Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism

There are many cult leaders referenced in this book, from Marshall Applewhite to Teal Swan, but Jim Jones stands apart as a strong representation of them all. Jones, the infamous leader of the Peoples Temple who led his followers to mass forced suicide in Guyana, stood for values that seem progressive, at first glance, for the times. He and his wife were the first couple in Indiana to have an interracial adoption, and through the People’s Temple, he appealed to those who wanted to end segregation and elevate the Black community. A “linguistic chameleon” (57), Jones could adapt to the dialect and needs of every person he talked to, and his silver tongue earned him a following with ease.

Jones had a vision to build a socialist paradise in Guyana, but when his followers arrived, they found that Jonestown was a nightmare. This escalated to the tragic events of the massacre that has lived on through the now trite phrase “Drink the Kool-Aid.” While some try to describe Jones as a man with a vision whose plan went horribly wrong, clues about Jones’s personality come through in his planning and execution of the events in Jonestown. Even though he didn’t plan to have all his followers commit suicide that night, he had prepared for that contingency by earning his jeweler’s license to slowly accumulate a large amount of cyanide—used by jewelers as a gold cleaner—which shows premeditation. He also talked over the loudspeakers constantly to prevent his followers from speaking negatively about him and the conditions of Jonestown (there was a strictly enforced rule against others talking while he did); this demonstrates his narcissistic qualities and lack of genuine interest in his followers’ well-being. He even recorded the deaths on the infamous Death Tapes, showing that he truly believed in his convictions, enough to commit them to history.

L. Ron Hubbard was a science-fiction/fantasy writer and the founder of Scientology. His work on Dianetics (his self-invented system of pseudoscientific concepts and practices) is frequently referenced as an important staple of Scientology, and he created it as a form of exploring mental health in a new way. Hubbard’s language in his writings and teachings informed a lot of how Scientology functions today. Although Hubbard’s influence on Scientology isn’t explored extensively in Cultish, his use of language is directly referenced by Montell when describing how the organization functions today, even after his death.

Marshall Applewhite (also known as Do) was the founder of the cult Heaven's Gate. He believed he was superior to humanity because he and his partner, Bonnie Nettles (known as Ti), “were elevated, extraterrestrial souls temporarily inhabiting earthly bodies” (70). Capitalizing on the ’90s obsession with UFOs and his love of The X-Files and other science fiction, Applewhite formed Heaven’s Gate and told his followers that if they killed themselves at the right time, they’d be able to board a spaceship that would lead them to the Kingdom of God.

Applewhite’s mental health was adversely affected when his partner, Ti, died. He framed her death as her readiness for the kingdom of God, and ultimately, this traumatic loss led him to pursue suicide for himself and his cult. Unlike Jim Jones, Applewhite’s followers willingly took their lives when the time arrived, but like Jim Jones, Applewhite used specific rhetoric to form a bond around his vision with followers and believed himself to be above many other human beings.