Religious Indoctrination: Brainwashing, or just a rinse and set?

brainwashing

Indoctrination that forces people to abandon their beliefs in favor of another set of beliefs. Usually associated with military and political interrogation and religious conversion, brainwashing attempts, through prolonged stress, to break down an individual's physical and mental defenses. Brainwashing techniques range from vocal persuasion and threats to punishment, physical deprivation, mind-altering drugs, and severe physical torture.

The American Heritage®

brain·wash·ing

noun: a forcible indoctrination to induce someone to giveup basic political, social, or religious beliefs and attitudes and to accept contrasting regimented ideas

Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary

So, is indoctrinating a child to a "belief" brainwashing? Strictly speaking a person would need to hold a perspective, a view, a belief that is in opposition to the indoctrinator's preferred belief. To that extent, a child who holds no preconceived notion, no perspective, and no view and is indoctrinated into the parent's belief system might not be strictly considered a victim of brainwashing.

However, if we take the position that NOT having a belief in the supernatural / God/gods is by default atheism at birth, then the argument might be made that the parents are indeed indoctrinating, inducing, forcing abandonment of lack of belief (aka atheism) for a preferred supernatural religious belief.

Some might take issue with the word forcing. But force comes in a variety of forms. It doesn't have to mean physical force. Among the definitions of force is administration of power by one who holds authority over one who has no power; to exercise persuasive power, to convince. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/force

But beyond that, what is more forceful, more intimidating, than to tell a child that failure to believe like the parents do will result in an eternity of pain and anguish in a hideously fearful place, and separation from the parents after death? Talk about force and coercion!

I'd proffer that unless a child is presented with the alternatives to the parents’ preferred religious belief; provided with a variety of options including the option of no belief ... and have it presented dispassionately without prejudice, threat, fear or undue influence, then indeed parental indoctrination of a child into their preferred belief system IS brainwashing.

It is every much brainwashing as a Palestinian child being indoctrinated by his parents to hate and want to kill Jews. Whether it is a mindset of good or evil is in the eye of the believer; it doesn't change the fact that it is inducing a belief, a view, that otherwise might not have been the child's own given the various options.

When, as a child, my eldest son asked me if there was a god my answer was "A lot of people think so, some people don't." When he asked if I believed in God I told him "I don't but your Mom does." When he asked if he believes in God my reply was "You'll have to decide for yourself when you are older." He was satisfied with that. No threat, no dogma, no force or indoctrination of a malleable mind ill-equipped to reason, weigh, and assess.

Some how theists just aren't comfortable allowing their child the "free will" to investigate and decide without coercsion. It's the parents’ will or else. If that’s not brainwashing I don’t know what is.