman.<ref name="Tucker" />

After the couple divorced their respective spouses, Hoffman and Horn got married during a ceremony performed in [[Las Vegas Valley|Las Vegas]] in 1966. They legally changed their names to Tony Alamo and Susan Alamo.<ref name="PFO">{{cite journal|author1=Fisher, G. R.|author2=Goedelman, M. K.|name-list-style=amp|title=Remember the Alamo! - The Second Coming of Tony Alamo|journal=The Quarterly Journal|publisher=Personal Freedom Outreach|date=October–December 2001|url=http://www.pfo.org/VL21-NO4.PDF|volume=21|issue=4|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061014173009/http://www.pfo.org/rememberalamo.htm|archive-date=October 14, 2006|url-status=live}}</ref>

==History==
===Early years===
Tony and Susan Alamo founded the Alamo Christian Foundation in 1969 in [[Hollywood, California]].<ref>{{cite web|author=Keller, Larry|title=Cult Evangelist Tony Alamo Convicted On Sex Charges |url=https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2009/07/24/cult-evangelist-tony-alamo-convicted-sex-charges|date=24 July 2009| publisher = [[Southern Poverty Law Center]]}}</ref><ref name=LewisEncyc2nd>{{cite book |editor-last=Lewis |editor-first=James R. |editor-link=James R. Lewis (scholar) |title=The Encyclopedia of Cults, Sects, and New Religions |edition=2nd |year=2001 |publisher=[[Prometheus Books]] |location=[[Amherst, New York]] |isbn= 978-1-57392-888-5|pages=42–43}}</ref> The church became the subject of controversy, especially as its members were active in trying to recruit new members in Hollywood.

It was frequently criticized for its manner of [[Evangelism|evangelization]], which frequently involved requiring young members of the congregation to walk around Hollywood, inviting people to convert to Christianity. They would take them to the church in [[Agua Dulce, California|Agua Dulce]] – roughly an hour away – for evening services, consisting of a meeting and a meal. Many of these individuals chose to stay on to become [[Bible]] students and [[Lay ministry|lay ministers]].<ref name=LewisEncyc2nd/>

In 1976, the church relocated to [[Dyer, Arkansas]], where Susan Alamo had been raised. There, in the small town which is located in the western part of the state, the church grew to several hundred members. It established printing facilities, a school, and a [[Church tabernacle|tabernacle]]. It also claimed to operate a [[drug rehabilitation]] facility, but in fact it was a facility for the purpose of Christian conversion.

Members of the church developed several businesses in the [[Alma, Arkansas]] area. As the church expanded, it established other churches in [[Nashville]], [[Chicago]], [[Brooklyn]], and [[Miami Beach]].

Alamo started a business, which relied heavily on unpaid child labor, of decorating [[denim jacket]]s and [[airbrush]]ing them with bright, colorful designs. Many Hollywood celebrities were seen wearing them, including [[Michael Jackson]]. He wore a modified leather Alamo jacket on the cover of his album ''[[Bad (album)|Bad]]''.<ref name=LewisEncyc2nd/>

The church's projects included Nashville's largest [[Western wear|country and western]] clothing store.<ref name="Keating">{{cite book |author=Keating, Karl |author-link=Karl Keating |title=Catholicism and Fundamentalism: The Attack on "Romanism" by "Bible Christians" |publisher=Ignatius |year=1988 |isbn=978-0898701777 |page=[https://archive.org/details/catholicismfunda00karl/page/115 115] |url=https://archive.org/details/catholicismfunda00karl/page/115 }}</ref>

The church published religious tracts, and it also distributed tapes of sermons by the Alamos. With the help of some church members, they also produced records and tapes, and they launched a national television ministry in the 1970s.<ref name=LewisEncyc2nd/> The ministry mostly aired on low-rated, non-network, high-power television stations in major markets. Susan led the preaching aspect of the ministry, with Tony mostly staying in the background in a production role, making only occasional appearances, usually to perform an inspirational song on camera. As the decade progressed, the criticism of their ministry grew. In response, the ministry produced "Susan Alamo Speaks Out", an interview-based program made up of claimed converts who had been transformed by the Alamos' ministry.

