Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism
Part 1: Repeat After Me . . .
> Page 6 Often, familiar English terms that once held a positive meaning were recast to signify something threatening. > Page 12 What techniques do charismatic leaders use to exploit people's fundamental needs for community and meaning? How do they cultivate that kind of power? > Page 12 The real answer all comes down to words. Delivery. From the crafty redefinition of existing words (and the invention of new ones) to powerful euphemisms, secret codes, renamings, buzzwords, chants and mantras, "speaking in tongues," forced silence, even hashtags, language is the key means by which all degrees of cultlike influence occur. > Page 12 In both positive ways and shadowy ones, "cult language" is, in fact, something we hear and are swayed by every single day. > Page 13 Part 1 of this book will investigate the language we use to talk about cultish groups, busting some widely believed myths about what the word "cult" even means. Then, parts 2 through 5 will unveil the key elements of cultish language, and how they've worked to inveigle followers of groups as destructive as Heaven's Gate and Scientology . . . but also how they pervade our day- to- day vocabularies. In these pages, we'll discover what motivates people, throughout history and now, to become fanatics, both for good and for evil. Once you understand what the language of "Cultish" sounds like, you won't be able to unhear it. > Page 13 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. > Page 14 "Without language, there are no beliefs, ideology, or religion," John E. Joseph, a professor of applied linguistics at the University of Edinburgh, wrote to me from Scotland. "These concepts require a language as a condition of their existence." Without language, there are no "cults." > Page 14 But with a glimmer of willingness, language can do so much to squash independent thinking, obscure truths, encourage confirmation bias, and emotionally charge experiences such that no other way of life seems possible. > Page 15 Whether wicked or well- intentioned, language is a way to get members of a community on the same ideological page. > Page 19 But, like everything in life, there is no good cult/ bad cult binary; cultishness falls on a spectrum. > Page 19 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. > Page 21 It's really no coincidence that "cults" are having such a proverbial moment. The twenty- first century has produced a climate of sociopolitical unrest and mistrust of long- established institutions, like church, government, Big Pharma, and big business. It's the perfect societal recipe for making new and unconventional groups -- everything from Reddit incels to woo- woo wellness influencers -- who promise to provide answers that the conventional ones couldn't supply seem freshly appealing. > Page 22 Our behavior is driven by a desire for belonging and purpose. We're "cultish" by nature. > Page 24 We need to feel connected to something, like we're put on earth for a reason other than just dying. > Page 25 Following a guru who provides an identity template -- from one's politics to one's hairstyle -- eases that chooser's paradox. > Page 25 It cuts the overwhelming number of answers you need to have down to a manageable few. > Page 28 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. What's new is that in this internet- ruled age, when a guru can be godless, when the barrier to entry is as low as a double- tap, and when folks who hold alternative beliefs are able to find one another more easily than ever, it only makes sense that secular cults -- > Page 32 Over the decades, the word "cult" has become so sensationalized, so romanticized, that most experts I spoke to don't even use it anymore. Their stance is that the meaning of "cult" is too broad and subjective to be useful, at least in academic literature. > Page 32 A few scholars have tried to get more precise and identify specific "cult" criteria: charismatic leaders, mind-altering behaviors, sexual and financial exploitation, an us-versus-them mentality toward nonmembers, and an ends-justify-the-means philosophy. > Page 33 a power imbalance built on members' devotion, hero worship, and absolute trust, which frequently facilitates abuse on the part of unaccountable leaders. > Page 33 "brainwashing" is a term that is tossed around incessantly by the media, but that almost every expert I consulted for this book either avoids or rejects. ... Not all "cults" are depraved or perilous. Statistically, in fact, few of them are. > Page 37 "The biggest joke in religious studies is that cult + time = religion." > Page 37 labeling something a "cult" becomes not just a value judgment, but an arbiter of real, life-or-death consequences. > Page 46 A linguistic concept called the theory of performativity says that language does not simply describe or reflect who we are, it creates who we are. That's because speech itself has the capacity to consummate actions, thus exhibiting a level of intrinsic power. > Page 47 When repeated over and over again, speech has meaningful, consequential power to construct and constrain our reality. > Page 47 This book will explore the wide spectrum of cults and their uncanny lexicons, starting with the most famously blatantly dreadful ones and working its way to communities so seemingly innocuous, we might not even notice how cultish they are. > Page 47 Each part of the book will focus on a different category of "cult," all the while exploring the cultish rhetoric that imbues our everyday lives: > Page 48 The words we hear and use every day can provide clues to help us determine which groups are healthy, which are toxic, and which are a little bit of both—and to what extent we wish to engage with them. Part 2: Congratulations—You Have Been Chosen to Join the Next Evolutionary Level Above Human
