Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism

As Montell works to build a clear portrait of cultish language, she also tries to strip away the power from some misleading language that undermines the meaning and society’s understanding of the word “cult.” One major way she does this is through confronting the myth of brainwashing throughout the book. This theme is important because addressing it allows for deeper discussion of cultish language by removing the layer of alienation outsiders have from cult members, an alienation that can result in catastrophic consequences for how the world responds to cults.

Because of the preexisting belief in brainwashing, many people dehumanize cult members. People will tell themselves that if cult members die, it must be because they were stupid or morally flawed. This sense of moral superiority has several roles, the most obvious of which is numbing outsiders to feeling the full extent of emotions associated with these tragedies while providing a barrier that makes them feel safe from that ever happening to them. This is problematic not only because it lulls people into a false sense of safety but because it influences authorities’ and the public’s responses to cult situations. For example, many people know about the tragedy in Waco, Texas, but few people are aware of the events that led up to this massacre and how preventable it was. During the panic around the Branch Davidians compound in Waco, Texas, the FBI stormed the compound, leading to a fire that killed many cult members:

The FBI may have gone to ‘save’ the Branch Davidians, but when they killed them instead, few Americans cared, because they weren’t a church—they were a ‘cult.’ Alas, the semantics of sanctimony (39).

This situation may have been preventable if hysteria around the word “cult” weren’t so high, and the fact that the national conscience didn’t feel much for these victims showcases how people tend to view those in cults as inhuman. Believing they are brainwashed is easier than the murky, complex, nuanced truth, and it makes events like these seem less gruesome. As Montell points out, if the FBI had conducted a similar raid on a more socially acceptable church, this probably would’ve been seen as more of a tragedy. However, because lesser-known groups like the Branch Davidians aren’t recognized with the clout of traditional religions, they are relegated to cult status, and their members to subhuman.

Montell repeatedly criticizes the belief in brainwashing and uses examples of how cultish language works (through conversion, conditioning, and coercion) to gradually build trust and misuse that trust to establish dependence on the leader/group. In one section while discussing children being brainwashed, she argues, “[I]f ‘brainwashing’ were real for anyone, it would have to be impressionable kids. But the truth is that it’s still quite possible to develop a sense of doubt, even when you’re very small and lack the access or permission to describe it” (145). Children by nature are more curious, open, and trusting than most adults because their brains are still developing and they don’t have the life experience or knowledge to make them wary. Still, children can tell when something is off and develop a sense of skepticism or distrust. Through examples in the text, like the little girl who was forced to speak in tongues, Montell shows that children can and often do resist ideas and practices that don’t resonate with them.

Evoking the word “brainwashing” isn’t just incorrect or problematic; it also derails deeper discussion the same way a thought-terminating cliché might. When Montell describes political discourse between groups like QAnon and outsiders, she shows how the dialogue is immediately shut down using the word “brainwashing,” because “the more outsiders invoke these labels, the more firmly insiders dig in their heels. After all, both camps think the other is ‘brainwashed’” (272-73). This dismisses all the thoughts, feelings, and concerns of the other party and classifies them as morally less or subhuman, which, as seen with the FBI raid in Waco, Texas, can have deeply problematic results, including causing a recursive process that makes members feel more isolated and reinforces their negative beliefs about others outside the group. Although brainwashing is a convenient excuse for behaviors and rhetoric that seem irrational, it is simply a way of deflecting deeper conversation. Brainwashing as a cultish superpower simply doesn’t exist; what does exist is the ability of language to shape thoughts, perceptions, and reality, and that prospect can be so terrifying that it’s easier to cling onto the myth instead.