Christianity indocrination modern methods

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theatheist.blog's picture
Christianity indocrination modern methods

If you live in a secular western society, which is also culturally Christian, this question is for you.

I'm looking specifically at societies where religion has been essentially removed from classrooms, social institutions, broadcast media and where the root of indoctrination appears to be limited to family tradition and pressure.

If you live in such country, I would like to know your opinion on what do you think are the most pervasive indoctrination methods that are still enabling the growth of Christianity - of all its traditions and sects as a whole.

How do religious communities within secular countries succeed to enlist new followers?

If Jesus had been killed twenty years ago, Catholic school children would be wearing little electric chairs around their necks instead of crosses." - Lenny Bruce
________________________________________
Frederic Luc
Outrageous @ The Atheist Blog - https://theatheist.blog

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Cognostic's picture
Celebration of Christmas: (I

Celebration of Christmas: (I love this clip.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8Aq00yJSxo

The No. One reason for success of religion in the United States is "Separation of Church and State." The government can not tax nor make rules for religions. Religions are huge money making machines that feed on the poor and ignorant and they are unregulated and pay no taxes. They have a huge advantage over any other form of business in the country.

Just for fun I included some videos of the types of families these Christians are raised in. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_Rcm3U7ouQ

theatheist.blog's picture
The lack of taxation and

The lack of taxation and absence of financial scrutiny of established religions is a point of view that I completely overlooked as this is not so blatantly obvious in Europe. Thanks for the references.

CyberLN's picture
Frederic, you wrote, “If you

Frederic, you wrote, “If you live in a secular western society, which is also culturally Christian, this question is for you.”

Well, secular western society is culturally xtian? Perhaps it is for those of some white European decent but that isn’t true of a lot of other folks in those societies.

In the U.S., religion has NOT, in fact, been removed from classrooms, social institutions, and broadcast media.

I’m also not so sure that xtianity is, as you say, growing.

I think religious indoctrination, though, still happens because children are taught it by people they depend on and trust. Additionally, religion offers answers (false ones, IMO) and hope (false, IMO) without the need for the participants to do the work themselves.

Far Canal's picture
christardology is certainly

Welcome Frederic.

christardology is certainly not growing here in the UK. In 1983, only 30% of the UK population was Atheist. By 2015, that percentage had risen to 48%. By September 2017, 53% of the population was Atheist.

I do what I can to ensure that this percentage grows.

What annoys me is that our taxes are used to support faith schools. My feeling is that if religtards want faith schools to continue to exist, then the faith should pay for them, not taxpayers. I write to my MP to express this view.

There are 26 christard bishops who are allowed to sit in the House of Lords. They are able to affect our laws. I sign petitions to rid this land of their influence. In this day and age, it's ridiculous that some old fart in a dress is able to affect the laws of the land because he believes in a sky fairy, ffs.

In spite of all this, christards are still able to recruit new blood, although, thankfully, it is getting more and more difficult. They are able to do this through knocking on doors and standing on street corners hoping to ensnare the vulnerable eg. someone who has lost a loved one or someone who is hooked on drink, drugs or gambling etc. or is suicidal I also know churches who operate food banks for the needy here in the UK. I know for a fact that one of the reasons they operate their food bank is to ensnare new recruits to their belief system. Dirty tactics in my opinion.

relitard organisations, as far as I am aware, also enjoy a tax-free existence here in the UK. It's about time that the UK government taxed religtard organisations. They look like a business, sound like a business and act like a business and should therefore be taxed like a business, regardless of all of their protestations.

Cognostic's picture
I want to add another

I want to add another horrible but true fact. In addition to education in the classroom. America. "The most powerful country in the world." Is also among the most ignorant populations on the planet.

"How do U.S. students compare with their peers around the world? Recently released data from international math and science assessments indicate that U.S. students continue to rank around the middle of the pack, and behind many other advanced industrial nations." In short, we have a highly ignorant population. It's not easy to admit but unless the problem is brought into the open and addresses, it can not be cured. Americans, in general, just aren't that bright.
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/02/15/u-s-students-internation...

Another Huge Issue: Most Americans take Bible stories literally
God’s creation of the Earth, Noah and the flood, Moses at the Red Sea: These pivotal stories from the Old Testament still resonate deeply with most Americans, who take the accounts literally rather than as a symbolic lesson.