===Death of Susan Alamo===
Susan Alamo died of [[breast cancer]] on April 8, 1982, after first being diagnosed with the disease in 1975. She died 17 days short of her 57th birthday, at the [[Oral Roberts]] City of Faith Hospital in [[Tulsa, Oklahoma]]. In the reported belief that she would [[Resurrection|rise from the dead]],<ref name="Tucker" /> her embalmed body was kept on display for six months.<ref name=EncycArkansas>[http://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=4224 "Tony Alamo (1934–2017)"] ''Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture'' website, 30 August 2023</ref> It was then entombed in a [[Heart (symbol)|heart]]-shaped [[marble]] [[mausoleum]] on church property.<ref>Buchanan, Susan (March 1, 2008) [https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/intelligence-report/2008/christhiaon-coie-speaks-out-about-her-stepfather-tony-alamo "Christhiaon Coie Speaks Out About Her Stepfather, Tony Alamo"] [[Southern Poverty Law Center]]</ref>

In 1991, the federal government confiscated the property. Its agents learned that Susan's remains had been removed. Her estranged daughter, Christhiaon Coie, filed a lawsuit against Tony Alamo because he had stolen the body. Her stepfather (by an earlier marriage of her mother) obtained a court order which required Tony Alamo to return the body.<ref name=Nelson>Beverley, James A. ed. (2009) ''Nelson's Illustrated Guide to Religions''. Thomas Nelson Inc.</ref>

===Tax problems and criminal proceedings===
In 1982, the same year that Susan Alamo died,<ref name="LewisControv">{{Cite book |title=Controversial New Religions |title-link=Controversial New Religions |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-19-515682-9 |editor-last=Lewis |editor-first=James R. |editor-link=James R. Lewis (scholar) |edition=1st |location=New York |language=en |editor-last2=Petersen |editor-first2=Jesper Aagaard |chapter=Introduction |page=8}}</ref> Alamo discontinued the foundation in their name.

He replaced it with the newly incorporated Music Square Church (MSC).<ref name=LewisEncyc2nd/> MSC had been granted [[501c]] tax-exempt status in 1981.<ref name="court">{{cite web |url=http://www.ll.georgetown.edu/federal/judicial/fed/opinions/99opinions/99-5109.html |title=Music Square Church v. United States|date=July 13, 2000|id=99-5109|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607105536/http://www.ll.georgetown.edu/FEDERAL/judicial/fed/opinions/99opinions/99-5109.html |archive-date=June 7, 2011}}</ref> After the federal government had started investigation of the entity, the [[Internal Revenue Service|IRS]] retroactively revoked that tax-exempt status on April 5, 1996.

The IRS Commissioner found that "MSC was so closely operated and controlled by and for the benefit of Tony Alamo that it enjoyed no substantive independent existence; that MSC was formed and operated by Tony Alamo for the principal purpose of willfully attempting to defeat or evade federal income tax; and that MSC was inseparable from Tony Alamo, and failed to operate for exclusively charitable purposes."<ref name="court"/> MSC sued and lost in the [[United States Court of Federal Claims]]. It lost on appeal to the [[United States Court of Appeals]] in 1999.<ref name="court"/>

Alamo was arrested several times throughout his life, beginning with a charge for illegally possessing a weapon in 1966, for which he served prison time before he married Susan Alamo.<ref name="LewisControv"/><ref name=LewisEncyc2nd/> He encountered increasing problems after Susan's death. Women said that he had sexually abused both them and minor children. In 2009, Alamo was convicted of 10 counts of transporting [[Minor (law)|minors]] as young as 9 across state lines for sex. Alamo received the maximum sentence for his crimes, 175 years in prison.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/07/24/tony.alamo.verdict.pdf|title=Federal Verdict Slip}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=|title=Evangelist guilty of taking minors across state lines for rape|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/07/24/arkansas.evangelist.trial/|work=[[CNN]]|date=July 24, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author1=Buerkle, Rebecca|author2=Rues, Monika|date=July 24, 2009|title=KHTV Little Rock (Local Coverage) |url=http://www.todaysthv.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=88474&catid=238 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928042643/http://www.todaysthv.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=88474&catid=238 |archive-date=September 28, 2011 }}</ref><ref name="NYTimes2017"/><ref name="Time2017"/>

