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Religious Indoctrination: Your earliest experiences.
April 15, 2012 at 10:45 pm
In this day and age the methods of religious indoctrination are varied but thankfully not very subtle... except to children.
As someone who was brought up religious I sometimes look back and remember the christian cartoons my teacher would put on. I thought nothing of them at the time, I would be grateful for them as it was a good twenty minutes I could be working instead.
On reflection I now realize that this was a method for the school to enforce their strange beliefs on childrens minds using the medium which children are most receptive to.
Looking back, what are your earliest memories of this process?
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RE: Religious Indoctrination: Your earliest experiences.
April 15, 2012 at 11:03 pm
I remember Bible readings and prayer in class, but I'm getting on in years.
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RE: Religious Indoctrination: Your earliest experiences.
April 15, 2012 at 11:04 pm
My mother did bring me to a catholic church, sometimes. I was enrolled in a catholic grammar school.
My grades were poor until I caught on, don't ask questions about the religious instructions. Then found out I could cut school, read the assignments, or just the entire texts; come away with 100 on the tests. Then just say god bless you for listening to me.
Yet still I was curious, my Great Grandmother was always mumbling the rosary. I read parts of the bible I wasn't supposed to, and yes in school with good grades - poor attendance and high IQ, I was an average student.
Still curious, I stayed over my Great Aunt's apartment most weekends; she and my Uncle were atheists. We would also travel upstate to one other relative couple devoted xtians. My Aunt would kick butt when it came to debating religion and atheist views. So half that couple thought it was a good idea to teach 11 year old me algebra. (don't know why - unless little kids should be seen and not heard - grateful anyway)
Still curious I visited (lived) in my local library and read what I could on religions etc. Now 'agnostic' pretending to be pious. I really did want to believe, just couldn't do it. I hung out with priests, bishops and changed to easter orthodox christian, still just went through the motions.
Back to agnostic - read up on philosophies. Buddhism gave me the confidence to through away the fear I was taught in school and finally said I am an atheist.
Eventually others with that same instilled indoctrinated fear were also able to admit they too were atheists.
"Religion is comparable to Childhood neurosis" Sigmond Freud
"If one wishes to form a true estimate of the full grandeur of religion, one must keep in mind what it undertakes to do for men. It gives them information about the source and origin of the universe, it assures them of protection and final happiness amid the changing vicissitudes of life, and it guides their thoughts and motions by means of precepts which are backed by the whole force of its authority."
SIGMUND FREUD, New Introductory Lectures on Psychoanalysis
"Religion is an illusion and it derives its strength from the fact that it falls in with our instinctual desires."
SIGMUND FREUD, New Introductory Lectures on Psychoanalysis
"Frisbeetarianism is the belief that when you die, your soul goes up on the roof and gets stuck." George Carlin
"The Bible and the Church have been the greatest stumbling blocks in the way of women's emancipation." Elizabeth Cady Stanton - American Suffragist (1815-1902)
"Who loves kitty" Robin Williams live on Broadway DVD
"You cannot petition the lord with prayer" Jim Morrison The Soft Parade.
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RE: Religious Indoctrination: Your earliest experiences.
April 15, 2012 at 11:08 pm
(This post was last modified: April 15, 2012 at 11:09 pm by Reforged.)
(April 15, 2012 at 11:04 pm)LiberalHearted Wrote: Back to agnostic - read up on philosophies. Buddhism gave me the confidence to through away the fear I was taught in school and finally said I am an atheist.
Eventually others with that same instilled indoctrinated fear were also able to admit they too were atheists.
I had the same experience with Buddhism. As far as I can tell quite a few Atheists do. I think its because Buddhism makes alot of philosophical sense that can be distilled from its religious origins.
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RE: Religious Indoctrination: Your earliest experiences.
April 15, 2012 at 11:10 pm
My earliest experiences...
I attended a catholic school from pre-school to 2nd grade. Then I switched to Public School but still went to church and two hours of Sunday School every week. I always remember feeling a sense of superiority over others when it came to religion. I was quickly indoctrinated not only into catholisism, but being a republican as well. I was never really given a choice. Both my parents believe everything they hear from Fox News or Rush Limbaugh. I guess you can say I was one of the lucky ones. I had four older siblings who believed everything as well and they were all very mean to me. So I rebelled at a very young age and began to find that my young teenage rebellious spirit lead me to the truth. Then I became free.
There is no such thing as a Christian child: only a child of Christian parents.
I am against religion because it teaches us to be satisfied with not understanding the world.
~Richard Dawkins~
Listen to Greydon Square. He will blow your mind.
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RE: Religious Indoctrination: Your earliest experiences.
April 15, 2012 at 11:15 pm
(April 15, 2012 at 11:10 pm)darkment0r Wrote: I had four older siblings who believed everything as well and they were all very mean to me. So I rebelled at a very young age and began to find that my young teenage rebellious spirit lead me to the truth. Then I became free.
Sounds like you had one hell of a lucky escape. 
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RE: Religious Indoctrination: Your earliest experiences.
