Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism

To establish distance from the negative connotations of the word “cult,” Montell coins this term to mean that which is cultlike or exhibits the traits of a cult, particularly through language. While the book addresses cults directly as well, it uses the concept of “cultish” to explore more ambiguous rhetoric and techniques of groups seeking followers.

Confirmation bias is the idea that people will seek out, retain, and filter information that reinforces their preexisting beliefs, while tuning out the rest. Confirmation bias features prominently in Part 2, Chapter 10, in a discussion about participants in cultish groups being more likely to see leaders as speaking to ideals they believe in while being able to ignore the rest.

Revolutionary suicide is a term that describes “a demonstrator dying at the hands of their oppressor” (61). It was coined by Huey Newton, the leader of the Black Panther Party in the 1960s, and later co-opted by infamous Jonestown cult leader Jim Jones, when he ordered his followers to kill themselves by drinking the cyanide cocktail or be shot for disobedience. This term was effectively perverted by Jim Jones, whose audience was a progressive group of integrationists, many of whom were Black, to make it seem like dying for his cult was the same as what the Black Panther Party endorsed.

Coined by psychiatrist Robert Lifton in 1961, thought-terminating clichés are trite phrases or statements that become so common they prevent critical thought and dismiss nuance. These clichés are a part of regular life, but they are also an inherently useful tool for cults, which discourage people from holding space for multiple conflicting emotions and feelings. This concept features prominently in Part 2, Chapter 8, when dissent or concerns expressed by members is addressed. It features heavily as a category of oppressive cultish language throughout the remainder of the book.

Glossolalia, more colloquially known as “speaking in tongues,” is a practice “in which a person utters unintelligible sounds that seem to approximate words from some perceived foreign language during a state of religious intensity” (142). It “is basically a form of dissociation, a psychological state in which areas of conscious awareness are separated” (144). This term features most prominently in discussions about controversial religious groups.

Scientology is a religion founded by L. Ron Hubbard, who idealized science fiction. It is a controversial religion that is often regarded as a cult. Scientologists believe in the invented concepts of Xenu and thetan levels and strive to "go clear," or reach a kind of purity/enlightenment. Scientology often lures members in with a personality test that isolates their flaws and offers them affordable classes designed to help address them. As a person gets deeper into the organization, the classes become more specific and more expensive, leaving many in significant debt.

Multi-level marketing companies (MLMs) essentially function within a loophole of pyramid schemes. They often boast outrageous results and a positive "#girlboss" attitude, preying upon those seeking financial independence. Members are typically recruited by someone upstream and showered with empowering praise. New members must buy the products as inventory to sell and strive to recruit a designated number of new members each month. Failure to do so often results in the MLMs placing blame on the member. They're even encouraged to buy their own inventory when they don't meet their sales quotas. Some examples include Optavia and LuLaRoe.

Heaven's Gate was a cult based around the idea that when a certain comet passed the earth, the group members would need to ascend their earthly vessels (take their lives) to have a chance to travel in a spaceship to the Kingdom of God. Unlike much of Jim Jones's cult, Heaven's Gate's members willingly killed themselves by drinking a lethal cocktail and placing plastic bags over their heads while wearing matching Nike sneakers with toll money in their pockets. Heaven's Gate's leaders, Do (Marshall Applewhite), and his partner, Ti (Bonnie Nettles), believed they were alien descendants of God's kingdom. When Applewhite’s co-leader died of cancer, he grew more cemented in his beliefs and began his campaign to end his followers' lives.