Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism
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- Create Date：2021-06-12 07:51:29
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Amanda Montell
- ISBN：0062993151
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Summary
The author of the widely praised Wordslut analyzes the social science of cult influence: how cultish groups from Jonestown and Scientology to SoulCycle and social media gurus use language as the ultimate form of power。
What makes “cults” so intriguing and frightening？ What makes them powerful？ The reason why so many of us binge Manson documentaries by the dozen and fall down rabbit holes researching suburban moms gone QAnon is because we’re looking for a satisfying explanation for what causes people to join—and more importantly， stay in—extreme groups。 We secretly want to know: could it happen to me？ Amanda Montell’s argument is that， on some level， it already has 。 。 。
Our culture tends to provide pretty flimsy answers to questions of cult influence， mostly having to do with vague talk of “brainwashing。” But the true answer has nothing to do with freaky mind-control wizardry or Kool-Aid。 In Cultish， Montell argues that the key to manufacturing intense ideology， community， and us/them attitudes all comes down to language。 In both positive ways and shadowy ones， cultish language is something we hear—and are influenced by—every single day。
Through juicy storytelling and cutting original research， Montell exposes the verbal elements that make a wide spectrum of communities “cultish，” revealing how they affect followers of groups as notorious as Heaven’s Gate， but also how they pervade our modern start-ups， Peloton leaderboards， and Instagram feeds。 Incisive and darkly funny， this enrapturing take on the curious social science of power and belief will make you hear the fanatical language of “cultish” everywhere。
What makes “cults” so intriguing and frightening？ What makes them powerful？ The reason why so many of us binge Manson documentaries by the dozen and fall down rabbit holes researching suburban moms gone QAnon is because we’re looking for a satisfying explanation for what causes people to join—and more importantly， stay in—extreme groups。 We secretly want to know: could it happen to me？ Amanda Montell’s argument is that， on some level， it already has 。 。 。
Our culture tends to provide pretty flimsy answers to questions of cult influence， mostly having to do with vague talk of “brainwashing。” But the true answer has nothing to do with freaky mind-control wizardry or Kool-Aid。 In Cultish， Montell argues that the key to manufacturing intense ideology， community， and us/them attitudes all comes down to language。 In both positive ways and shadowy ones， cultish language is something we hear—and are influenced by—every single day。
Through juicy storytelling and cutting original research， Montell exposes the verbal elements that make a wide spectrum of communities “cultish，” revealing how they affect followers of groups as notorious as Heaven’s Gate， but also how they pervade our modern start-ups， Peloton leaderboards， and Instagram feeds。 Incisive and darkly funny， this enrapturing take on the curious social science of power and belief will make you hear the fanatical language of “cultish” everywhere。
Reviews
The Atlantic
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"'Cultish'， a forthcoming book by the writer and linguist Amanda Montell， is an absorbing examination of the one thing cults and 'cults' （think Jonestown and the Manson family， but also Peloton and Glossier） have in common: their manipulation of language。 Montell argues that buzzwords， mantras， coded language， and forced silence are how these groups and brands build a sense of power and belonging， 'getting people to a point of extreme devotion and keeping them there。'" —Sophie Gilberthttps://www "'Cultish'， a forthcoming book by the writer and linguist Amanda Montell， is an absorbing examination of the one thing cults and 'cults' （think Jonestown and the Manson family， but also Peloton and Glossier） have in common: their manipulation of language。 Montell argues that buzzwords， mantras， coded language， and forced silence are how these groups and brands build a sense of power and belonging， 'getting people to a point of extreme devotion and keeping them there。'" —Sophie Gilberthttps://www。theatlantic。com/summer-re。。。 。。。more
Ev
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Fascinating， intriguing， and sooo relevant。 I can't tell you how many sections I highlighted。 A must-read in 2021 or any time， really。 Fascinating， intriguing， and sooo relevant。 I can't tell you how many sections I highlighted。 A must-read in 2021 or any time， really。 。。。more
Rhiannon Johnson
