Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism
Amanda Montell 2021
“Modern cultish groups also feel comforting in part because they help alleviate the anxious mayhem of living in a world that presents almost too many possibilities for who to be (or at least the illusion of such). I once had a therapist tell me that flexibility without structure isn’t flexibility at all; it’s just chaos. That’s how a lot of people’s lives have been feeling. For most of America’s history, there were comparatively few directions a person’s career, hobbies, place of residence, romantic relationships, diet, aesthetic—everything—could easily go in. But the twenty-first century presents folks (those of some privilege, that is) with a Cheesecake Factory–size menu of decisions to make. The sheer quantity can be paralyzing, especially in an era of radical self-creation, when there’s such pressure to craft a strong “personal brand” at the very same time that morale and basic survival feel more precarious for young people than they have in a long time. As our generational lore goes, millennials’ parents told them they could grow up to be whatever they wanted, but then that cereal aisle of endless “what ifs” and “could bes” turned out to be so crushing, all they wanted was a guru to tell them which to pick.” Amanda Montell
When does something go from being a hobby to a cult? Are we seeing more cultlike behavior these days? Why? I worry about questions like these from time to time as I see evidence of intelligent, educated people getting swept up into a fervor over what looks like a cult to me. Cults can be as small as two people and as large as millions of followers. They seem to rise in popularity when regular society can't provide adequate explanations for what's going on. In times of chaos and uncertainty, people turn to confident authoritarians who make up an explanation for things, even if it's wrong.
I recently read Amanda Montell's book- Cultish, and it opened my eyes to some of the commonalities among various cult-like groups. Montell is a writer and podcast host, and her show, Sounds Like A Cult, examines a diverse group of cultish groups like Dave Ramsey followers, Dance Moms, Mission Trips, Homeschooling, and Cruise Ship aficionados.
When you think of cults, you think of groups like the People's Temple and Jim Jones who moved to South America and committed mass suicide under the orders of their leader. Montell covers Jones and his methods, as well as the Heavens' Gate cult that also committed mass suicide. These are the most extreme cults, but many groups today possess a lot of the same characteristics, if not to the extremes of death.
Cults are generally recognized to consist of:
1- Devotion to an absolute and authoritarian leader or group of leaders who claim to have special knowledge and cannot be questioned.
2- Love bombing to attract new members, especially those who are gullible and going through hard times.
3- Pressures to cut ties with the past- give up contact with family and friends while giving money, time and devotion to the cult.
4- A special insider language that only cult insiders can know the meanings of.
5- An Us vs Them tribal identity that puts cult members above and separate from the rest of humanity. Plus a punitive attitude towards ex-members and threats from outside.
Cultish focuses mostly on the fourth point- language. Language is a powerful tool, and once you get people using the language of a cult, they become more and more of a member, sometimes without realizing it. Cults seem to be cautious about bringing in their crazier beliefs to new recruits, but with language and love bombing they reel people in gradually, and before they know it they are all speaking the same language.
Most of us would like to think that we can think for ourselves and are not prone to falling for cults. But there are many pseudo-cults that operate in a similar way. As Montell states, "humans are bad at loneliness." The Covid epidemic produced an epidemic of loneliness and misery, and since then people have been hungry to find someone, anyone who would make it better. Many groups have discovered that if they behave more cult-like they get more money and control.
The author details her experience going to a Scientology center to take a personality test, and relates that the people there held her for hours trying to get her to sign up for introductory classes that would hopefully reel her in to the religion at large. Scientology is one of our most cult-like religions, and they pressure their followers with level upon level of enlightenment that must be worked for and paid for, never quite reaching the end.
The book takes a look at multi-level marketing companies like Amway, Optavia, Mary Kay, and many more. Most of these companies are pyramid schemes, enriching only those at the top while they use coercive and deceptive techniques to recruit more and more salespeople below them. The vast majority of the salespeople make very little money if any from these MLM's, and they are forced to abandon them after a few years in defeat. But for the most fervent members, MLMs are definitely a cult- promising vast riches, cult-like conventions, and pleas to go after friends and family for sales and recruits.
Then there are cult fitness fads like Soulcycle, Crossfit, Pelaton, and Intensati. These groups encourage intense workouts, sometimes to the point of injury, to reach some unobtainable goal of perfect fitness. Members are cajoled into paying big bucks for workout clothes and more and more expensive classes, and guilted when they fall off the fitness wagon.
The online world is full of cults, from Q-Anon to thousands of "influencers" who pontificate on the right lifestyles, fashions, beliefs, and behaviors. These include people like Kim Kardashian, Kylie Jenner, Beyonce, and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. Montell focuses on two more cultlike influencers- Teal Swan and Bentino Massano, both of whom have huge social media followings and who preach new age healing practices, some of which are dangerously uninformed and untested. Most of these influencers get paid for grabbing attention for advertisers, and the best of them sell their own classes and merchandise to capitalize on that attention.
Are we that lost that we're willing to give over our precious time and money to people we will never meet who promise us things without knowing anything about us? "All humans are lost to some degree," Montell writes, and I think that it's true. The world is just too hard to comprehend by ourselves, so we need some help to narrow things down. The problem comes when the help we seek attempts to cash in on our attention.
The book doesn't touch on some of the more popular and controversial cult-like religious and political groups. Is Catholicism a cult? How about Trumpism? Is the KKK a cult? Homosexuality? It all depends on your point of view I guess. But any group that elevates its members into some sort of "chosen" tribe needs to be looked at with skepticism- especially when it comes to religion or politics. The question behind religion (why are we here?) and politics (how should we be governed?) are way too important and complicated for any one group to handle alone.
The best defense against getting caught up in a cult is a healthy dose of humility and a wide network of friends and information sources. We all need help in navigating the world, but if that help imprisons us and hides most of the diversity that is our world, it causes more harm than good. Don't be afraid to question authority, look for a second opinion, hesitate before clicking on an email or social media post, and hold tight to those who've always loved you and been there for you.
None of us has all the answers. Beware of anyone who claims that they do. Especially beware of thought terminating cliches like "It doesn't matter" or "trust the process." that cults use to shut down critical thinking. A little bit of chaos and uncertainty is a good thing. That's where the growth and learning comes from.
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