Scan barcode
cady_sass's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
I don’t know who needs to hear this, but don’t join that MLM.
In all seriousness this is EXPERTLY done and I’m blown away. I’ve always been drawn to cult history and I really, really appreciate the work the author did here to include “cultish” behavior (hence, the title) of non cult entities- MLMs, fitness & CrossFit culture, MAGA, etc.- along with the obvious identifiable cults like Jonestown, Heavens Gate, and Nxivm, among others.
Super important to give language to the behaviors and vernacular that are big red flags 🚩 so people can engage carefully and make informed decisions. Highly, highly recommend.
In all seriousness this is EXPERTLY done and I’m blown away. I’ve always been drawn to cult history and I really, really appreciate the work the author did here to include “cultish” behavior (hence, the title) of non cult entities- MLMs, fitness & CrossFit culture, MAGA, etc.- along with the obvious identifiable cults like Jonestown, Heavens Gate, and Nxivm, among others.
Super important to give language to the behaviors and vernacular that are big red flags 🚩 so people can engage carefully and make informed decisions. Highly, highly recommend.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
missrosymaplemoth's review against another edition
4.0
Informational and educational. Would have rated it higher if it 1. Didn’t trigger my anxiety 2. Didn’t include the author patting herself on the back every few pages for being too good and enlightened to join a cult, & 3. Had regular page formatting instead of a skinny indented body of text.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Death, Drug use, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
just_one_more_paige's review against another edition
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
I've had Montell's nonfiction, both this one and Wordslut, on my TBR for a bit now. If I remember correctly, she originally came across my radar with Cultish through @thestackspod. In any case, I was immediately interested, but apparently I am not the only one. The waitlist at my library for the audiobook was...long. But I finally got it! And then I listened to it in less than two days because oh my goodness I could not put this down.
Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism is titled to perfection, as the book talks about exactly that - the way that language is the linchpin in all cult and cult-like situations, from Jonestown to social media gurus, from Scientology to CrossFit to multi-level marketing companies. Moving from an overall examination of why we are, as the human race, so fascinated by and drawn into stories of cults to a survey of the various types/levels of cults and cultish language, with personal interviews and stories to add depth and interest, Montell really gives an insightful introduction and overview in this book.
So yea, this book was absolutely mesmerizing. I was completely caught up in Montell's narration and the picture she was painting of the world and words of cults. She sets the stage by talking the reader through the various definitions of cults, the different levels of extremity of a group of like minded/similar believers, and consequences for when one strays. She gives introductory examples from all over the spectrum, like doomsday groups, boutique fitness, pyramid schemes, AA, religious groups, fraternities, “stans,” militant vegans, social movements - the majority of which are essentially harmless (and at times even helpful) - but points out that they all share certain similarities of language, and promises to further detail each throughout the rest of the book. During this primer, I actually really enjoyed the discussion of common understandings, like cult members being brainwashed and cult leaders preying on the most "vulnerable" types of people, and how Montell basically disproved all those mainstream beliefs. She presented a breadth (if not an extreme depth, as she covered quite a bit and this book isn't that long) of research and information to correct these false conceptions.
There were so many "oh!" and "whoa" moments while reading this and I want to have them all here for posterity, but putting them into organized paragraphs seems like...a lot of work. Haha. So please enjoy this bulleted list of the most fascinating things I learned/read. And consider this like a highlights list of what Montell captures in these pages and then go pick it up for yourself to get more details about and connections among it all.
- There is a confirmation bias of cults as bad, because the bad ones get news coverage, so we know more about them, and the cycle continues.
- What is a "cult" versus what is a "religion" is based mostly on support/acceptance from the establishment (socially and legally).
- The language of cults allows for othering and demonization of non-followers. Developing that “us vs them” dichotomy is key in creating isolation from the outside world, which is part of how people get pulled so deeply in and then are not sure how to get back out (well, that and the other language and the potential heavily harming consequences for leaving).
- Other language maneuvers to create that complete buy-in include the importance of renaming members and the confluence of mysticism and scientific vocabulary.
- Instead of preying on the most emotionally vulnerable ( those “damaged” or needing saving), cults often get their most fanatic followers from the most idealistic, because of the vulnerability of big dreams and what utopias the cults promise (which totally makes sense as to why they're such intense followers and don’t fall apart mentally).
- Really interesting discussions of using confirmation bias and gaslighting by cult leaders to manipulate followers towards self-distrust (and thus further dependence).
