"Faith comes by hearing"

[John V]

Regular, mandatory attendance, trance stimulation, big fancy buildings, repetitive drills and condemning people who don't conform, guilt trips, basing an individual's self-worth on obedience to the gorup and following of the doctrine, asking for public donations (sometimes even going as far as reading the list of those who donated so that those who didn't are known and shunned)

Aside from trance stimulation, which I've never seen in a church, you've pretty much described a public school.

[Longhorn]

Aside from trance stimulation, which I've never seen in a church, you've pretty much described a public school.

Never seen in a church? Never sung hymns with the congregation?

The difference being a public school is for children with the purpose of education and church is for adults with the purpose of belonging to a group

Regular, mandatory attendance,

True, and necessary to complete an education cycle

big fancy buildings,

I don't know what school you went to, but I'd be willing to bet most aren't fancy

repetitive drills and condemning people who don't conform,

It's not so much condemning as discipline, which is necessary with children, because how else would you organise it?
In the catholic church, unlike in public schools, the rituals have no practical purpose

guilt trips,

Where are the guilt trips in school? How do they compare to the guilt instilled by, say, the catholic church?

basing an individual's self-worth on obedience to the gorup and following of the doctrine,

No doctrine in public schools, and that's not what they taught me about self-worth in there

asking for public donations (sometimes even going as far as reading the list of those who donated so that those who didn't are known and shunned)

Never seen this in a public school

[John V]

Never seen in a church? Never sung hymns with the congregation?

If singing together is trance stimulation, then that's in public schools, too.

The difference being a public school is for children with the purpose of education and church is for adults with the purpose of belonging to a group

Now you're reversing your previous claim that it's about the methods rather than the content.

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There's a branch of psychology devoted to understanding such "tricks." It's called educational psychology. People who employ the tactics are called teachers.

[Longhorn]

If singing together is trance stimulation, then that's in public schools, too.

I'm not sure how it is where your from, so it may be true there, but I never had much singing together in school
It's not about just singing in unison, the music, the building and the atmosphere plays a big role in it and most importantly WHAT is being sung - like the virtue of obedience, sacrifice and faith for example
The effect is being susceptible to hypnosis

Now you're reversing your previous claim that it's about the methods rather than the content.

And now you're ignoring the reasons I laid out why these methods are not used in public schools, with the exception of mandatory attendance and discipline, which are necessary for the purpose of education, which in turn is different from indoctrination (please, PLEASE don't make me explain why teaching science or history is different from instilling a belief, set of values or way of life)

There's a branch of psychology devoted to understanding such "tricks." It's called educational psychology. People who employ the tactics are called teachers.

Teachers don't use trance simulation and guilt trips and don't base tell their students to base their self worth on what they are teaching

[Iroscato]

Also, there's the whole "If you don't do this right down to the letter you will BURN FOR ETERNITY". The worst most schools do is show pictures of stereotypical unemployed bums and say "this could be you!" Well they did that at my school once or twice any way. My teachers were not exactly masters of subtlety, but compared to the average preacher...

Basically churches are the worst kind of backward, stupidly strict kind of school, but turned up to 11.

[Longhorn]

Lol, the worst my teachers did was 'you're gonna fail and we'll have to see each other one year longer'

truth be told, it worked

[KevinM1]

Sheep is likely the wrong word. Clannish seems more appropriate.

[thesummerqueen]

People who join cults (as opposed to being raised up in them when they never had a chance) are often looking for something. Seeing that someone is a brainwashing prick doesn't change that need. They'll probably continue to seek woo in some form or other.

Good point.

What would be society's best solution?

I'd vote for a combination of education and secular social groups.

I'm all for this, and I think it will be religion's downfall in the end. We'll always be fighting against woo, unfortunately.

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Also, there's the whole "If you don't do this right down to the letter you will BURN FOR ETERNITY". The worst most schools do is show pictures of stereotypical unemployed bums and say "this could be you!" Well they did that at my school once or twice any way. My teachers were not exactly masters of subtlety, but compared to the average preacher...

Basically churches are the worst kind of backward, stupidly strict kind of school, but turned up to 11.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nhgfjrKi0o