Cults Like Us: Why Doomsday Thinking Drives America by Jane Borden
Big thanks to
Atria/One Signal Publishers and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced
copy of Jane Borden’s Cults Like
Us: Why Doomsday Thinking Drives America. This was a fascinating book, but also not quite what I expected for a
book about cults in America. I am fascinated by cults and how people become
involved in them, partly because it seems to strange and antithetical to me to
completely give one’s self to a group. In fact, it seems somewhat unamerican to
consider how one might lose themselves to a group and a guru, willing to engage
in questionable behaviors and activities. Recent books like J. W. Ocker’s Cult Following provide an overview of some of the more notorious cults in recent
years, while Amanda Montell’s Cultish examines how elements of cults are used in some
more popular activities that we might not consider cults. In fact, Borden’s
book seems to have more in common with Cultish in how she seeks
to look at some of the conceptual markers of cults and find ways that American
ideology and beliefs have largely incorporated this kind of thinking. That is, Cults Like Us seeks to define what and how cults operate, and then apply those
definitions to other areas of American life and groups that we might not
necessarily consider to be cults. It’s a fascinating way to re-examine what we
consider to be American and the values that we often champion as making us an
exceptional country (even if that mindset and perception is questionable, if
not altogether gone with the current Trump dismantling, er uh, administration).
I was a little surprised and challenged by this book since I assumed it would
be more like case studies of different cults, but I found this book to be
incredibly fascinating and enjoyed the challenge of expanding the conceptual
markers of cults to other areas of American life. Borden uses both infamous and
less familiar examples of cults and even some examples that we might not
consider to be cults to make her argument about American’s have incorporated
many of these elements into their lives, belief systems, and expectations for
society and the groups they seek out. Although
she mentions MAGA, January 6th, and QAnon a few times in the book,
there are also many implicit examples of how Trump’s methods and approaches to
cultivating a following employ many of the tactics that cult researchers have
identified as markers of cults. What I found even more challenging and troubling
was the notion that many of these elements have been a part of America’s
founding, from both Columbus’s arrival in the Caribbean to the Puritan’s
colonization of New England. The Author’s Note, Introduction and early chapters
all detail how this kind of thinking was part of the reason for Europeans
seeking out new land. Part of this is, what Borden calls, apocalyptic thinking,
and she does a great job recontextualizing the definition to not just mean end
times, but more like an uncovering or exposure of “the truth”, a revelation. According
to Borden, Columbus’s trip to the New World was in part to hasten the second
coming of Christ, while the Puritans also believed that the Catholic rule in
Europe were also bringing about the end times. They, like Columbus, believed the
Americas to be Eden like, a new land for a new start. Although their initial exposure
to the land was rough, they began to incorporate beliefs and practices that not
only focused on work and survival but also focused heavily on control of the
group and regulation of behavior. It was fascinating to learn more about these
historical figures and groups that Americans often see as heroic and unique, only
to consider them in a new light that reconsiders their actions as both fearful
and cultlike. In particular, the organization and practices of the puritan
communities was shocking to learn more about, yet, many of us know the kind of violence
and mayhem that was eventually led to the Salem Witch Trials and the deaths of
19 people from hanging and one from crushing stones. Nevertheless, Borden uses
these historical figures and groups to help readers understand not only why
Americans seek out groups with high control, but also how it has become such a
part of American culture, and, in her conclusion and later chapters may be a
general feature of human behavior.
Other chapters in
the book look at other cult elements including how we often look for strongmen
or a kind of singular hero to save us from impending doom. As Borden cites
other cults and groups who use these kinds of threats to better empower and enable
the strongman’s control of others and strict regulation of their behavior. It’s
that fear that is the mind killer and hastens the death of the individual and
submission or conformity to the group. Again, although he is mentioned several
times, it was somewhat scary to think about the implications behind these
examples and how there are current, modern correlates in today’s politics. It
also made me wonder whether Donald Trump really loves the country with how
often he lambasts it and describes the world as such a hellscape. His
perception of America, as someone who is largely privileged and has access to
exclusive experiences and resources, is much different from mine. Regardless, Borden
shares these important insights to further recognize that the current political
and cultural landscape is not too different from other eras in American history
and is largely representative of the kind of American thinking that has been a
part of the initial colonizers who brought religion, culture and ethos to the
shores of America. Again, it’s kind of eerie how both natural and man-made
events (war) tend to hasten this kind of thinking of end times and how easily
people abandon rationality and look to strongmen and groups for protection. It’s
also scary how these kinds of events can be both manipulated and manufactured
to create conditions of pliability and fear to empower leaders and strongmen. Another
chapter focuses on the idea of exceptionalism or being a chosen one, which
again seems like an element of both organized religion and more recent ideas of
politics. It helps to also create a division between believers and nonbelievers
that leaders exploit to further insulate their group and possibly bend them to
take action against nonbelievers who might be deemed as threats (sounding
familiar?). This also comes up in Chapter 6, where Borden presents an “Us vs.