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I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review。I've been recommending this book to everyone。 I learned so much and I keep thinking about it--even weeks after finishing it！ Cults， cultish groups， religions， cliques， and communities of all types fascinate me。 I always think to myself "why are they drawn to this leader， lifestyle， or way of thinking"？ When most people think of cults the images that come to their minds are usually horrific （mass suicide in Jonesto I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review。I've been recommending this book to everyone。 I learned so much and I keep thinking about it--even weeks after finishing it！ Cults， cultish groups， religions， cliques， and communities of all types fascinate me。 I always think to myself "why are they drawn to this leader， lifestyle， or way of thinking"？ When most people think of cults the images that come to their minds are usually horrific （mass suicide in Jonestown， the fires and deaths in Waco， the Manson murders， etc。） and they tend to use the term "brainwashing" as an all encompassing way of stating a massive change in someone's way of thinking。 Charismatic leaders have used a variety of techniques to exploit people's desire for community and inclusion for millennia， the most powerful of which is language。 Before you think "I wouldn't fall for that" ask yourself about the language used in all of the groups you are a part of in your daily life。 Mantras， jargon， acronyms， and group specific phrases， "all inspires a sense of intrigue， so potential recruits will want to know more; then， once they’re in， it creates camaraderie， such that they start to look down on people who aren’t privy to this exclusive code。" Some psychologists call this "loaded language" and it is present far beyond the groups that many would be quick to label as a cult。 Author Amanda Montell shows how cultish language is present in many common groups in our current society， from SoulCycle and CrossFit to the self-proclaimed Instagram gurus and #bossbabes in multilevel marketing groups （MLMs。） This book really got me thinking about all the ways language can form a community and how any community can quickly become a cult。 Come chat with me about books here， too: Blog | Instagram | Twitter | Pinterest 。。。more
Jessica Howard
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This was fascinating。 I was totally that annoying person texting snippets from it to all kinds of people。 😅
Denise Johnson
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A page-turner！ This book is important。 Montell breaks down the psychosocial influences that entice and reward people for joining communities that promise enlightenment and self-improvement。 While most provide some sort of tangible rewards， others strip followers of money， autonomy， and even their lives。 How can you tell a relatively benign self-improvement program from a suicide cult？ How can you protect yourself without giving up on humanity？ Cultish spells it out。 Critical knowledge for everyo A page-turner！ This book is important。 Montell breaks down the psychosocial influences that entice and reward people for joining communities that promise enlightenment and self-improvement。 While most provide some sort of tangible rewards， others strip followers of money， autonomy， and even their lives。 How can you tell a relatively benign self-improvement program from a suicide cult？ How can you protect yourself without giving up on humanity？ Cultish spells it out。 Critical knowledge for everyone because we are surrounded by cultish language and influences and we need to see clearly what our would-be gurus are really up to。 。。。more
Abena Anim-Somuah
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Wow Montell strikes again！ Such an incredible commentary on humans yearning for connection and how it has manifested into cults。 From Jonestown to SoulCycle， Amanda does an exceptional job of a painting this tapestry on human nature with great historical references， personal anecdotes， and some good old fashioned human psychology。 Couldn’t put this book down！ Can’t wait for it be out IRL！
Ashley Rossetto
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I loved this book！ Montell writes in a language that is both scientific but accessible to someone like me， a complete lay person who has no background in anything discussed within the book。 As someone who generally DNF non-fiction books， I found myself unable to put this one down。 The connections that Montell drew between seemingly every day things like social media influencers and the language of cults， as just one broad example， （or cult leaders/recent world leaders and the idea that say-it-li I loved this book！ Montell writes in a language that is both scientific but accessible to someone like me， a complete lay person who has no background in anything discussed within the book。 As someone who generally DNF non-fiction books， I found myself unable to put this one down。 The connections that Montell drew between seemingly every day things like social media influencers and the language of cults， as just one broad example， （or cult leaders/recent world leaders and the idea that say-it-like-it-is honesty leadership is really just having a lack of filter） made sense in the way she presented them。 I really enjoyed this book and took copious notes throughout the whole thing。 I'm looking for thought-terminating cliches in everyday conversations everywhere I turn now。 I can't wait to read more of Montell's writings。 。。。more