> Page 57 Instead of sticking to one unchanging lexis to represent a unified doctrine, they customize their language according to the individual in front of them. > Page 58 "His vocabulary could change quickly from being rather backwoods and homey to being quite intellectual," .... code-switching can be used to connivingly gain trust. > Page 58 Jones learned how to meet each follower on their linguistic level, which sent an instant signal that he understood them and their backgrounds uniquely. ...Contrary to popular belief, the tragedy wasn't premeditated, at least not how the press painted it to be... And most of its victims did not die voluntarily. > Page 65 This is what every leader of the half dozen "suicide cults" in history have done: Taking an apocalyptic stance on the universe, with them at its center, they believe their imminent demise means everyone else must go down, too. > Page 66 At one meeting, Jones became so exasperated by Christine's opposition that he pulled a gun on her. "You can shoot me, but you are going to have to respect me first," she retorted—and he backed down. > Page 68 rhythmic repetition and deceptive hyperbole. > Page 70 March 1997, ... Heaven's Gate, a group of UFO- believing doomsdayers, systematically took their lives over a three- day period. ... Marshall Applewhite, A sixty-five-year-old seminary school dropout who went on to obtain a master's degree in musical theater, Applewhite boasted a snow-white buzz cut, saucerlike eyes, and a passion for sci-fi tales. > Page 70 A heaven-bound spacecraft trailing the Comet Hale–Bopp was going to bypass Earth in March 1997, allowing followers a chance to leave this "temporal and perishable world," board the flying saucer, and transport themselves to a distant space dimension Applewhite swore was the Kingdom of God. > Page 71 Applewhite spoke in long strings of esoteric space talk and Latin-derived syntax to make his small, pseudo-intellectual following feel elite. > Page 72 In Heaven's Gate, every student chose a new first name as well (and renounced their last name), which, per Applewhite's instructions, ended in the suffix –ody. There was Thurstonody, Sylvieody, Elaineody, Qstody, Srrody, Glnody, Evnody, etc. ... [ thus they were ] rhetorically reborn > Page 74 Applewhite's rhetoric was heavily influenced by the 1990s' UFO mania. > Page 74 Applewhite concocted a whole Heaven's Gate vocabulary of niche, sci-fi-esque terms. There was a severe regimentation of daily life in the mansion, and the lingo helped keep things in order. > Page 75 By marinating in this specific, thematic vernacular every day for years, followers began to picture life on that spacecraft, drifting toward the Kingdom of God. "It was doing real religious work," said Zeller. "It wasn't just gobbledygook." > Page 77 Within and outside cultish environments, language can accomplish real, life-or-death work. > Page 77 Using systematic techniques of conversion, conditioning, and coercion, with language as their ultimate power tool, Jones and Applewhite were able to inflict unforgettable violence on their followers without personally laying a finger on them. > Page 78 Across the influence continuum, cultish language works to do three things: First, it makes people feel special and understood. > Page 78 This is called conversion. > Page 78 Then, a different set of language tactics gets people to feel dependent on the leader, such that life outside the group doesn't feel possible anymore. This is a more gradual operation, and it's called conditioning -- the process of subconsciously learning a behavior in response to a stimulus. > Page 78 And last, language convinces people to act in ways that are completely in conflict with their former reality, ethics, and sense of self. An ends-justify-the-means ethos is embedded, and in the worst cases, it results in devastation. This is called coercion. > Page 78 The first key element of cultish language? Creating an us-versus-them dichotomy. > Page 79 The goal is to make your people feel like they have all the answers, while the rest of the world is not just foolish, but inferior. > Page 79 This is part of why cults have their own jargon in the first place: elusive acronyms, insider-y mantras, even simple labels like "fiber-lab." It 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. > Page 79 This goal of isolating followers from the outside while intensely