Where you indoctrinated as a child? How hard was it for you to un wash your brain?

Question

Church, bible study, awanas. I never really thought about how much of my childhood was spent with me being spoon fed religion. They seemed to know what the counter arguments were long before a mere child could even think to question the truth of their doctrine.

I remember that I was the kid who always got the most points for quoting verses.

But now, looking back, I wish I had been asking questions instead.

Answer 1

Yes, very much. My mother is a preacher and my father a religious benefactor, I have seven brothers and 3 sisters as well - all Roman Catholic. We've been to catholic schools and seminaries. But I'm glad somehow. Because of those background I've read the bible and learn a lot about Catholic faith. I went from Roman Catholic - Essenic(new age/occult) - Agnostic - Atheist.

Answer 2

I began life as a Methodist. We stopped going when that church became very anti-military and gave speeches during the service. (My dad was career military, 2 tours in Vietnam. We left before he decided to stand up and take his turn to speak.)

In college, I began to search again. It lead me to the Catholic church. Was I indoctrinated? No, not really. I was taught about the Christian view of a Trinitarian God, but not in an extreme way.

Some of you need to learn how to reply with a bit more care. Let's try to be
civil here!

Others make good points. It is a fact that parents teach what they think is right and best for their children. They aren't going to deliberately teach them something they think is false or bad.

Maybe the reason they had the counter arguements is because there ARE counter arguments. It seems you don't believe that anymore, but those of use who are still Religious (assuming you are not anymore) of course believe it is correct.

You SHOULD ask questions. Anyone who tells their children to stop asking questions **IS** indoctrinating. Questions is how we learn. I WANT my child to ask questions. how else can she learn? It will help me to learn as well.

As a side note, it is truly amazing how both sides seem to be SURPRISED that the other side believes what they do. Of course they are strong in their convictions. Those who don't really care wouldn't profess their beliefs.

I fear that people who come here to actually ask questions and decide which way to go will be turned away from BOTH views based on the speech of a small minority who can't seem to be civil. I know most of both sides are good people, but it is those who are insulting and rude that tend to be remembered.

Answer 3

I was. However, my Catholic school teachers weren't nearly so successful with as my fellow students. I avoided the majority of the brainwashing rather simply. The was religion is effective is they put the beliefs into your head early and keep drilling them in. All alternative ideas are discouraged because they will make you think about what you are being told. Indoctrination only works if you don't know you are being indoctrinated. I began reading at a very young age, so I was introduced, through books, views different from that of Christianity. When I was in first grade, I read the Bible straight through, and then I asked my teacher why, if God is so loving and peaceful, was it full of so much hatred and violence. She told me to stop asking stupid questions. I continued reading as much as I could. By the time I was nine years old, I had decided for myself that God was not real.

Answer 4

I was indoctrinated as a child. Nothing to serious though. Just Catholic school...with nuns for the first 3 years. They were nice. The religion I learnt in school was mostly confined to parables. I went to public High School Thank goodness. My grandmother was pretty hardcore on my young impressionable mind. She had me very convinced that Jesus was the light of my life and that I was very special to him. She is a sweetheart and had the best of intentions. My parents took it up a notch to Pentecostal when I was 15. I will admit they had me going for a little while but it was soooooooooooo different from my happy norm. It was easy to escape. I am still in the process of sorting through the brain and driving it through the car wash....it's the whole concept of Jesus dying for me that has been the hardest to dispel. I'm reading, lots and lots of reading. It helps.
Peace.

Answer 5

Yes, I was indoctrinated as a child. Now, I'm doing it -- to whole classrooms of young people. As a math teacher, you could say I'm a PROFESSIONAL indoctrinator! I welcome questions. To show that I'm not hoodwinking them, and to have them practice what real math looks like, I do the proof with them and sometimes require them to do the proof. As you might expect, students _really_ dislike doing the proofs.
Sometimes, even after doing the proof, students still are not convinced - often because they don't know enough yet to understand and sometimes because it's just a very difficult concept for people to wrap their mind around. I still have students who are convinced I'm foolin' with them even after doing the proof.

Some students complain about their "indoctrination" i.e. "When are we ever going to use this?" We'll if they don't learn and practice it to the point where they know what's going on, they probably won't use it. [Hopefully, they won't get drug into investing into a company developing perpetually motion machines or some other silly enticements.] I do the best I can, I can only encourage and strive to provide an environment that challenges them, makes sure that they've worked with the material, and push them to think. Humans are stubborn and fallible, so success and understanding aren't guaranteed.

Same thing goes for teaching about who god is and how he relates to us. To agree with you I wish more people would ask questions about who god is and how they relate to him. In the same vein, we need to be aware that we are not always going to understand the answers. Not all math is 2+2=4. Same with an infinite god.

Answer 6

Funnily enough after all the indoctrination as a kid what turned me away from Christianity was not the bible or the way that the belief system has been skewed and changed in so many ways in recent times. It was simply that the vast majority of people claiming to be Christians are anything but!!!

Egotistical, chosen, born again, anti science, hate filled persecutors of gays and non believers who are terrified of non believers.

I knew that those were the sort of people I should not be associating with!!!!!

Answer 7

As a child? I was destined to be an Irish Catholic girl long before my g-g-g-grandparents ever met and I was indoctrinated in the womb. I love the culture. It's who I am and who I'll always be but I just don't believe any more and the more I look back, the more I'm not sure if it ever did make any sense.

OMG! That SO did not deserve a thumbs-down. Wow!

Answer 8

I went to a church primary school; we had to pray every day in assembly, sung hymns, had nativity at Christmas, had leavers' services in Church, etc. but I kinda just saw it all as a bit of fun.

I enjoyed singing hymns! The Church was big and grand and nice! I think at that age you're too young to take it all seriously, I don't know anyone that came out a devout evangelical Christian. My parents aren't religious, I only went there because it was a good school.

It's only when you get a bit older, and some people start to think about God that you realise how much Christianity was drilled into your upbringing. Most people don't think anything of it, it's more socially acceptable, and most have genuinely good intentions.

I for one, have 'unwashed' my brain, and it wasn't too hard at all. I went to a C of E school, got a good education, forgot about religion until about a year ago, had a think about what was right for me, and now I'm Hare Krishna.

The moral of the story is; never did me any harm.
:)

ॐ




Someone's having fun with the thumbs-down today!

Answer 9

I was baptized shortly after birth into the Roman Catholic faith and later attended Sunday School at a Salvation Army Corps nearby our home.
I never gave much thought to my early spiritual learning and even though I had questions as a child I didn't question the authority of the clergy.
It wasn't until the early 80's as an adult that I really began to search and seek answers and then recognized that most of what I had been fed was spiritual milk...at least a basic knowledge and the "un washing" wasn't a biggie it was rather spiritually an eye opener to regard the beauty and truth of God's Word when we read and study line by line, verse by verse precept upon precept..just becoming as an innocent ignorant child to receive His truths in itself was miraculous to me and so I give all praise and glory to our Heavenly Father!

Answer 10

It is NEVER too late to start asking questions!

Some people are perfectly comfortable in the faith that they were raised with and never find it necessary to ask questions.

As you begin to ask questions don't forget that:
"I DON'T KNOW" is a perfectly valid answer...

In some cases it is the only HONEST answer!

I was a seeker for about 12 years...

After traversing through Hindu, Buddhist and Taoist philosophy, I came back -- but I changed to a church where "I don't know" is an ACCEPTABLE (and prevalent) answer.
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