Indoctrination is the process of inculcating (teaching by repeated instruction) a person or people into an ideology, often avoiding critical analysis.[Funk and Wagnalls: "To instruct in doctrines; esp., to teach partisan or sectarian dogmas"; I.A. Snook, ed. 1972. Concepts of Indoctrination (London: Routledge and Kegan Paul).] It can refer to a general process of socialization.
The precise boundary between education and indoctrination is contested. The concept originally referred to education, but after World War I, the term took on a pejorative meaning akin to brainwashing or propaganda (popular among Flat Earth cultists).[Douglas Harper,
" indoctrinate (v.)", Online Etymology Dictionary, accessed April 20, 2019.] 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.[Wilson, J., 1964. "Education and indoctrination", in T.H.B. Hollins, ed. Aims in Education: the philosophic approach (Manchester University Press).] As such the term may be used or as a buzz word, often in the context of political opinions, theology, religious dogma or antireligion convictions.
Common vectors of indoctrination include the state, educational institutions, religions, the arts, culture, and the media. Understood as a process of socialization into “ideal-type” citizens, indoctrination takes place in both democratic and authoritarian systems of government.
Political context
In the political context, indoctrination is often analyzed as a tool of
Class conflict, 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
Totalitarianism regimes. For example, the Nazi influence in Germany during World War II is an instance of government indoctrination through all forms of public life, including education, politics, and culture.
In fact, following World War II, democratic nations sought to counteract the Nazi indoctrination in Germany through the process of re-education, mobilizing education as a way to reinstate new ideas of democracy and Western ideals.
The process of American re-education included initiatives for the
denazification of American-occupied Germany that also resulted in the indoctrination of German society with a "collective guilt phenomenon" to take accountability for World War II.
Opinions differ on whether other forms of government are less doctrinaire, or merely achieve the same ends through less obvious methods.
Religious indoctrination
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.
require a period of indoctrination before granting access to
esoteric knowledge. (cf. Information security)
As a pejorative term,
indoctrination implies forcibly or coercively causing people to act and think on the basis of a certain
ideology.
[See OED, indoctrination.] 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.
[See Scientology beliefs and practices.] Some religions have commitment ceremonies for children 13 years and younger, such as
Bar Mitzvah,
Confirmation, and
Shichi-Go-San. In Buddhism,
are encouraged to follow the faith while young. Some critics of religion, such as
Richard Dawkins, maintain that the children of religious parents are often unfairly indoctrinated.
[Dawkins, Richard. The God Delusion. New York: Bantam Books, 2006. pp. 25, 28, 206, 367.]
Ideological indoctrination
Indoctrination can occur in non-religious or anti-religious contexts. For example, during the 20th Century, the former People's Socialist Republic of Albania and the former
Soviet Union instituted programs of government-sponsored
atheism indoctrination in order to promote
state atheism, specifically Marxist–Leninist atheism, within their citizenry.
Sabrina P. Ramet, a professor of political science, documented that "from kindergarten onward children were indoctrinated with an aggressive form of atheism" and "to denounce parents who follow religious practices at home."
However, after the death of Albania's leader,
Enver Hoxha in 1985, his successor,
Ramiz Alia, adopted a relatively tolerant stance toward religious practice, referring to it as "a personal and family matter". Émigré clergymen were permitted to reenter the country in 1988 and officiate at religious services.
Mother Teresa, an ethnic Albanian, visited Tirana in 1989, where she was received by the foreign minister and by Hoxha's widow. In December 1990, the ban on religious observance was officially lifted, in time to allow thousands of Christians to attend Christmas services (see Freedom of religion in Albania).
Similarly, 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.
Ideological indoctrination is also a contemporary issue in the United States public education system, specifically in the realm of social science instruction. However, ideological indoctrination may take different forms than the implantation of certain ideas into education or instruction. For example, in this case, indoctrination through education occurs through the process of limiting instruction and "allowing diverse social institutions to control educational philosophy and procedure".
Military
The initial psychological preparation of soldiers during training is referred to (non-pejoratively) as indoctrination.
Information security
In the field of information security, indoctrination is the initial briefing and instructions given before a person is granted access to secret information.
[The National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual defines indoctrination as "the initial security instructions/briefing given a person prior to granting access to classified information."]
See also
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