bonding them to each other is also part of why almost all cultish groups (as well as most monastic religions) rename their members: > Page 80 It's not just followers who gain new names; outsiders get them, too. ... inflammatory nicknames used to exalt devotees and villainize everyone else. > Page 82 Over time, the memorable nicknames and insider-y terminology acquire a strong emotional charge. ... This lingo is what some psychologists call loaded language. ... Sometimes loaded language works by twisting the meaning of existing words until the new significance eclipses the old one. ... Other times, loaded language comes in the form of misleading euphemisms. ... But Jones's and Applewhite's euphemisms recast death as something actively aspirational. ... There's a companion tool to loaded language that can be found in every cultish leader's repertoire: It's called the thought-terminating cliché. Coined in 1961 by the psychiatrist Robert J. Lifton, this term refers to catchphrases aimed at halting an argument from moving forward by discouraging critical thought. > Page 84 Thought-terminating clichés are by no means exclusive to "cults." Ironically, calling someone "brainwashed" can even serve as a semantic stop sign. > Page 84 Once these phrases are invoked, they choke the conversation, leaving no hope of figuring out what's behind the drastic rift in belief. > Page 86 Thought-terminating clichés provide that temporary psychological sedative. > Page 86 Digging for more information is poison to a power abuser; thought-terminating clichés squash independent thinking. > Page 87 Both Applewhite and Jones kept their followers from conversing not only with the outside world but also with each other. > Page 88 Cultish language isn't a magic bullet or lethal poison; it's more like a placebo pill. ..likelier to "work" on certain people and not others. "recovered memory therapy" ... this exercise actually implants false memories and can be deeply traumatic for patients. > Page 94 Techniques like us-versus-them labels, loaded language, and thought-terminating clichés are absolutely crucial in getting people from open, community-minded folks to victims of cultish violence; but importantly, they do not "brainwash" them—at least not in the way we're taught to think about brainwashing. > Page 95 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. > Page 97 A common belief is that cult indoctrinators look for individuals who have "psychological problems" because they are easier to deceive. But former cult recruiters say their ideal candidates were actually good-natured, service-minded, and sharp. > Page 99 Letting people tell us only what we want to hear is something we all do. It's classic confirmation bias: an ingrained human reasoning flaw defined by the propensity to look for, interpret, accept, and remember information in a way that validates (and strengthens) our existing beliefs, while ignoring or dismissing anything that controverts them. > Page 103 If a form of language cues you to have an instant emotional response while also halting you from asking further questions, or makes you feel "chosen" just for showing up, or allows you to morally divorce yourself from some one-dimensionally inferior other, it's language worth challenging. Part 3: Even YOU Can Learn to Speak in Tongues
> Page 111 Having big dreams makes you vulnerable; Scientologists know this, and they claim to hold the keys to help you unlock your potential. > Page 117 Whatever negative experience you're having, it's no one's responsibility but yours. > Page 125 People need something to help make the supernatural feel real, Luhrmann told me, and language does precisely that. > Page 126 To enter ritual time, some symbolic action typically must take place, like singing a song, lighting a candle, or clipping on your SoulCycle shoes (really). > Page 126 But an oppressive group doesn't let you leave ritual time. There is no separation, no going back to a reality ... terminology makes speakers feel, well, cool. "In the early days, it was really fun . . . or 'theta,' as we'd say," Cathy told me, referencing Scientology's slang term for "awesome." > Page 136 Who doesn't love a secret language? "It made you feel superior, because you had these words that other people didn't, and you did the work to understand them." > Page 137 Confusion is part of the big trick. Feeling so disoriented ... When language works to make you question your own perceptions, whether at work or at church, that's a form of gaslighting. > Page 137 Gaslighting is a way of psychologically manipulating someone (or many people) such that they doubt their own reality, as a way to gain and maintain control. > Page 137 Sometimes gaslighters aren't even 100% aware that what they're doing is manipulative. > Page 142 Scholars tend to use the term "glossolalia" to describe this practice, in which a person utters unintelligible sounds that seem to approximate words from some perceived foreign language during states of religious intensity. > Page 142 Among believers, glossolalia is typically thought to be a heavenly gift. Part 4: Do You Wanna Be a #BossBabe?