- Connections drawn among cultish language use from Great Reformation and evangelical preaching/church to the American Dream/capitalism/toxic positivity and productivity and Protestant work ethic (as universal definition of professionalism)... all in all the "prosperity theology" was captivating. So many different concepts all tied together over time to get us to where we are now!
- Actual science behind gullibility and systems of thinking and impulsivity and levels of need and even what mood a person is in as contributing (or mitigating) factors for potential cult involvement.
- This intellectual and academic look at boutique fitness, like SoulCycle and CrossFit, is fascinating to read with lived experience of my own. It was sometimes hard not to get defensive (but I worked through it, cause I have my own issues with it and, as someone more personally enmeshed, it would make sense that my feelings have more nuance), and so many true/good points were made! I'd also have loved Montell's take on the crossover of boutique fitness replacing religion for millennials and the extremely religious CrossFit communities - it's a subsect (a cult within a cult, if you will) that I feel would make a fascinating study.
- Exploring the ways the connectivity of the internet and social media has created space and opportunity for like minded people to find each other, for good (those living isolated, for whatever reason, and needing a community for mental health/safety/protection) and bad (the small numbers of violent dissenters and/or remote guru-types with negative health influence). On this note, Montell's explanation of the ever more single-circle-Venn-diagram situation of Qanon and extreme leftists (government and medical distrust) as the most recent iteration of a centuries long slew of doomsday cults was fascinating.
As the finale, Montell sums up the "explosion" of smaller cult-like groups and options in recent years by drawing a line from the unique "developed but few-safety-nets" reality of American life and the withdrawal of millennials from religious and civic-minded community groups to the pull towards the connection/community of cults/cultish groups. There was so much about the discussion - the idea of taking pieces of different things to meet your needs - that resonated with me. And I can truly empathize (though I do think I am too naturally skeptical, or confrontational, to be drawn in to an extreme). But I did feel better about the distinctions made about cult versus cult-like, in regards to who is given power/empowerment (the leader/guru or the individual) and the "are you free to make different decisions/ask questions/leave?" aspect, in knowing that I can buy into something for my own benefit but not let it take me too far. Honestly, I wish this had been twice as long, three times as long. I don’t remember the last time I was this absorbed and I recommend this *so* highly. Enthralling.
"What techniques do charismatic leaders use to exploit people’s fundamental needs for community and meaning? How do they cultivate that kind of power?"
"Language is a leader’s charisma. It’s what empowers them to create a mini universe—a system of values and truths—and then compel their followers to heed its rules."
"Whether wicked or well-intentioned, language is a way to get members of a community on the same ideological page."
"Hassan says that groups toward the destructive end use three kinds of deception: omission of what you need to know, distortion to make whatever they’re saying more acceptable, and outright lies."
"Ultimately, the needs for identity, purpose, and belonging have existed for a very long time, and cultish groups have always sprung up during cultural limbos when these needs have gone sorely unmet."
"That’s because language doesn’t work to manipulate people into believing things they don’t want to believe; instead, it gives them license to believe ideas they’re already open to. Language—both literal and figurative, well-intentioned and ill-intentioned, politically correct and politically incorrect—reshapes a person’s reality only if they are in an ideological place where that reshaping is welcome."
"The majority leave before things get deadly, but the reasons some don’t might also sound familiar. They’re the same reasons you might put off a necessary breakup: denial, listlessness, social stresses, fear they might seek revenge, lack of money, lack of outside support, doubt that you’ll be able to find something better, and the sheer hope that your current situation will improve—go back to how it was at the start—if only you hold on a few more months, commit a fraction more."
"When you’re experimenting with faith and belief, there has to be room to ask questions, express your misgivings, and seek outside information, both early on and deep into your membership. “The most important thing to remember is that if something is legitimate, it will stand up to scrutiny,” Steven Hassan told me."
"Combine this withdrawal from mainstream medicine with young people’s disillusionment with traditional faith, and cult fitness exploded to fill these corporeal and spiritual voids."
"Exercisers driven only by numbers tend to quit within twelve months. It’s when elements of belonging, self-worth, and empowerment enter the picture that members are moved to renew their fitness memberships year after year. Language is the glue that binds that “addictive” combo of community and motivation."
"In lieu of a physical place to meet, cultish jargon gives followers something to assemble around."
"The internet scammeth, and the internet fact-checketh away."
"It’s not that smart people aren’t capable of believing in cultish things; instead, says Shermer, it’s that smart people are better at “defending beliefs they arrived at for non-smart reasons.”"
"...martyrdom. Events like this serve as proof that overlooking the nuances of cultish communities only perpetuates a culture of hyperbole and chaos."
