I read this book after placing it on my TBR list following a great review on this very website. It did not disappoint (to say the least).
Cultish explains how language is used in cults (and ‘cultish’ organisations) to lure people in and keep them there. From love-bombs to thought-terminating cliches, language is just about the most powerful tool to make people feel like they belong swiftly followed by making them feel terrified of the consequences if they leave. Scientology, as an example, has so much unique vocab that a non-Scientologist could listen to a conversation ostensibly in English but still have no idea what was being discussed.
So, if you know the lingo, you feel like an insider. And seeing as a sense of belonging is what we’re all looking for, it then makes sense that this is a way to get people in and keep them there. Other examples include organisations you may never have considered cult-like such as MLMs, fitness classes like SoulCycle and CrossFit, and even certain hip clothing brands. These are not all necessarily ‘evil’, as we may like to think all cults are, but it’s helpful to recognise the strategies they use to help people feel they’re being soothed from what ails them.
In the most extreme circumstances, language can be used to convince people to die. I’m still shocked by hearing about such cases as the young woman convicted of manslaughter by convincing her boyfriend via text messaging to kill himself. This isn’t an isolated incident as I’ve heard of other cases of ‘coerced suicide’.
So to the old adage ‘sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me’ I say ‘yeah right’. This book is a prime example of how that saying has been proven over and over again to be far from truth. Highly recommend to everyone.