An ABC News poll released Sunday found that 61 percent of Americans believe the account of creation in the Bible’s book of Genesis is “literally true” rather than a story meant as a “lesson.” (I have seen statistics higher than these. Atheists make up only about 6 percent of the population.)

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2004/feb/16/20040216-113955-2061r/

NEVER THE LESS - THINGS ARE GETTING BETTER
Empty Pew Syndrome is REAL
https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1994/07/02/empty-pew-syndro...

Far Canal's picture
There have been 41

Fook me, @Cognostic, that post took balls. Plenty Respect.

There have been 41 scientifically-conducted studies carried out which have compared the IQ of religtards with that of Atheists. In the case of 39 of them, Atheists came out ahead. In the case of the other 2, there was little difference. I've read other studies which show that the higher the IQ, the less likely a person is to be a religtard.

Cognostic's picture
Facts are what they are. In

Facts are what they are. In all my travels around the world I notice that many people know a hell of a lot more about the USA and American politics and global policies than I do. Here is another great statistic. How much NEWS is actually on the evening news in America? I have seen statistics quoting as little as 4% of our news in America is international. We don't really have NEWS any more. What we have is Entertainment News.

"As of August 2017, 37% of Americans said they often get local TV news, compared with 46% in early 2016."

"A quarter of Americans often get news from radio and 18% do so from print newspapers."

"The rise in online news consumption plays out across demographic groups, especially when looked at by age. The two oldest age groups saw considerable increases in online news use – 10 percentage points for those 65 and older (30% vs. 20% in early 2016) and 6 points among those ages 50 to 64 (35% vs. 29%). The pattern is in line with previous findings that show that recent growth in mobile news was driven by the oldest age groups."

(THIS MEANS - If you want news in America - it does not come to you, you have to go and look for it online and then you have to check your facts or you will sound like an idiot.)
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/09/07/americans-online-news-us...

Just some Added Stuff.
http://www.pewresearch.org/topics/state-of-the-news-media/

David Killens's picture
I am active in a political

I am active in a political forum. But since the great majority of forum members are in the USA, almost all posts and topics are internal to the USA. For example, when Trump met with Kim Jong-un, it was all about how it affected politics solely within the USA. I had to point out how this affected other nations and their perceptions of the USA.

Unfortunately, at this time they spend too much time staring into the past than the future, and inward instead of outward.

Tin-Man's picture
Howdy, Fred! Welcome to the

Howdy, Fred! Welcome to the AR. Great having you with us. Just so you know, I live in the Southeastern U.S. practically right in the middle of the Bible Belt. Therefore, I have no idea what it is like living in a secular country... *chuckle*... Grew up surrounded by Christians/religion on all sides. Simply an ingrained part of the culture/society here, so I'm afraid I cannot help with your question.... *heavy sigh*... However, you made a remark that reminded me of a funny true story...

You quoted from Lenny Bruce: "If Jesus had been killed twenty years ago, Catholic school children would be wearing little electric chairs around their necks instead of crosses."... (Hilarious, by the way. LOL)

So, this happened a few years ago. There was a tattoo shop in the small town where I grew up, and my wife and I got some of our skin work done there because we were friends with the tattoo artists who owned the place. One day while there consulting on our next design, one of the guys told us of a conversation he had with a couple of middle-aged Christian ladies who had entered the shop to get tattoos of a cross or some other religious symbol. Here's how that went...

After looking around awhile and deciding what they wanted, one of the ladies commented to the artist as he was applying her chosen tattoo, "You have so many interesting pictures and other types of decorations covering your walls here. Fascinating. But I noticed you do not have any crosses hanging anywhere." Without missing a beat and without stopping his work, the artist casually replied, "Hey, if I wanted to hang Roman torture devices on my walls, I can think of many others far more interesting than a cross." Personally, I would have loved to have been there to see that. lol

Far Canal's picture
@Tin-Man

@Tin-Man

My deepest sympathy. Being surrounded by christards must be the worst kind of hell.

I just can't imagine ....

No, I just can't.

Tin-Man's picture
@Far Canal Re: "My deepest

@Far Canal Re: "My deepest sympathy. Being surrounded by christards..."