> Page 167 And their commodity isn't merchandise, it's rhetoric. > Page 170 The truth is that this toxically positive rhetoric is fundamentally baked into American society. The cult of multilevel marketing is a direct product of the "cult" that is Western capitalism itself. ... networking marketing as we know it got its start in the 1930s. > Page 194 Impulsivity, says Bosley, is a common diagnostic indicator of people's vulnerability to fraud. > Page 195 Red flags should rise when there are too many pep talks, slogans, singsongs, code words, and too much meaningless corporate jargon, > Page 197 Bezos created his own version of the Ten Commandments called the Leadership Principles. It's a code for how Amazonians should think, behave, and speak. Part 5: This Hour Is Going to Change Your Life . . . and Make You LOOK AWESOME
> Page 245 call-and-responses [community building technique] Part 6: Follow for Follow > Page 261 As far as the average 1990s imagination could stretch, cults required an in-the-flesh location to have real influence. Without a secluded commune or isolated mansion, how could anyone possibly become separated from their family and friends, have their individuality suppressed, and ideologically convert to a destructive dogma in a way that incited real-world harm? > Page 262 For better and for worse, social media has become the medium through which millions of us construct kinship and connection in an ever-transient society. > Page 262 Twenty years post–Heaven's Gate, most zealous fringe groups rarely convene IRL. Instead, they build an online system of morality, culture, and community—and sometimes radicalize—with no remote commune, no church, no "party," no gym. Just language. In lieu of a physical place to meet, cultish jargon gives followers something to assemble around. > Page 270 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." > Page 271 Being smart and hip to the zeitgeist is not enough to protect someone from cultish influence online. > Page 273 In broad strokes, QAnon started in 2017 as a fringe-y online conspiracy theory surrounding an alleged intelligence insider called Q. The ideology began as something like this: Q, a faceless figure, swore to have "proof" of corrupt left-wing leaders—"the deep state," or "global elite" -- sexually abusing little kids around the world. (According to Q, Donald Trump was working tirelessly to thwart them before being "fraudulently" dethroned.) The only way to undo this evil cabal of high- powered liberal predators was with the support of Q's loyalists, known as "Q Patriots" or "bakers," who'd hunt for meaning in their anonymous leader's secret clues—" Q drops" or "crumbs" -- which were sprinkled throughout the web. > Page 275 Like most manipulative cults, QAnon's magnetism is largely the promise of special foreknowledge, which is available only to members of its enlightened underground collective. > Page 275 The glossary goes on and on. And it's always changing, branching off into different "dialects" of QAnon-ese, in order to accommodate new additions to the belief system . . . and, so that social media algorithms don't catch up, flag the language, and block or shadowban the accounts using it. New code words, hashtags, and rules for how to use them are introduced all the time. > Page 277 Virtual treasure hunt creates a form of conditioning called a variable-ratio schedule, where rewards are dispensed at unpredictable intervals. [See Habit] > Page 277 Some of the psychological quirks thought to drive conspiracy theory belief in general, Pierre writes, include a craving for uniqueness, plus the needs for certainty, control, and closure that feel especially urgent during crisis-ridden times. With all their plot twists and good/evil binaries, conspiracy theories seize our attention, while supplying simple answers to unresolved questions make believers feel special that they're privy to secrets to which the rest of us 'sheeple' are blind," Pierre explains. > Page 279 On the internet, however, a mysterious epigram with no clear source can serve as an on-ramp leading seekers to something much more sinister. > Page 281 It would be easy enough for me to write off all these groups, from SoulCycle to Instagram, as cultish and thus evil. But in the end, I don't think the world would benefit from us all refusing to believe or participate in things. Too much wariness spoils the most enchanting parts of being human.