As in, can one be indoctrinated to be atheist?
Or, in better words, can parents indoctrinate their children to STAY atheist?
2007-03-26 13:35:57 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
OO-kay... evolution is not a religion... and not all atheists 'believe' in evolution.
2007-03-26 13:41:40 · update #1
I think almost anything can be used as an object of indoctrination.
(Except maybe rationalism -- it would be a contradiciton to command a child's mind not to take commands without investigating ir themselves...)
But other than that, if I lived in an isolated area, I could make my children believe or disbelieve just about anything I wanted them to, with the appropriate layerings of fear or guilt to quench any doubts.
2007-03-26 14:55:52 · answer #1 · answered by Michael 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Any kind of "indoctrination" is possible. It's just that the word loses some of its zip when you over-apply it. For example, if you were to inculcate in your children values of critical thinking and a sense of morality arising out of our human condition you might be accused of "indoctrinating" them.
You might contrast that to teaching them that the brutal scribblings of primitive tribesmen are beyond criticism or question, and that their desert god gave us our morality - while occasionally asking his believers to massacre this or that tribe.
So, there's indoctrination, and then there's indoctrination. We raised 5 wonderful, productive, moral human beings with the first approach. And by the way, we never told any of them they "had to STAY" anything, nor did we "protect" them against religion.
UPDATE:
I'm sorry, but most atheists, AND most main-stream religious people DO believe that evolution is a sound biological theory. It's just a sign of how low our educational standards have come that this is still under discussion.
2007-03-26 20:54:18 · answer #2 · answered by JAT 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Anything can be indoctrinated, if the indoctrinator presses the absolute "truth" of their beliefs and seeks to avoid any other ideas infecting them. I suspect there are some atheists who would do that. I find however that most are content, for instance, to let their children hear a range of views and, more importantly, to equip them with the means of judging those views critically. So is it possible: yes. Is it likely: I'd be surprised.
2007-03-26 20:42:50 · answer #3 · answered by Bad Liberal 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I'm sure I'm probably mis-spelling the name, but the notorious atheist and black mass practitioner Madelein Murray O'Hare certainly indoctrinated her son in atheism, but from what I read, he apparently didn't stay an atheist after he grew up.
I was an atheist for a while, but I was indoctrinated by the popular culture.
2007-03-26 20:43:13 · answer #4 · answered by kscottmccormick 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you mean is it possible for a person raise there child as an athiest, in such a way that the child will stay an athiest all of there life, then yes.
but it wouldn't be called indoctrination.
2007-03-26 20:43:03 · answer #5 · answered by MONK 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
People react to influences in unpredictable ways. The best approach is to share your views but really emphasise the mental tools they should develop in order to distinguish good ideas from bad ideas, and rational beliefs from nonsense.
2007-03-26 20:40:04 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
You betcha. Except some wise up like Madalyn "O Hara's son, so there is still hope.
2007-03-26 20:39:49 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
sure, it starts with the religion of evolution
2007-03-26 20:39:12 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 3⤋