Thanks, Far. I appreciate that... *chuckle*.... *nodding head in amused agreement*... That is why it took me a vast majority of my life to finally rid myself of the brainwashing. Here is a bit of interesting irony for you, though: Believe it or not, being surrounded by it now is not nearly as bad as when I was surrounded by it before my "escape". Odd, huh? I'll try to explain....

As I have said many times, the bible and all the religious teachings that were hammered into me while growing up never made much sense to me. Even as young as six or seven, there was always the nagging feeling in my brain that something just never felt "right" about the whole thing. Being that young, however, I obviously did not have the required cognitive skills to help me figure out exactly why. And showing doubt/lack of faith and/or asking adults any "difficult" questions only served to get a kid in trouble. Therefore, the concept of good/evil, God/Devil, heaven/hell were allowed to become deeply implanted into my brain. To make matters worse, there was also the rule that one should NEVER question God or the bible. To do so meant Satan was controlling your mind and trying to trick you into being sent to hell. Pretty scary shit for a little kid, obviously, especially when the info was coming from adult family and friends who were loved and trusted. Nevertheless, those nagging doubts were always with me.

Fast forward now to adulthood. Out on my own. Much better educated, and far more experienced in life. Logic and rationality circuits in the gray matter considerably more advanced. Fully capable of finally being able to analyze/dissect all the contradictions and inconsistencies I had noticed as a kid. But - Oops! - I can't do that. Not allowed, remember? "...Aw, man! If I start questioning and doubting too much, maybe mean ol' Satan really is trying to trick me." Despite all my logic, reasoning, and intelligence, I could never get past that mental block. The question in my head was always, "What if I'm wrong?" As a result, Pascal's Wager became a major part of my life. (Even though I had never heard of that term until I joined this site.) Basically, I was playing the "Better to be safe than sorry" game.

As you might imagine, that can cause some real discomfort over the long term. I never felt comfortable in a church or around religious settings, not even during a few brief periods when I starting attending church regularly. Because I could never express my doubts or true feelings about religion. Therefore, being surrounded by it almost constantly in day-to-day life caused a bit of "mental discomfort", to say the least.... *chuckle*... Fortunately, there is a happy ending (or maybe a happy beginning?... Hmmm...) to this story. I finally broke free from those last few clinging psychological chains just a little over a year ago. And it is as if I am seeing the world through totally new eyes now. A truly fantastic feeling. No more doubts. No more worries. No more discomfort being around anything of a religious nature. The blinders have been removed, and I have the advantage now of seeing things for what they truly are.

You ever watch The Matrix? Remember the last climatic fight scene when Neo finally realizes his true abilities? And the all the bad guys down the hall sent a hail of bullets at him all at once? But as the bullets are all just about to impact Neo, he just "freezes" them in mid-flight. And he is able to examine each bullet and pluck any of them from the air if he chooses. Then he just waved his hand and had them fall to the floor at his feet as if they were of no consequence/concern. Basically, that is about how I feel about religion now. It is no longer a threat to me... *grin*...

David Killens's picture
I live in Canada where

I live in Canada where religion does not directly control politics. Of course, in some communities where religion is dominant, the "followers" are swayed by sermons, thus a politician gets assistance come voting day.

Although religion is not pervasive, when and where it can spread, like the disease it is, it finds the gaps and slips in. There are religious TV stations, those cannot be stopped. There are signs, missionaries on corners, and of course, the regular knock on the door by someone selling god.

Here in Canada the religious community does not get it's way directly, but rather just make every attempt to pervade any opening possible.

Fundamentally, religion is not a political issue.

One interesting check to religion is other religions. We have a very diverse population, and that means that we have many of other faiths. No one religion (for example christianity) cannot bully their way in politics (and the school board) because other religions such as Muslim, Hindu, and Judaism are the ones who protest and fight back. More than atheists, they do not want any specific religion controlling them.

One interesting thing I used to see on my way to work in the morning was Falun Gong. On a certain street corner a crowd of 10 to 20 people would gather and do their meditation/stretching yoga whatever, with a sign stating they were Falun Gong.

