in·doc·tri·nate
verb \in-ˈdäk-trə-ˌnāt\
transitive verb
1: to instruct especially in fundamentals or rudiments : teach
2: to imbue with a usually partisan or sectarian opinion, point of view, or principle
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It’s been in the news recently that a group of atheists put the following image on a billboard in Minnesota.
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It’s become particularly prevalent on Google+ lately which prompted me to respond. Aside from the generally amateurish look of the billboard (comic sans? really?) there are other problems with this to address. First, I have to say using billboards to advertise your religion or lack thereof just seems pointless to me. The bible doesn’t say “by these billboards they will know that you are my disciples.” Re-check John 13 and Matthew 7. F0r those that would argue that the atheists aren’t advertising check this quote from the article: “The purpose of the billboard is to advertise our organization, encourage local atheists to join, and offer a pithy, cogent argument that most atheists can support.” You could replace the word ‘atheists’ with ‘christians’ here and it could be referring to a totally different billboard.
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Another aspect that vexes me is the argument presented which seems to be two fold; 1)parents who teach their children what they believe are indoctrinating them in the sense of definition #2 listed above. 2)parents to teach their children their beliefs are also discouraging their children from thinking for themselves (at least regarding religion or God). It’s worth pointing out that I’m specifically referring to the relationship between parents and children. I’m not talking about children that go to private schools that teach a specific religion because I feel like that’s an entirely different can of worms. No, I’m talking about what parents teach their young kids. I’ve never quite understood the ‘indoctrination’ argument because in this context everybody indoctrinates their kids. No exception. Even if you teach kids nothing about specific religions or about God you are still teaching them something about religion/God. The child will learn that it’s not big deal what you believe about God or they will be taught that there is no God. The claim that atheist parents are teaching their kids to ‘choose for themselves’ is laughably ridiculous. I envision a converstation going something like this:
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Child: What’s god?
Dad: Well, some people believe there is a god (or gods) who is a power being that made everything and he is in control of everything. And if you disobey or displease this god then god will make bad things happen to you, but if you do good and obey god then good things happen.
Child: What do you believe, dad?
Dad: It’s not important what I believe. It’s important that you seek out the truth and find what you believe to be true.
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You’ve just taught (i.e. indoctrinated) your child with your own idea of who or what god is. You’ve also taught the belief that truth is subjective and that it doesn’t really matter what you or he believes regarding god. Granted, this is a very small example and I’m sure as some atheist or agnostic parents read this they are thinking “I don’t say those things. I’m a lot better at teaching my child how to think and choose for him/herself.” I’m sure you do your best, but it doesn’t matter. A parents beliefs will always be conveyed and communicated to their children whether it’s verbal or they see how you act. You believe that something is true. You believe that there is no god or you believe that there is no way for you to know if there is a god or whatever else you believe. What you believe affects everything you say and do. And children are sponges that soak up not only what you say, but your mannerisms when a topic is brought up and discussions that you don’t think they can hear or understand and how you relate to people, etc. While there are certainly ways to avoid actively teaching kids things, there is no way to teach a kid nothing. They will always learn something from what you say and do.
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I’ve heard many atheist and humanist arguments. Some are compelling and thought-provoking… this is not.
Man In the Making 