April 15, 2012 at 11:19 pm
(April 15, 2012 at 11:08 pm)RaphielDrake Wrote: (April 15, 2012 at 11:04 pm)LiberalHearted Wrote: Back to agnostic - read up on philosophies. Buddhism gave me the confidence to through away the fear I was taught in school and finally said I am an atheist.
Eventually others with that same instilled indoctrinated fear were also able to admit they too were atheists.
I had the same experience with Buddhism. As far as I can tell quite a few Atheists do. I think its because Buddhism makes alot of philosophical sense that can be distilled from its religious origins.
It is a softer introduction to being kind and compassionate without that fear. I like the Buddhists I've met, and have read a few books on that philosophy.
There is an equal to each other feel with those I've met.
Try tantra mediation, you are young and whew the sex is fabulous.
"Religion is comparable to Childhood neurosis" Sigmond Freud
"If one wishes to form a true estimate of the full grandeur of religion, one must keep in mind what it undertakes to do for men. It gives them information about the source and origin of the universe, it assures them of protection and final happiness amid the changing vicissitudes of life, and it guides their thoughts and motions by means of precepts which are backed by the whole force of its authority."
SIGMUND FREUD, New Introductory Lectures on Psychoanalysis
"Religion is an illusion and it derives its strength from the fact that it falls in with our instinctual desires."
SIGMUND FREUD, New Introductory Lectures on Psychoanalysis
"Frisbeetarianism is the belief that when you die, your soul goes up on the roof and gets stuck." George Carlin
"The Bible and the Church have been the greatest stumbling blocks in the way of women's emancipation." Elizabeth Cady Stanton - American Suffragist (1815-1902)
"Who loves kitty" Robin Williams live on Broadway DVD
"You cannot petition the lord with prayer" Jim Morrison The Soft Parade.
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RE: Religious Indoctrination: Your earliest experiences.
April 15, 2012 at 11:21 pm
(April 15, 2012 at 11:19 pm)LiberalHearted Wrote: (April 15, 2012 at 11:08 pm)RaphielDrake Wrote: (April 15, 2012 at 11:04 pm)LiberalHearted Wrote: Back to agnostic - read up on philosophies. Buddhism gave me the confidence to through away the fear I was taught in school and finally said I am an atheist.
Eventually others with that same instilled indoctrinated fear were also able to admit they too were atheists.
I had the same experience with Buddhism. As far as I can tell quite a few Atheists do. I think its because Buddhism makes alot of philosophical sense that can be distilled from its religious origins.
It is a softer introduction to being kind and compassionate without that fear. I like the Buddhists I've met, and have read a few books on that philosophy.
There is an equal to each other feel with those I've met.
Try tantra mediation, you are young and whew the sex is fabulous.
And there are the magical words which make me immediately google whatever they're attached to. Thank you. :-)
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RE: Religious Indoctrination: Your earliest experiences.
April 15, 2012 at 11:23 pm
RD you are welcome.
"Religion is comparable to Childhood neurosis" Sigmond Freud
"If one wishes to form a true estimate of the full grandeur of religion, one must keep in mind what it undertakes to do for men. It gives them information about the source and origin of the universe, it assures them of protection and final happiness amid the changing vicissitudes of life, and it guides their thoughts and motions by means of precepts which are backed by the whole force of its authority."
SIGMUND FREUD, New Introductory Lectures on Psychoanalysis
"Religion is an illusion and it derives its strength from the fact that it falls in with our instinctual desires."
SIGMUND FREUD, New Introductory Lectures on Psychoanalysis
"Frisbeetarianism is the belief that when you die, your soul goes up on the roof and gets stuck." George Carlin
"The Bible and the Church have been the greatest stumbling blocks in the way of women's emancipation." Elizabeth Cady Stanton - American Suffragist (1815-1902)
"Who loves kitty" Robin Williams live on Broadway DVD
"You cannot petition the lord with prayer" Jim Morrison The Soft Parade.
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RE: Religious Indoctrination: Your earliest experiences.
April 16, 2012 at 4:31 am
Well my whole story is laid out in plain view if you wanna know about it in the deconversion section. Long story short I was abused a lot by a lot of christians, one christian kindly to me and of my own accord I followed her to church, hated atheists for not believing, endured a series of extreme losses, questioned my faith, started asking too many questions, got too few, too unsatisfactory answers from both others and the bible itself, and the foundation of faith collapsed from under my feet and left me with nowhere to go. No religion or philosophy had any meaning to me. They all had a bunch of silly tripe. Buddhism, taoism, judaism, catholicism, protestantism...they all mean nothing. They burble platitudes whose basis is in fantastical stories that provide no evidence for their wild claims, and thus have no foundations for their supposed wisdom.
And then I came across humanism and the Golden Rule. Do to others what you would have them do to you. Do not do to others what you would not have them do to you. Simple concept. Based not in any fantastical claims; based only in me, myself, my own perceptions.
And in humanism, I was granted peace at last, of the kind I never felt before.
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