Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism―Understanding the Social Science of Cult Influence

Wow. Just Wow!

Great book! Very relevant in the times of social media and influencers.

“For good or ill, there is now a cult for everyone.” When you hear the word ‘cult’ your brain instantly imagines a specific type of group (an extreme religious one most likely), but that doesn’t cover the broadness of what a cult can be. Cultish takes a look at the language surrounding cults and what determines if a cult is dangerous. “Language is the glue that binds that “addictive” combo of community and motivation.” From the beginning of this book, I was hooked. The whole idea that language is the basis of cults and that there are more cults out there than just the extreme religious ones, was fascinating to me. Cults can be things like religious groups like Scientology, multilevel marketing (MLM) groups, aka pyramid schemes, and event fitness groups. Montell does a fascinating job at looking at the language that is used by all these groups and how it is all cultish. “Cultish language isn’t a magic bullet or lethal poison; it’s more like a placebo pill. And there are a host of reasons why it might be likelier to “work” on certain people and not others. One of them has to do with a type of conditioning most of us have experienced: the conditioning to automatically trust the voices of middle-aged white men.” This book was eye opening because of all the different ways a cult can form, with and without religion. I never consider how impactful language can be on swaying someone to join a group, but it makes sense once you sit and think about it. Montell opens your eyes to what creates a cult and what to be on the lookout for, but also that we have all most likely been in a cult at some point in our lives. I never considered fitness groups to be cultish, but after reading this, I can totally see it. “In both positive ways and shadowy ones, “cult language” is, in fact, something we hear and are swayed by every single day. Our speech in regular life—at work, in Spin class, on Instagram—is evidence of our varying degrees of “cult” membership. You just have to know what to listen for.” Overall, this was fascinating, informative, and wonderfully written. I highly recommend this book, especially for anyone who is interested in cults or how language can influence you. TW: mass death, including children; suicide;

Though a victim to subpar organization and transitions, some armchair psychologist vibes, and too many signposts (more on that later), this book challenged my perspective on persuasive language and the power of community and, impressively, got me to audibly "hmm" on multiple occasions. To me, this book felt like a friend sitting down to explain a niche interest they're passionate about, but with that comes the kind of tangental, roundabout storytelling you get when said friend remembers a detail they'd forgotten to mention. Perhaps it's because I'm a memoir fan first and foremost, but I enjoyed the personal interjections and anecdotes the author employed throughout the book, even though they felt disconnected from the narrative at times. The constant assurances like "we'll cover that in part 4" were a bit of an irritant to me, and, although I didn't consider it in my review, it's worth mentioning too that the book jacket was just an absolutely terrible texture. Overall, a thought-provoking read that I'd recommend to anyone with a penchant for rubbernecking at anything cult-related, but nowhere near the more academic analysis I had expected.

So. Good. Cannot even process it.