In the USA many preach they are 'free", but in practice, many are not free to do as they wish.

arakish's picture
Christian Indoctrination

Christian Indoctrination processes rely heavily on catching most while they are still at their most vulnerable to conditioning at the ages of 4 to 14. The threaten of eternal damnation and the ideology that we are all born INTO evil/sin, born OF an evil/sinful act, born evil/sinful. This is the psychological terrorism that the evangelists use to recruit new theists. However, there is also the WWW where anyone can go and find the facts and truth. The WWW has created more damage (YEAH!) to religion than any other thing. Virtually anyone who is willing, can find the facts and truth.

As for Christianity continuing to grow, the numbers seem to actually say the opposite. And don't forget, the religitards actually only ever say such things as, "Our numbers grew by three million last year." But at the same time, they neglect to also mention their numbers fell by five million. This is only an example, but is true. The "Nones" (those that answer no religion) are the fastest growing group in the United States. Christianity is actually falling in numbers. And I feel that is because of the prevalence of the WWW.

Even the Pew Research Center, a not entirely religious-free organization, even admits the number of religious persons are falling. Christians know this. That is the reason why they are fighting tooth and nail to indoctrinate as many as possible with their methods of psychological terrorism. And I ain't even going to mention what it was like growing up in probably the WORST of the Baptist Bible Belt States. Just know that it was horrible.

rmfr

Far Canal's picture
@Tin-Man

@Tin-Man

I 'came out' when I was about six years old. Back then, the world was a very different place. Not sure why but I told a bunch of friends that I didn't believe in god. I think that one of them told the class teacher because, later that day, the teacher asked us to put our hands up if we believed in god. I didn't. Teacher saw. Teacher asked why I didn't believe in god. Don't remember what I answered but I was caned over the hand. Judas H Priest on a motorbike, it must have hurt some because I remember it to this day. It made no difference because there was no way that teacher could make me change my mind. This was all a bit odd because it wasn't a church school.

A sky fairy who heard and saw everything but said nothing just didn't make any sense to me at the time. It makes even less now.

The teacher called me doubting Thomas. He could cope with someone who doubted rather than someone who didn't believe at all.

When I left the school, he told me that I wouldn't amount to much.

Just before I went to university to study for my first degree, I went back to the school. He was still teaching in the same classroom. He didn't recognise me, obviously. I did him. I reminded him that, as a child of 6, he caned me for not believing in some sky fairy, referred to me as 'doubting Thomas' and that I'd never amount to much. I told him that I had a place at one of the top universities in the UK and that I still didn't believe in his sky fairy.

arakish's picture
@ Far Canal

@ Far Canal

Just before I went to university to study for my first degree, I went back to the school. He was still teaching in the same classroom. He didn't recognise me, obviously. I did him. I reminded him that, as a child of 6, he caned me for not believing in some sky fairy, referred to me as 'doubting Thomas' and that I'd never amount to much. I told him that I had a place at one of the top universities in the UK and that I still didn't believe in his sky fairy.

Wow! You, too. I was raised in the State of North Carolina where the state actually had laws that made it legal to physically abuse and terrorize "disruptive" students. The State called it "corporal punishment" which I shall always call it what it was: physical abuse and terrorism. These laws covered any and all "classroom" settings, including Sunday School. Literally every Sunday, I got sent to the Pastor to have my ass whooped with those gigantic wooden planks. Actually, they were not gigantic, but to a child they were. The first two churches excommunicated me, forcing me mom to find other churches. I even continued to fight against this abuse until I actually began suffering humiliating rapine and physical beating from the other "good little Christian" children.

I then felt I had had enough. I pretended to get "saved." I even got baptized, whatever that "rebirth" bullshit is supposed to mean. I then memorized huge chunks of the Bible so as to look like the BEST "good little Christian" child. The other children were forced to leave me alone since I would probably believed if I told someone.

When I turned 13 years old, the Age of Minority in me dad's family tradition, I was able to choose to NOT go to church anymore. And here is something me dad told me, and I have never forgotten. I asked him why I could never, ever, believe in the Bible or religion. He said, "Your mind and brain thinks like a computer. If it ain't logical or rational, it does not compute." It still took me about a year to fully realize how truly true his statement was.

Unlike you, I never went back to any of those preachers. If I had, I'd've probably, literally, beaten the sorry pieces of human filth to death. The only hope I have of anything Christian to be true is their "Hell." For they are all heading straight there since that demon they worship has them all fooled.

rmfr

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