In June 2013, the federal government filed forfeiture and collection actions in federal court on 27 properties which were owned by members of Tony Alamo Christian Ministries, in an attempt to collect $2.5 million in restitution that Alamo was ordered to pay to his victims. The U.S. Attorney's Office argued that the owners were "owners in name only" because the properties were still under Alamo's control.<ref>{{cite news|author=Abramson, Alana |title=Feds Target Jailed Evangelist Tony Alamo's Property |work=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]]|date=June 12, 2013 |url=https://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2013/06/feds-target-jailed-evangelist-tony-alamos-property |access-date=October 24, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130828000730/https://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2013/06/feds-target-jailed-evangelist-tony-alamos-property/ |archive-date=August 28, 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Death of Tony Alamo===
Alamo died on May 2, 2017, while he was in custody at the [[Federal Medical Center, Butner]] in [[Butner, North Carolina]].<ref name="NYTimes2017">{{cite news |title=Tony Alamo, Apocalyptic Ministry Leader Convicted of Sex Abuse, Dies at 82 |agency=Associated Press |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/03/us/obituary-tony-alamo-minister-sexual-abuse.html |date=May 3, 2017 |access-date=May 8, 2017}}</ref><ref name="Time2017">{{cite news |title=Christian Cult Leader and Child Sex Abuser Tony Alamo Dies in Federal Custody |author=Aric Jenkins |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |url=https://time.com/4766223/tony-alamo-evangelist-dead-prison/ |date=May 3, 2017 |access-date=May 8, 2017 |archive-date=May 7, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170507143655/http://time.com/4766223/tony-alamo-evangelist-dead-prison/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> He was 82 years old.<ref name="NYTimes2017"/><ref name="Time2017"/> The Alamo Ministries posted a notice of his death on its website's homepage, but it did not post a notice of succession nor did it state its future plans.<ref>{{cite web|author=|title=Message regarding Pastor Alamo|url=http://www.alamoministries.com/content/english/messages/PastorAlamo.html|website=Alamo Ministries|date=10 May 2017|access-date= April 11, 2024}}</ref> The site, along with this notice, was still live, but it was inactive, {{As of|2025|lc=y}}. The website had made two posts about Israel and a post with a file entitled ''There is no [[Palestine]]'' or "19200.[[pdf]]".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.alamoministries.com/Newsletters/19200.pdf|title=THERE IS NO PALESTINE|access-date=29 November 2025|website=www.alamoministries.com}}</ref>

==Beliefs and practices==
The church was [[Protestantism|Protestant]] and [[Pentecostalism|Pentecostal]] in nature. It was frequently referred to as a [[sect]] of the [[Jesus movement]]. It was also extremely [[Anti-Catholicism|anti-Catholic]]. Additionally, it [[King James Only movement|only accepted]] the [[King James Version]] of the [[Bible]]. Susan Alamo frequently attacked [[organized religion]] on her programs.

Its members adhered to a moral code which required proper dress and standards of behavior, and condemned and forbade the use of [[drug]]s, [[homosexuality]], [[adultery]], [[birth control]], and [[abortion]].<ref name=LewisEncyc2nd/> Individuals who sought to join the church agreed to turn all of their money and property over to the church. In return, their own needs would be met and their children would receive a basic education through [[Secondary school|high school]].<ref name=LewisEncyc2nd/>

==In popular culture==
In 2016, playwright [[Ernest Kearney]] produced his one-man show ''My Alamo War'' for the [[Hollywood Fringe Festival]] in [[Los Angeles, California]]. The show recounted his four-year struggle against the Alamo church in Hollywood. He succeeded in getting the high-end jackets which were designed by Alamo and manufactured by unpaid cult members removed from a majority of the clothing stores which were located on [[Hollywood Boulevard]]. He and his supporters also gained the attention of the local media by informing it about the abuses of the cult. The show won the Fringe's Encore Producer Award.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tony Alamo News |url=https://www.tonyalamonews.com/ |access-date=2024-07-26 |website=www.tonyalamonews.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=My Alamo War |url=https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/3587 |website=www.hollywoodfringe.org}}</ref>

In 2019, [[Sundance TV]] broadcast a four-part miniseries, ''Ministry of Evil: The Twisted Cult of Tony Alamo'', based on the lives of Tony and Susan Alamo. It described their founding and running of the Tony and Susan Alamo Christian Foundation – it also called the foundation a "[[cult]]". It also described how the couple became rich by exploiting their followers who truly believed in them. Following his conviction, the program charged Tony Alamo with being a [[child abuse]]r, a [[Polygamy|polygamist]] and a [[Pedophilia|pedophile]].

