Which of the following would you consider a cult:

• Soul Cycle
• Teal Swan
• Lululemon
• Heaven’s Gate
• Lularoe

If you answered: “I don’t know, they all use language meant to confuse outsiders and fulfil member’s needs for identity, purpose, and belonging,” congratulations, you don’t have to read this book because you’ve fully grasped what it’s all about!

Using a combination of interviews and personal experience, Cultish is a tour through various cults (that you may not have even considered cults) and the language that they use. Montell argues that “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.” As such, cult leaders lean into language as a form of control, twisting the meaning of words, using it to create a sense of belonging, and using people’s natural inclination to believe and belong to stop critical thought and push them further into the cult.

As an aside, I saw a mention of System 1 and System 2 in the book, that some people can use System 1 to filter out bad pitches (like for MLMs), some people use System 2, and for others, neither system works. This isn’t relevant to the review but I’m pretty sure this is an example of frequency bias occurring because I’ve noticed mentions of System 1 and System 2 a lot since I finished Thinking Fast and Slow.

If you’re worried this is only going to be a book about language, don’t be. Montell talks a lot about how various cults work as well, so you’ll get to satisfy your curiosity about them while learning how they work. Some of the more famous examples might be familiar (for example, I’ve listened to a podcast on Heaven’s Gate so I was pretty familiar with it) but there were plenty that were new to me. I especially liked it when Montell talked about her personal experiences, such as her brush with Scientology and her dad’s experience with Syanon.

Overall, I found this to be an interesting and fairly educational book about the power of language, how it can be used and misused, and the tragic things that can result.

Featured Image: Photo from Canva