Them” ideology. However, I really enjoyed the lesser known cult examples she
shares to highlight instances of these practices. The one example from this
chapter on the Oneida Bible Communists was shocking to learn about. The next
chapter on Rebellion and Anti-Intellectualism was also fascinating to learn
about Mankind United and how its founder relied on conspiracy theories (which
are “kissing cousins” with cults, according to Borden) to further his beliefs. Throughout
the book, Borden uses other examples of cults to show how the founders and
leaders often took from other belief systems, cults and conspiracy theories to
cobble together their ideas and further empower their leaders and strongmen. Chapter
4 looks at Consumption and Salvation, and how cult leaders often use our desire
for success, health and improvement to drive consumption of their products,
whether it comes in the form of a cream, pill, or seminar/webinar. It was surprising
to learn about John-Roger, the leader of MSIA, and how he exploited his followers,
especially young men. MSIA, a cult I didn’t know anything about, “blatantly
ripped off ideologies…of a movement called Eckankar” which also ripped off
other movements. Again, we can see how these cult founders often just borrowed
and remixed the ideas of others to exploit a new group looking for something to
improve their lives. As Borden notes throughout the latter chapters, cults and
religious movements (like the different Great Awakenings) often follow a period
of social upheaval or change, and the leaders look to exploit people’s
confusion or desire for improvement in these times. Chapter 5 links multilevel
marketing scams like Amway to cults, and shows not only how the leaders of
these programs, like Betsy Devos’s father-in-law, used their positions and connections
to avoid the kind of legal challenges that would properly hold these kinds of pyramid
schemers accountable and protect those at the bottom of the scheme propping up
the wealth of others. I think that Amanda Montell also talks about MLM in her
book Cultish, but not to the extent that Borden interrogates
the history and practices of these scams. It’s shocking to really look at how
these programs exploit the desire of others for success and wealth, but also
how they use the American/Protestant ethos of hard work leading to success to
further exploit others and continue to push them to buy and sell. Again, this
kind of American ethos tied in with our need for consumption is what begets the
kind of leaders who devise and exploit MLMs. Chater 6 which explores Identity
and Isolation and examines the kind of “Us vs. Them” mentality that cults inculcate
in their followers was particularly relevant in our current society as a
largely unpopular movement seems to have overtaken the government and
continually uses bad faith arguments, relies on people’s ignorance, and
continues to strike a defensive and divisive tone when making their case for
the unravelling of the federal bureaucracy. I couldn’t help but think of the Christian
nationalists like Pete Hegseth and Russel Vought who have explicitly called for
violence and pain to their enemies. Not sure how these fellas bring Americans
together, but it seems like a strange stance to take for a follow of Christ who
advocated for peace and love. Nevertheless, Borden uses the Nuwaubians and
Dwight York, who originated in NY as the Ansaru Allah Community. Ocker
discusses them in his book Cult Following, and I also read recent
books about De La Soul and MF DOOM, who came from families who were also
adherents to York’s system. It’s a fascinating, yet sad and troubling movement,
that sought to use the Civil Rights and Black Power movements to bring about
change in Black American communities, but ultimately York’s sexual exploitation
of his followers led to the downfall of his organization. However, as Boden
writes about York, he seemed not too much different from other cult leaders
that she describes like John Noyes, who was the founder of the Oneida movement
nearly 130 years earlier. Thus, Borden effectively ties these groups together,
often emphasizing the similar behaviors and methods that the leaders and their
organizations use to exploit followers and use them to not only advance their
own agendas, but also to harm or eliminate any of those who are skeptical or
present potential threats to their power. The last chapter focuses on our
desire of comfort and how leaders will often present cults as a way to bring about
comfort and release to our suffering. Borden uses the example of Love Has Won,
which was a relatively new cult, but one that was presented in an HBO Max
documentary last year. Like many cults, this one was not only strange, but also
sad, in how the leader brought about her own demise, yet how people strangely
accepted her failing health and rationalized their own decisions and complicity
in her deterioration. Despite being a shorter chapter, I think Borden makes
some important arguments here about how our desire for comfort and avoidance of
pain and suffering may lead us to seek out questionable motives. What is even
more interesting is how she emphasizes the kind of income inequality and unequal
access to proper healthcare can and has led people to make rash and unhealthy
decisions, whether it is from ingesting the silver tincture that Love Has Won followers
kept taking to those who held grievances against the elite and wealthy who
Trump exploited to take up arms on January 6th. The conclusion is
also important to read, as Borden ties her ideas together and reemphasizes the
notion that cults, and especially apocalyptic thinking are a major part of the
American identity. While this book was not necessarily what I thought it would
be, it is an important read that challenges our ideas about cults, why people
join them, and how they are interwoven into the fabric of our culture and
society. A really interesting point that Borden makes towards the end of the
book is how technology has largely atomized the kind of thinking and beliefs
that cults exploit, allowing cults and their leaders to have a further and more
powerful reach. While I agree, I don’t think this was the original intention of
the internet, nor any social media company. I think that these started with
good intentions, especially the early communities of the internet (especially the
Whole Earth Lectronic Link), but sadly others found ways to exploit this tool
to their own ends, and still others find ways to take advantage of the grief, anger,
and other negative feelings that are the result of continued discrimination, exploitation,
and inequality (maybe this is Trump’s new DEI) that have expanded over
the past few decades. There is a lot to explore with this book, and I would love
to revisit it again. It’s a challenging and thought-provoking book, but one
that is especially relevant today in making sense of illogical and seemingly unamerican
behavior. Borden brings a serious and ardent tone but also balances it with
some humorous and scathing takes on cults, politicians and our society. I
really appreciated these opportunities to lighten such dark topics and examples.
Furthermore, I think that this kind of approach helps to make her conclusions,
especially about human nature more relatable.
No comments:
Post a Comment