Andrea Bartz
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Witty， slick， and self-assured， CULTISH will change the way you view the interplay between language and power。 Yes， it sparkles with muscular prose and snappy asides， but this book's true wizardry is how Montell peels back the veneer over topics we're confident we already understand—brainwashing， indoctrination， even the term "cult" itself—and demonstrates how a few potent verbal tricks， wielded correctly， render us more susceptible to cultish influences than we'd like to think。 Compulsively rea Witty， slick， and self-assured， CULTISH will change the way you view the interplay between language and power。 Yes， it sparkles with muscular prose and snappy asides， but this book's true wizardry is how Montell peels back the veneer over topics we're confident we already understand—brainwashing， indoctrination， even the term "cult" itself—and demonstrates how a few potent verbal tricks， wielded correctly， render us more susceptible to cultish influences than we'd like to think。 Compulsively readable and startlingly of-the-moment， CULTISH is as intriguing as the charismatic leaders and spellbinding groups it examines。 。。。more
Kelly
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I think what I especially loved about this deep dive into how language drives people to behave/engage with "cult-like" and actual cult organizations is how it's not judgmental。 It's a linguistic approach to how our brains are wired to build connections and ideas through words and it's through immersion in these words and ideas we find places we want to be 。 。 。 thus why SoulCycle or Peloton have such fanatics， as do actual cults themselves。 A really interesting look at "cult-like" language and b I think what I especially loved about this deep dive into how language drives people to behave/engage with "cult-like" and actual cult organizations is how it's not judgmental。 It's a linguistic approach to how our brains are wired to build connections and ideas through words and it's through immersion in these words and ideas we find places we want to be 。 。 。 thus why SoulCycle or Peloton have such fanatics， as do actual cults themselves。 A really interesting look at "cult-like" language and behavior， from Jim Jones to MLMs to indeed， fitness programs。 。。。more
Rachel Wiegand
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Just when I thought I knew all there was to know about Jonestown， Scientology， and all things disturbing and culty， I could not put this book down！！ Cultish had me entirely captivated and awash with new fascinating details of the stories I thought I knew and ones I have not even considered。 I was hanging on every word of Montell’s linguistical analysis of the Jonestown death tape （and as a true-crime fanatic， I have already listened to it an embarrassing number of times）。 Moving from suicide cul Just when I thought I knew all there was to know about Jonestown， Scientology， and all things disturbing and culty， I could not put this book down！！ Cultish had me entirely captivated and awash with new fascinating details of the stories I thought I knew and ones I have not even considered。 I was hanging on every word of Montell’s linguistical analysis of the Jonestown death tape （and as a true-crime fanatic， I have already listened to it an embarrassing number of times）。 Moving from suicide cults to religious cults， to those sneaky and slippery MLMs that we find so many of our former high school classmates posting about on Instagram （you know—the posts where everything is smiley， beautiful， and "life-changing，" but it is hard to figure out what they are actually selling？） Montell cracks open how language entices us into different worlds and how it convinces and coerces us to stay despite the terror， better judgment， woo woo， etc。 we might encounter。 This book will push readers to recognize how language facilitates induction into not only those terrifying classic cults we are all obsessed with but also the cults we have willingly joined in our everyday lives！ Montell’s writing is beautiful， hilarious， and weaves together so many cultish stories that I could not pull myself away from。 If you are at all intrigued by the power of language， cults， religion， multi-level marketing， all the craziness of Qua-non， or even SoulCycle， you NEED to read this book！！ 。。。more
Craig
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This is a beautifully written and researched book that reveals the pervasive and varied types of cults that bombard all of us every day。 The author has a unique cool and sophisticated voice that adds greatly to the delight in reading this book。 It is so much fun and informative， you will want to read it a second time。
Emily Paulson
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