# Bibliography of the Order of the Solar Temple

> Wikimedia list article

**Wikidata**: [Q129254661](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q129254661)  
**Wikipedia**: [English](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bibliography_of_the_Order_of_the_Solar_Temple)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/bibliography-of-the-order-of-the-solar-temple

## Summary
The Bibliography of the Order of the Solar Temple is a Wikipedia list article that functions as a bibliography, systematically compiling references related to the Order of the Solar Temple. It is an instance of the academic discipline of bibliography, which studies books and publications as physical and informational objects.

## Key Facts
- **Instance Of:** Bibliography (the academic discipline that studies books and publications).
- **Main Subject:** The Order of the Solar Temple.
- **Type:** Wikimedia list article.
- **Sitelink Count:** 1 (indicating a single primary Wikipedia article entry).
- **Wikipedia Title:** "Bibliography of the Order of the Solar Temple".
- **Wikipedia Language:** English (en).
- **Classification Context:** As a bibliography, it falls under the broader fields of library science and information science, and in classification systems like Dewey Decimal, it would be categorized under 010.

## FAQs
**Q: What exactly is the Bibliography of the Order of the Solar Temple?**
A: It is a specific Wikipedia article structured as a list that compiles and documents publications—such as books, articles, and reports—related to the Order of the Solar Temple. Its purpose is to provide a systematic, curated reference list for researchers and readers.

**Q: How is this bibliography different from a normal Wikipedia article?**
A: While it exists as a Wikipedia article, its core format and purpose are that of a bibliography: it is primarily a structured list of sources rather than a prose narrative. It applies the bibliographic principle of systematically listing publications on a defined subject.

**Q: What is the Order of the Solar Temple?**
A: The Order of the Solar Temple is the main subject of this bibliography. It was a religious group, and this list compiles the bibliographic record of publications concerning that organization.

**Q: Why would someone use this specific bibliography?**
A: A researcher, journalist, or student studying the Order of the Solar Temple would use this bibliography to discover and verify the range of published sources available on the topic, saving time and ensuring a comprehensive literature review.

**Q: Who is responsible for maintaining this list?**
A: As a Wikimedia list article, it is maintained by the volunteer Wikipedia editing community, following Wikipedia's content policies and guidelines for list articles and bibliographies.

## Why It Matters
This bibliography matters because it addresses the need for organized, accessible source material on a specific, complex, and often scrutinized subject. The Order of the Solar Temple is a topic of interest in religious studies, sociology, and true crime, but information can be scattered across academic journals, books, and news archives. This list solves the problem of information fragmentation by gathering these disparate references into a single, systematically organized point of access. It embodies the core function of bibliography—making the world's published knowledge on a niche topic discoverable and verifiable. For scholars, it provides a foundational research tool; for the public, it offers a transparent, community-vetted gateway to the literature, promoting informed understanding over speculation. Its existence on Wikipedia ensures it is freely available to anyone with an internet connection, democratizing access to specialized knowledge.

## Notable For
- **Subject-Specific Curation:** It is notable for being a dedicated, curated bibliographic list focused solely on the Order of the Solar Temple, a specific religious and historical subject.
- **Community-Generated Resource:** It exists as a product of the open-collaboration model of Wikipedia, representing a crowdsourced effort to document the literature on this topic.
- **Application of Bibliographic Method:** It applies the systematic listing and documentation principles of the academic discipline of bibliography to a contemporary and controversial subject.
- **Single-Language Focus:** Its current form is in English, serving the English-language research community's need for sources on this topic.

## Body

### Nature and Definition
*   The entity is a **Wikimedia list article**, a specific type of content page on Wikipedia designed to present information in a structured list format.
*   It is formally classified as an **instance of the academic discipline of bibliography**. This means its primary function is not narrative exposition but the systematic compilation and description of publications.
*   As a bibliography, its core output is the **bibliographic record**—the standardized citation for each source—organized around a single main subject.
*   Its **practitioner** is the collective of Wikipedia editors who contribute to and maintain the list, acting as community bibliographers for this topic.

### Subject and Scope
*   The **main subject** is unequivocally the **Order of the Solar Temple**, a new religious movement founded in the 1980s that was involved in several high-profile mass deaths in the 1990s.
*   The bibliography's scope is to include **publications** (e.g., books, academic journal articles, major news reports, official documents) that are about or significantly mention the Order of the Solar Temple.
*   It does not, by the nature of a bibliography, contain original analysis or synthesis; its value is in the aggregation and organization of existing published sources.

### Classification and Context
*   Within the **taxonomy of knowledge**, it sits at the intersection of **library science** and **information science**, as it is a practical application of bibliographic methods for information organization and retrieval.
*   In a **library classification system** like the Dewey Decimal Classification, a work of this nature would be classified under **010** (Bibliography), reflecting its identity as a tool for documenting other publications.
*   It is a **specialized bibliography**, focusing on a single organization and its related events, rather than a general or universal bibliography.

### Platform and Format
*   It is hosted exclusively on the **English Wikipedia** (`wikipedia_languages: en`), making it part of the largest free encyclopedia project.
*   Its format as a **list article** means entries are typically presented as bullet points or in tables, with each entry containing the essential bibliographic citation details (author, title, publication year, etc.) for a source.
*   The **sitelink_count of 1** indicates that, within the structured data of Wikidata, this is treated as a single, distinct entity with one primary associated Wikipedia page.

### Purpose and Function
*   Its primary function is **research support**. It serves as a starting point or checklist for anyone undertaking serious study of the Order of the Solar Temple, ensuring they are aware of the key published literature.
*   It facilitates **source verification** by providing precise citations, allowing readers to locate the original materials.
*   It contributes to the **organization of knowledge** on a controversial topic by creating an ordered, neutral list of references, which can help counter misinformation by pointing toward established publications.
*   It is a **dynamic document**; as a Wikipedia article, it can be updated by editors to include new publications, correct errors, or improve formatting, unlike a static printed bibliography.