is religion brainwashing?

Question

if its not, then how come they dont teach evolution to 5 year olds like intelligent design is? how come they dont wait to teach religion until the child reaches a mature level where he can think for himself? do you guys think religion is a form of brainwashing?

yes/no and why/why not?

for the record i was raised in a christian school. we were taught intelligent design in kindergarden. or maybe even before but i cant remember.

Answer 1

Yes. Whenever a teaching doesn't incourage outside research or education it is brainwashing. Religion tries to sway away from science and other ideals of life. It teaches that it is the only way, not a possible way. It ingrains a idealism into a person and makes them feel like everyone else is wrong.

Answer 2

The same question could be reversed and asked why do schools not teach intelligent design. Both evolutionists and creationists believe that the other view is void, it would be absurd for them to teach something they believe is false, especially when each of them believe that the other view contradicts scientific principles.

Everyone indoctrinates children, religion, school, TV, books, parents, you name it. And it starts with birth.

None of these, however, is necessarily brainwashing. Brainwashing occurs when people are not given the option to pursue their own thoughts. Some religions do brainwash, but as a whole, it would be wrong to say that religion always brainwashes. Most brainwashing in religion falls under cults that are branched from a more steady religion. Most cults come from islam, christianity, and judiasm.

The method for brainwashing:
Forbid members to engage friendships with anyone outside of the group.

Keep the members busy, deprived of sleep and sometimes food so that they are too occupied or too tired to think for themselves. This softens them up for suggestive reasoning.

Forbid members to access information that may disagree with the group.

Frequently force the members to re-evaluate their prior existence in negative ways.

Psychological abuse is used to discipline the members, such as telling them they will become sick, or poor if they don't do what they are told.

Many of these methods are used here and there through many groups in the world, but when you put them all together, you have a powerful suggestive tool that causes a person to stop thinking all together, and just accept what they are told by their brainwashers.

Answer 3

It can be. Your parents chose this school for you, and you are lucky. The good news is, even if you totally disagree, as an adult, you can choose what you like. We all have this in our lives to some degree. I was raised in a christian school, but because of some hard questions people had, I have been on a search to verify the truth I thought I had. Luckily, I have not been disapointed, as the evidence we do have points to intelligent design, even simple logic of the workings of universe point to it having a cause, etc. I was referring to cults, when I said maybe there could be brainwashing. That is obviously a form of religion, where people are brainwashed.
Any of us, can be brought up in any religion, of which all canNOT be true, they make exclusive claims, etc. The opposite of true, is false, correct? IF one is right, then others must be wrong. Thus, the search for truth goes on. Any of us could be brought up in that "wrong" relgion, even with the best of intentions, and I can tell you, that truth can be sought out, and changes made, especially over such life and death matters.
You don't mention school age children I noticed. Are you not concerned with the slant they get in the public school in regards to "theories taught"? If it was a fair world, evolution would be only a part, and creationism taught as another "view", but notice it is not. There is a reason for this, and I wonder what is the big threat, of letting children decide for themselves. Don't you all want to present the evidence we DO have, and let the truth win out, whatEVER it may be? People should really think about this.

Answer 4

Its no more a form of brainwashing than teaching anything is. And think about it, Evolution has unanswered questions too but there's no alternative theory if you happen to not believe it nor believe in a Creator. It's like you HAVE to believe that is the answer. At least, amoung Creationism, there are different theories on it. Some believe in a literal 6 day creation, some believe each day is 1000 or more years, some believe that God used evolution to bring man forth, some believe that there was a whole earth age before man came. But if you dont believe in a Creator... you HAVE to believe Evolution... even though the theories change very often.

Answer 5

First of all, it would be helpful to know who/what "they" is. But not knowing that....I would say definately:

NO!!! Religion is not brainwashing. (Or Should Not Be)!

If religion is more "taught" than "preached"....it is no more than simple education whereby we learn that as humans we may actually CHOOSE between "religion" & "spirituality" or even combine the two according to our own social beliefs & environment.

I think of "brainwashing as being more of a "forced" (unwanted), minipulated/planned type of "preaching" vs the more reasonable & preferred "teaching" practice.

As to why religion is not a "wait to teach until maturity develops" thing....that all depends upon the type of family we come from. The fact that parents are responsible for how they raise their children & have the right to choose which culture to raise them in.....will usually happen only in a "free" country. verses In most oppressed countries, children rarely can rarely even "question" the way they are raised nor be offered diffrent types of religious choices as in free countries. So again, that answer could depend upon where you are raised.

As for the question

Answer 6

No! People who are brainwashed are usually brainwashed against their will. The Webster's dictionary gives brainwashing this meaning: A forcible indoctrination to induce someone to give up basic political, social, or religious beliefs and attitudes and to accept contrasting regimented ideas. The former USSR used brainwashing to force religious people to give up God. People become Christians because they want to. Are people who do not want to be Christians Christians? People hear the same religious songs over and over again. Have you listened to a radio lately. Is it brainwashing to hear the same songs over and over again for tens of years. If one doesn't feel regret how is he made to feel guilty. People feel guilty then because of themselves. Yes the Bible reveals our faults, yet it says repeatedly to cover over these faults with love Collisions 3:12-14. I think this about prayer. You do not have to pray it is persons choice. Then I have heard many stories of people praying when the bologna hits the fan. Kidnappers are notorious people who perpetrate this crime on innocent victims who never seen it coming. People can choose to serve Jehovah they have a chance they see it coming.

Answer 7

If evolution was taught to 5 year olds, would you consider evolution to be brainwashing, then? If not, then you have a double standard.

You have to be taught something sometime. Every education curriculum has some type of bias built into it. If you were truly brainwashed, as you claim, then how are you capable of rejecting it now? I don't think that you know what the definition of brainwashing is.

Answer 8

Sounds like:

1. You're asking a rhetorical question

2. You aren't sure what brainwashing really is.

Having said that, I think religion in general CAN be misused to polarize the way people think, but that's a fairly far stretch from actual brainwashing, though some religious cults do employ it.

Answer 9

False religion is brainwashing. Religion is not false when people study, pray to, obey, make promises to the Creator of all of us. who is NOT a man. Religion is one of the false ones when subjects pray to a man, a spirit that was once a man, and is successfully creating a religion people will think is real for thousands of years while the falsegod makes the subjects his personal slaves. This is not the fault of the poor mortals whose parents never meant to teach children lies. They we were brainwashed but all these generations of decent people didn't know it. Once they read historys thousands and thousands and thousands of years of history they come across it and they know it, after getting truthful history from Oahspe.Bibles of what usually passes for religion are a means of brainwashing mixed with enough truth to make it believable and believed.

Answer 10

They teach evolution to kids that are 11-18...

Maybe the people teaching the 5 year olds love them enough to share the truth that Jesus has given them through faith which you never really understood?

Men can make religion a form of brainwashing. Examples: Crusades, terrorists...

But don't you think the MEDIA is brainwashing you?

No..wait. They actually care about your opinions, not your money. How silly of me.

The hypocrites in Christianity are just like the people all over the world...except they are not hypocrites because they have no expectations from the God they don't believe EXSISTS!

:(

The word tells us to 'have the faith of a child'...

Believe in spite of the circumstances around you...real faith..