Indoctrination, Brainwashing and Teaching

Recently I was watching the documentary by Richard Dawkins that is based on his book The God Delusion.  He referenced a quote from the Jesuit that says “Give me the child for his first seven years, and I’ll give you the man.” I can’t agree with this more. Dawkins talks about that our genetic makeup causes us to believe what we are taught by our elders for our own survival.  We need to be taught to not walk to close to the edge of a cliff or to no go in water infested with alligators.  I love these examples because they are true. No child would ever survive to adulthood without some guidance and direction. 

Now I contrast this to part of “The Family: A Proclamation to the World” that says “Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, and to teach them to love and serve one another, observe the commandments of God, and be law-abiding citizens wherever they live. Husbands and wives—mothers and fathers—will be held accountable before God for the discharge of these obligations.” I do not completely disagree with this statement other than the “observe the commandments of God” portion.  The problem is that no matter what your religion, there are varying degrees of what the commandments of god are. Frankly there are varying degrees within Mormonism i.e. consumption of caffeine, net or gross tithing, keeping the Sabbath day holy etc. Every parent interprets these things differently just as every religion interprets these things differently and these discrepancies are passed on to the kids as facts in their mind. It is sad to think of all the hatred that is passed on from parent to child that is based on religion. To me this is indoctrination and I believe could just as easily be called brainwashing.

I will not indoctrinate or brainwash my kids but rather teach them. So how to balance what I teach my own kids? I now look forward to teaching my kids the basics of life. That is my responsibility as a parent. It is my job to help them be a contributing person in society as well as to not fall off of the cliffs of life. I can teach them to treat others how they would want to be treated. I can teach them the consequences of their actions. I can teach them that there is a whole world out there for them to explore and try to figure out.  I can teach them to try to find their own personal happiness. Sure, I can use my experiences or the experiences of others to help them understand possible outcomes of their decisions.  I can try to explain why I might believe what I believe without forcing or coercing them.  I don’t have to teach them the made up dogma of others that came before them.

Dawkins also has stated “Religious leaders are well aware of the vulnerability of the child brain, and the importance of getting the indoctrination in early.” I believe this is the exact mindset of the church leaders who recently lowered the missionary age. Yes, the same guys that brought you the lyrical gem “Follow the Prophet, Follow the Prophet, Follow the Prophet he knows the way!” (Seriously, how did I not see this as brainwashing?)

It is sad to see what indoctrination does to the brain. It can force the most innocent child to want to kill their neighbor. It can force people to die for a cause they believe in even if it is baseless. It can cause young adults to leave their world during such an important time in their own life just to say to strangers that my god is better than your god. I sincerely believe that most of the world’s social problems are caused by indoctrination. To combat this we can encourage free thought and tolerance for others. We can remove the arrogance that religion brings to the table.  We can open our minds and the minds of those around us to the idea that there is more than one way.  I acknowledge that my views about this matter could also be seen as arrogant but considering the diversity of this world we live in, I certainly would rather err on the side that allows more than one way to live and believe.

On second thought, the only brainwashing I will do with my kids is to ensure they root for the appropriate sports teams.