“February 1979. That’s when the world was supposed to end. Obviously, God didn’t get the memo.”- Jim Willis, American Cults.
Religious fanaticism is all too common in our world. Humans have, for millenniums, believed in a higher power- something better than them. Many psychologists have theorized that humans created religion to encourage cooperation between various groups of our early relatives- and that religion gave people a common goal, or rather, belief, for people to relate to. However, this theory has never, and will never be tested. The true bottom line of religion is simply that people believe in what they believe in. Be it God or Heaven or Hell, be it Irregulation, or simply nothing at all- people are allowed to, believe in what they believe. Who is to say that one religion is correct and the other one isn’t? I certainly am not here to change beliefs.
What I am here to discuss, however, is when fanaticism with higher powers goes too far and becomes harmful to all those involved. In this series, I will be documenting various cults that have ended in, will end in, or are continuing to cause tragedies. This week we will continue our discussion on the cult known as The Ant Hill Kids, and the avoidable tragedy that Roch Thériault caused.
The Seventh Day Adventist Church perhaps had the most influence on Thériault’s cult. The Ant Hill Kids religion was shown to have many similarities to The Seventh Day Adventists (hereafter described as TSDA, or simply SDA), and even followed quite a few of the more questionable practices that the church indulges in. Former TSDA members have described various dogmas that the religion follows, including, “If you go through hell in this life enough times you become more susceptible to god’s truth”, and “Pray till your jeans wear out.”. The group follows extremely strict moral beliefs that many have compared to being cult-like, including no “drinking or smoking”, and it is recommended that the followers eat a vegetarian diet to avoid eating unclean animals. Furthermore, the group is also known for its “hierarchical” view of society, which includes women being subservient to men, and its various indulgences in racism and homophobia. In all, TSDA could very well have its own article in this series.
When Thériault converted to the SDA church, he was enthralled with the strict rules and was known to “enjoy” being a member of that church. He and his wife were very active members and were liked by most in the church. Thériault organized meetings and seminars for them, followed their beliefs to the letter, and even changed his first name from “Roch” to “Moïse,”- known to English Christians as “Moses”- after the biblical prophet who delivered the Jews from Egyptian slavery. Thériault was smart, charismatic- yet frustrated.
As he lived as a member of TSDA, he realized that the righteousness and rules he had been drawn into weren’t what he wanted. He wanted control- he already had it over his wife, and now he wanted it over a church.
At the end of his time in TSDA, he convinced a small group of followers to join him in the creation of a new church- one like TSDA, but containing a commune and “the truth”. Again, the timeline gets confusing in this case, as he was thirty when he gained his first following, leaving about ten or so years that are unaccounted for. It is known that during these ten years, he was already a member of TSDA, he was continuing his study of human anatomy, and he still had a fear of the supposed upcoming apocalypse. What can also be inferred from the word of mouth of various followers who knew Thériault in these years is that his behavior became increasingly bizarre- he began smoking and drinking, going as far as to become a severe alcoholic, and began preaching his own “sermons” to various members of TSDA. His behavior was so bizarre, in fact, that his wife divorced him in 1977.
Before his excommunication from TSDA, Thériault and a small group of followers (again, details are limited here in the exact number of converts) moved themselves to Sainte-Marie, Quebec, in 1977, during the height of the New Age movement. The “New Age” movement took place in Western countries (primarily the U.S. and Canada), and was one of many religious movements that took place within the twentieth century. This movement in particular introduced a “New Age” of religious practices, where the usage of old philosophical teachings and morals were reintroduced and “changed” in order to fit the “new” ideals of the Western hemisphere. I would like to point out that the timing of Thériault’s move into Quebec was perfect- by beginning to create a new community during the New Age, Thériault just looked like another fanatic- not a cult leader.
One year after the group moved to Quebec, in 1978, Thériault was excommunicated from the SDA on the grounds that he had attempted a coup by forming his group. Again, there is a lack of information on this, so it is hard to understand if the formation of the group was an attempt to quietly replace the Church leader or a full-on coup. Regardless, his stances on both religion and constant power grasping was too extreme for even TSDA, and he was kicked out of the church.
After the group moved to Quebec, Thériault forbade members from contacting their families, people outside the commune, and anybody from TSDA, as this had infringed on the cult’s values of “freedom”- therefore completely isolating them from anybody who could tell them to leave the group or give them help. This is a common tactic that cults use, and was discussed in a previous article describing the Twelve Tribes– by isolating members, the cult ensures that the members build their entire personality and lives around the cult, eventually causing the members to believe that the cult and themselves are one and the same.
Thériault was becoming increasingly paranoid. He had informed his followers that he had “visions”, and had spoken to God, who had apparently informed Thériault that the upcoming apocalypse would take place in February of 1979- two years after the official formation of the cult. This is another key moment in the cult’s history, as this marked the “beginning” of Thériault’s abuse.
To prepare for the apocalypse, Thériault moved the commune to what he called “Eternal Mountain”- located in Saint-Jogues along the sparsely populated Gaspe Peninsula. He had claimed to his followers that they would be “saved” from the rapture there. The group would go on to found a small town there, under Thériault’s orders. Thériault had, by some accounts of the members, not participated in the actual building of the town, and had instead “relaxed” during its creation. During the construction of the town, the group got its name.
Thériault compared the group’s labors to ants- as they were constantly working together for their town, just as ants constantly work together for their anthill. He nicknamed the commune members “The Ant Hill Kids”. Again, this is another common tactic that many cults use- by naming the cult as something other than an organized religion, the cult gives the members a sense of belonging and worth- like they’re a part of a club that nobody else can get into. Again, this completely destroys the members’ sense of self-identity, and instead replaces it with the group’s identity.
The Ant Hill Kids ran into a new issue before the upcoming apocalypse: they needed money. In order to gain more members and fund the creation of their town, the group turned to baking as an income. The group had apparently sold baked goods in a few neighboring towns, earning a large amount of income that greatly helped the commune.
February of 1979 came and went, and nothing happened. No rapture, no apocalypse, no fallout, no nothing. Thériault was wrong. His followers began questioning him- he was their leader, he had spoken to God themself- Thériault had delivered them from the SDA, and he was wrong? His followers began to believe that Thériault had lied- he was nothing more than a scammer and showman- and this threw Thériault into a rage. Thériault had wanted nothing more than complete and total control over The Ant Hill Kids, and now they were questioning him. It’s impossible to maintain control over people when there’s doubt- and in this case, there was doubt over the entire religion, therefore threatening the very existence of the cult.
But, as stated before, Thériault was smart and charismatic- he already had built the commune and convinced a large number of people that he was a prophet of God- all he needed to do was come up with a quick explanation- and he did. Thériault had informed his followers that it was blasphemy in God’s name to question Thériault, as he wasn’t wrong. Thériault explained to his followers that there was a major difference between God’s sense of time and humans’ sense of time. It was a simple miscalculation and miscommunication- the apocalypse was still coming, and the group still needed to prepare.
This was the turning point in Thériault’s career as the leader of The Ant Hill Kids. He realized the fragility of what he created, and how one misstep, one little detail missed, could completely destroy his power over the cult. He needed more leverage over the members, and what better way to do that than getting new members- ones who were born inside the cult?