"It’s in our DNA to want to believe in something, to feel something, alongside other people seeking the same. I’m confident there’s a healthy way to do that. Part of me thinks it’s actually by becoming a part of several “cults” at once—like our Jonestown survivor Laura Johnston Kohl exchanging her one-commune lifestyle for involvement in a medley of separate groups. That way, we’re free to chant, to hashtag, to talk of manifesting and blessings, to use glossolalia even . . . to speak some form of Cultish . . . all the while staying tethered to reality."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Suicide, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Child death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Religious bigotry, and Murder
eruanna317's review against another edition
dark
funny
informative
fast-paced
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Drug use
montybonty's review against another edition
funny
informative
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
4.0
Pretty interesting read! I found that the pace dragged in the middle and end and overall, the information felt pretty surface level, especially if you are already familiar with the groups the author discusses, but I was never disinterested. Nothing felt particularly groundbreaking but it was enjoyable nonetheless!
Content Warnings
Minor: Addiction, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Racism, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Antisemitism, Suicide attempt, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, and Classism
bootsmom3's review against another edition
funny
informative
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Fatphobia, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Murder, and Cultural appropriation
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Alcohol
toofondofbooks_'s review against another edition
dark
informative
slow-paced
5.0
This is a solid nonfiction book that is an examination of different types of cults within our society and how those who lead them use language to manipulate their followers. On the other hand, this book is also about how many of us have already fallen into cultish groups/dynamics. The inside flap reads, "We secretly want to know, 'could it happen to me?' Amanda Montell's argument is that on some level, it already has." From Instagram to Heaven's Gate, Montell describes cults and cult victims with both sensitivity and great intelligence.
I really enjoyed this one. It read easily for a nonfiction. I feel like even if you aren't a nonfiction person, you might like this. Anyone who has spent any time immersed in internet culture, interested in true crime, language, and obviously, cults will find something for them within these pages. I don't really have anything smart to say about it other than I really liked it.
I really enjoyed this one. It read easily for a nonfiction. I feel like even if you aren't a nonfiction person, you might like this. Anyone who has spent any time immersed in internet culture, interested in true crime, language, and obviously, cults will find something for them within these pages. I don't really have anything smart to say about it other than I really liked it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, and Abandonment
Moderate: Cancer, Drug use, Miscarriage, Vomit, Medical content, Medical trauma, Car accident, and War
Minor: Addiction, Excrement, and Stalking
yeojinqueen's review against another edition
informative
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting
Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
eldritch_flower's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
I've always had an interest in cults. Not joining one, so don't freak out. But I am an active listener of the Cults podcast and I spend a lot of my free time watching documentaries on cults in general.
This book does talk about some of the more well known cults to give foundation to the points Montell makes later in the book, but what I found most interesting was the parallels between those cults and the groups she brings up as "cultish" like MLMs and certain gym groups, and even some influencers.
The book has a heavy focus on language, which I'm sure you can gather from the title. The language of conversion is incredibly compelling and interesting.
But beyond that, the book is topical as it was written and released after June of 2020, so the anti-masker idiocy and QAnon bullshittery is also included in this with poignant commentary.
If you have ever had even a passing interest in learning about cults, it's worth the read. I definitely had fun with it and I feel like I came out of it with new knowledge(as someone who's been reading about cults for more than a decade, I think that's a pretty big feat).
This book does talk about some of the more well known cults to give foundation to the points Montell makes later in the book, but what I found most interesting was the parallels between those cults and the groups she brings up as "cultish" like MLMs and certain gym groups, and even some influencers.
The book has a heavy focus on language, which I'm sure you can gather from the title. The language of conversion is incredibly compelling and interesting.
But beyond that, the book is topical as it was written and released after June of 2020, so the anti-masker idiocy and QAnon bullshittery is also included in this with poignant commentary.
If you have ever had even a passing interest in learning about cults, it's worth the read. I definitely had fun with it and I feel like I came out of it with new knowledge(as someone who's been reading about cults for more than a decade, I think that's a pretty big feat).
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Murder, and Gaslighting
hubristicbitch's review against another edition
dark
informative
4.0
starting out this year with the queen of language: amanda montell is truly a genius and never disappoints. even though i loved “wordslut” a bit more, “cultish” was an eye-opening experience and more people should read it! it’s so important to know how powerful language can be when the wrong people know how to use it to their benefits. nowadays, being able to dissect cultish language seems to be more important than ever.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Suicide, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Drug use, Rape, Murder, and Gaslighting