Indoctrination Explained

Indoctrination is the process of inculcating a person with ideas, attitudes, cognitive strategies or professional methodologies. Humans are a social animal species inescapably shaped by cultural context, and thus some degree of indoctrination is implicit in the parent–child relationship, and has an essential function in forming stable communities of shared values. The precise boundary between education and indoctrination often lies in the eye of the beholder. Some distinguish indoctrination from education on the basis that the indoctrinated person is expected not to question or critically examine the doctrine they have learned. As such the term may be used pejoratively or as a buzz word, often in the context of political opinions, theology, religious dogma or anti-religious convictions. The word itself came about in its first form in the 1620s as endoctrinate, meaning to teach or to instruct, and was modeled from French or Latin. The word only gained the meaning of imbuing with an idea or opinion in the 1830s. The term is closely linked to socialization; however, in common discourse, indoctrination is often associated with negative connotations, while socialization functions as a generic descriptor conveying no specific value or connotation (some choosing to hear socialization as an inherently positive and necessary contribution to social order, others choosing to hear socialization as primarily an instrument of social oppression). Matters of doctrine (and indoctrination) have been contentious and divisive in human society dating back to antiquity. In the political context, indoctrination is often analyzed as a tool of class warfare, where institutions of the state are identified as “conspiring“ to maintain the status quo. Specifically, the public educational system, the police, and mental health establishment are a commonly cited modus operandi of public pacification. In the extreme, an entire state can be implicated. George Orwell’s book Nineteen Eighty-Four famously singled out explicit, state-mandated propaganda initiatives of totalitarian regimes. Religious indoctrination, the original sense of indoctrination, refers to a process of imparting doctrine in an authoritative way, as in catechism. Most religious groups among the revealed religions instruct new members in the principles of the religion; this is now not usually referred to as indoctrination by the religions themselves, in part because of the negative connotations the word has acquired. As a pejorative term, indoctrination implies forcibly or coercively causing people to act and think on the basis of a certain ideology. Some secular critics believe that all religions indoctrinate their adherents, as children, and the accusation is made in the case of religious extremism. Sects such as Scientology use personality tests and peer pressures to indoctrinate new members. Some religions have commitment ceremonies for children 13 years and younger, such as Bar Mitzvah, Confirmation, and Shichi-Go-San. Some critics of religion, such as Richard Dawkins, maintain that the children of religious parents are often unfairly indoctrinated. In the former Soviet Union, “science education [in] Soviet schools [was] used as a vehicle for atheistic indoctrination“, with teachers being instructed to prepare their course “so as to conduct anti-religious educations at all times,“ in order to comport with state-sanctioned Marxist–Leninist values. The initial psychological preparation of soldiers during training is referred to (non-pejoratively) as indoctrination. ✅ ABOUT ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ • My goal is to foster a community of learners with broad understandings. I’m a curious person who likes to learn new things. The purpose of this channel is to share my passion for learning with you. • All topics are covered ranging from simple to complex. • Subscribe if you like to learn new things. ✅ CREDITS ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ • Song: Fredji - Happy Life (Vlog No Copyright Music) Music provided by Vlog No Copyright Music. Video Link: • This video uses material from the Wikipedia article Indoctrination which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0 • Images are used under one of the following: fair use, CC BY, CC BY-SA, CC BY-ND, CC BY-NC, CC BY-NC-SA, CC BY-NC-ND.