The documentary series includes archival footage, including Alamo's videotaped deposition, and interviews with former members of the cult and the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] agent who brought Alamo down.<ref>Staff (January 22, 2018) [http://www.nbcpeacockproductions.com/news/ministry-evil-twisted-cult-tony-alamo/ "Ministry of Evil: The Twisted Cult of Tony Alamo" (press release)] NBC Peacock Productions</ref><ref>Rabinowitz, Dorothy (February 21, 2019) [https://www.wsj.com/articles/ministry-of-evil-the-twisted-cult-of-tony-alamo-review-hell-on-earth-11550785714 "‘Ministry of Evil: The Twisted Cult of Tony Alamo’ Review: Hell on Earth"] ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]''</ref> The series of four 40-minute episodes was also broadcast on [[BBC Four]] and in April 2024, it was broadcast on the [[BBC iPlayer|iPlayer]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=BBC Four - Ministry of Evil: The Twisted Cult of Tony Alamo, Series 1, Episode 1 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001y572 |access-date=2024-07-26 |website=BBC |language=en-GB}}</ref>

In 2025, [[Freeform (TV channel)|Freeform]] produced a series titled ''How I Escaped my Cult: Ten Stories of Survival'', in which former members talk about their time in the Alamo Christian Foundation.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Manley |first=Breanna |date=2025-02-20 |title='How I Escaped My Cult: Where to watch, how to stream free |url=https://www.al.com/tv/2025/02/how-i-escaped-my-cult-where-to-watch-how-to-stream-free.html |access-date=2025-02-23 |website=al |language=en}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Anti-Catholicism]]
* [[Anti-Catholicism in the United States]]
* [[Catholic–Protestant relations]]
* [[Christian fundamentalism]]
* [[Christianity and homosexuality]]
* [[Christianity and Judaism]]
* [[Christianity and other religions]]
* [[Christianity and violence]]
* [[Christian–Jewish reconciliation]]
* [[Christian Zionism]]
* [[History of Christian thought on persecution and tolerance]]
* [[Homosexuality and religion]]
* [[List of Christian denominations]]
* [[List of new religious movements]]
* [[List of organizations designated by the Southern Poverty Law Center as anti-LGBT hate groups#Alamo Christian Foundation]]
* [[List of Pentecostal and Full Gospel Churches]]
* [[List of Pentecostal churches]]
* [[List of Pentecostal denominations]]
* [[New religious movement]]
* [[Polygamy in Christianity]]
* [[Polygamy in North America]]
* [[Religious abuse]]
* [[Religious violence]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.alamoministries.com/content/english/ Alamo Ministries]
*
* [[Evil Lives Here]]

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1969 establishments in California]]
[[Category:1982 disestablishments in the United States]]
[[Category:20th-century Protestantism]]
[[Category:American members of the clergy convicted of crimes]]
[[Category:Anti-Catholic organizations]]
[[Category:Anti-Catholicism]]
[[Category:Anti-Catholicism in the United States]]
[[Category:Child sexual abuse in the United States]]
[[Category:Christian fundamentalist organizations based in the United States]]
[[Category:Christian denominations founded in the United States]]
[[Category:Christian organizations established in 1969]]
[[Category:Christian organizations disestablished in 1982]]
[[Category:Criticism of the Catholic Church]]
[[Category:Evangelicalism in the United States]]
[[Category:Evangelical organizations]]
[[Category:Jesus movement]]
[[Category:King James Only movement]]
[[Category:Pentecostal denominations in North America]]
[[Category:Pentecostalism in Arkansas]]
[[Category:Pentecostalism in California]]
[[Category:Pentecostalism in the United States]]
[[Category:Pentecostal organizations]]
[[Category:Polygamy in the United States]]
[[Category:Protestantism in Arkansas]]
[[Category:Protestantism in California]]
[[Category:Religious tract publishing companies]]
[[Category:Polygamy in Christianity]]
[[Category:New religious movements established in the 1960s]]

Alamo Christian Foundation - Revision history

imported>JJMC89 bot III: Moving :Category:Christian fundamentalist organizations in the United States to :Category:Christian fundamentalist organizations based in the United States per Wikipedia:Categories for discussion/Speedy