Is relegion brainwashing people?

[dragonoverlord]

Ok this is inspired from something someone wrote in onother thread Think about it in relegion they repeatedly push a messag einto your skull. There is lots of chanting and emotional manipulation to put this message in your head. They chant hail jesus he is the savior then you put all your chairs in a cirlce and they hug you and say praise the lord, may jesus cure your problems! A motivational speaker like a priest yells pationately about jesus this hero who will fix all your problems and take you to heaven. Its like modern day brainwashing. By the way i wouldn't mind someone else explaining it because i know my grammar and writing skills suck. But isn't the tactics in christianity akin to brainwashing? Again i urge someone to write their own explanation as i stated i suck at explaining thing.

[Universal Mind]

I think you summed it up totally. Brainwashing is exactly the tactic a lot of churches use to win over and keep members. I vistited a Charismatic church one time. That is the type of church where they speak in tongues, people stand in front of the congregation and speak with the "voice of God", the preacher tells everybody to point their hands at missionaries so the power of the holy spirit will be with them, and all that stuff. At the service I went to, all they did for about thirty minutes was have us sing the most repetetive song I have ever come across. It went to that church one time, I came across the song one time, and it was more than a decade ago, but I can still remember the entire song. I'm all excited about Jesus I'm all excited about Jesus I'm all excited about Jesus I am I'm all excited about the Holy Ghost I'm all excited about the Holy Ghost I'm all excited about the Holy Ghost I am I'm wall to wall Holy Ghost I'm wall to wall Holy Ghost I'm wall to wall Holy Ghost I am That was the entire song, and they made it last at least thirty minutes. They put the words on an overhead projector, and we would sing one verse at a time. We spent about fifteen minutes singing the first verse over and over and over and over and over. Then a lady flipped the page to the next one. We spent about five minutes on it. Then she flipped to the page to the next one, and we spent about three minutes on it. The we went back tot he first one again and stayed on it until the girl I was with, who also was not a member of the church and knew nothing about it, could not take it any more and just walked out. So I did too. For all I know, they sang that song for the whole hour, or however long that service lasted. That was definitely a brainwashing session. Other churches have their own methods of brainwashing.

[dragonoverlord]

Thanks for the post, you sum it up really good. I actually got the idea for this thread from a post of yours. I would like to see a theist come in here and try to refute the premise of this thread, Namely that relegion is a brainwashing tool. Phychology Student thats you im talking about!! Your the only theist who tries to defend relegion so how about it?

[♥Mark]

Is relegion brainwashing people? Think about it in relegion they repeatedly push a messag einto your skull. put this message in your head. They chant There is lots of chanting jesus the lord jesus jesus brainwashing. brainwashing?

[dragonoverlord]

Ya...Im really repative....I suck at writing.

[psychology student]

Brainwashing: 1. a method for systematically changing attitudes or altering beliefs, originated in totalitarian countries, esp. through the use of torture, drugs, or psychological-stress techniques. 2. any method of controlled systematic indoctrination, esp. one based on repetition or confusion: brainwashing by TV commercials. 3. an instance of subjecting or being subjected to such techniques: efforts to halt the brainwashing of captive audiences. Ok dudes, (with reference to definition No1) two key words I would like to point out: "changing" and "altering" attitudes or beliefs. I take this to mean a qualitative change or alteration as opposed to a quantitative one i.e. Atheist to Theist as opposed to secular Christian to fundamentalist Christian; if you get my drift. Now I've looked at the Spanish dudes post, with regard to brainwashing and UM's life experience of supposed church indoctrination, and I would like to focus on the latter: 1: First of all those who enter a church, it is quite plausible to suggest, will have some interest or affiliation with Christianity to begin with. I'm not sure about UM's case, but in general. Therefore, if they are indoctrinated, then this is not indoctrination (a qualitative change) but religious polarisation (the quantitavive change that I reffered to earlier, e.g. a transition within the bounds of Christianity. 2: If you would care to refer to definition 1 again, then it is probable that you will see key tools of indoctrination as the dictionary understands the term: "torture", "drugs", "psychological stress techniques". I hope these hammer to you, the extremeness and ferocity of the word "brainwashing" and thus its incompatibility with Christianity (I know the question was about theism, but I can't answer for them all) None of which are employed by the church. 3: The church does not kidnap people and forcibly expose them to Christianity, nor does it keep the details of Christianity covert, but maintains transparency, so that those who wander in are those with a genuine interest to what occurs inside, as opposed to a lingering curiosity of what is going on behind a veil. 4: Perhaps other religions engage in brainwashing, but I cannot speak for them. Notwithstanding, I feel the problem of brainwashing is one more prominent outside religion: commercial endeavours are a prime example. As a result I believe that the initial claim is fuelled by atheist warmongering as opposed to realistic faults in theism.

[Xaqaria]

I would agree with psych student that the term brainwashing is a bit harsh. In UM's experience is definitely an example of indoctrination and would have particularly strong effects on any children present, especially when they see the adults that they look up to taking part. Basically what it comes down to is they are trying to get you to believe something. They would claim they are trying to get you to believe, because they think it is the truth. Most of the time, if you look at these sorts of things under a negative light, you will see it in a negative and sinister way, which is not necessarily representative of what they are actually trying to do. Sometimes they are, though. There are churches that purposefully and willfully indoctrinate and I would even go as far as using the term brainwashing in some extreme cases. Typically, these are the churches that require relatively substantial and regular dues (meaning money) from their parishioners.

[Carôusoul]

atheist warmongering Those bastards. They'll kill us all with their warmongering..

[Xaqaria]

Those bastards. They'll kill us all with their warmongering.. Do you not see that your uncle is weary of your malcontent... your war-mongering?

[Man of Shred]

Religion brainwashes and so does mainstream Media.

[Carôusoul]

Do you not see that your uncle is weary of your malcontent... your war-mongering? Warmongering? How long is it since Saruman bought you?

[LucidFlanders]

It's a Belrog. A demon from an ancient world, it's foe is beyond anything. RUN!!

[Sornaensis]

Religion brainwashes and so does mainstream Media. And then everyone wonders why the United States sucks ass.

[psychology student]

Warmongering? How long is it since Saruman bought you? What was the promised price, Grima? When all the men are dead you get your share of the treasure.......

[Xaqaria]

So, does anyone doubt that the media brainwashes people now? I mean, look how easily this thread turned from honest discussion into regurgitated movie lines.

[psychology student]

But the Lord of the Rings is great!

[Xaqaria]

But the Lord of the Rings is great! I'm all excited about Frodo I'm all excited about Frodo I'm all excited about Frodo I am I'm all excited about the Lord of the Rings I'm all excited about the Lord of the Rings I'm all excited about the Lord of the Rings I am I'm wall to wall Lord of the Rings I'm wall to wall Lord of the Rings I'm wall to wall Lord of the Rings I am But seriously though, this a perfect example of how media hype effects our beliefs and desires. People had the Lord of the Rings hammered in to them for years before the movies actually came out. Then, when the time finally came you saw people waiting in line for hours (sometimes with tents, they were there so long) just so they can get in to the first showing at midnight on opening night. This is clearly an inordinate amount of preparation for something they could simply wait one or two days to do. They were basically brainwashed into believing it was more important to them than it actually should be. So you see, religion isn't to blame for all the evils of the world. In pretty much all corners of your daily lives, people in positions of authority are trying to get you to believe something you might otherwise reject and they are using any means they think will work (as long as it is cost-effective.)

[Sornaensis]

Anything can be drilled into anyone. But you have to admit that a lot of churched make it their mission to make sure you know the bible (Their view of it at least) like the back of your hand.

[Semper Erato]

It may be brain-washing, but even if it is, for the most part it's voluntary. I can't think of a case where anyone would be forcing you to be there, unless it's your parents, in which case it sucks to be under legal age.

[Sornaensis]

What, at church? You don't think that most of the people there were indoctinated as children?!

[Semper Erato]

The children who insist on not being indoctrinated are not, at least in my congregation. Those who don't resist usually can decide for themselves when they're older whether or not they want to follow that certain church. Then again, I can't speak for all churches; mine is pretty laid-back. I remember back when I was a wee one, nothing could hold my attention, let alone a priest hitting the finer points of our Bible lesson that day. Heck, I think the most our kids out of church every Sunday is an hour of coloring. And people may be indoctrinated as children, but not everyone follows the same faith they were exposed to as children. The reason a lot of people don't change religions or denominations as adults is that they grew up with a certain one, and so that is what is most comfortable for them.

[Sornaensis]

Yes, but did you notice anything that was different from those who didn't want to get indoctrinated? (Which is odd for children, unless you speak of teenagers)

[Semper Erato]

Could you clarify which group I was supposed to be scrutinizing for differences?

[RedfishBluefish]

Mmmm.. Suppose those who were indoctrinated as small children were then "brainwashed" at church. They wouldn't resist, because they've been indoctrinated, right? And then the brainwashing tries to prevent them from "deciding from themselves", so they remain "brainwashed" for the rest of their lives...

[♥Mark]

Cleanliness is next to godliness.