If I had not been indoctrinated from birth I probably wouldn’t have believed.

During this period of my life where I lost my faith (mid 00s), I learned that one of the reasons there are still so many Christians in the world today is due to indoctrination from an early age. For the majority of Christian homes, as it was with mine, no choice is ever given about what to believe. It is engrained in you from day-one that Jesus is the son of God and that Jesus is the only way to God; the only way to gain salvation and eternal life.

Indoctrination is not easy to break and the longer you are subject to it, the harder it becomes. Even intelligent people will continue to believe well into adulthood because that’s all they ever knew. Take a look at the most intelligent Christians around you and I guarantee that the majority of them were brought up in Christian homes - indoctrinated. They haven’t developed their critical thinking skills… or refuse to employ them when it comes to the bible.

For a child brought up in the Christian home there is no choice when it comes to belief in Christ; normally none is ever given.

You will never hear, for instance, a Christian parent telling their child, ‘Johnny, there are actually many other Gods out there available for worship. Jesus isn’t the only one. If you want to, you can worship say Allah if you like. I won’t be very happy, but it’s your choice.’

No! You will never hear that. The parent will insist that Jesus is the only one true God. They will bring out the scripture about how Jesus is the only way to God. They will pull out others that condemn the worship of other Gods. They will even say that Gods like Allah are really the devil in disguise trying to draw you away from Jesus!

‘Evolution? Oh, that’s a lie of the devil. God created the world! That’s the way it is, child!’

No choice!

My dad made it obvious it was rubbish throughout my childhood when we sat there watching animal documentaries. Whenever the voice over talked about how millions of years ago an animal evolved some kind of skill, my Dad would snort and growl… ‘Millions of years? What a load of rubbish!’

A child will believe, because that’s what they do. It was the same for me. Some may question this later in childhood, if enough seeds of doubt have been planted, but for the average indoctrinated child they won’t because challenging the bible is considered sinful; challenging God’s word is wrong.

Like my father used to say, “You just have to accept it!”

Somewhere along the line, (as I did), the child will pray the sinner’s prayer and accept Christ as their personal lord and saviour, but the belief is already there. No choice has been made to believe. You just do. It’s a necessary step if you want to please God and your parents…. not to mention avoid roasting in God’s eternal barbeque pit!

Vegetables are a great analogy. As a child, we are taught from an early age that we must eat your vegetables, because our body needs them. Do we, as we grow a little older, question this claim? Do we challenge it? Do we suddenly say, ‘Hey, are vegetables really all that good for us? How do I know it isn’t better to eat chocolate instead?’

Generally, we don’t because as we approach our teenage years its so engrained into us that we need to eat vegetables and that chocolate is bad for us, that we continue to believe it without question.

It may be that at some stage in our childhood we make a decision about vegetables. A child may decide to give up resisting them and accept them as part of their diet. They believe that the vegetables are good for them and that their body needs them, so they swallow them quickly and get the unpleasantness over.

They have made a choice.

Nevertheless, the belief system was already in place. They knew they needed to eat the vegetables, but now they have made a conscious decision to include them in their diet. As such, they will continue to eat vegetables even when they have grown older and don’t have their parents forcing them down their throat. Before long, it will be them promoting the benefits of vegetables to others.

It is the same for the indoctrinated child. If I was never indoctrinated, I doubt I’d ever have become a Christian. I could never just CHOOSE to believe. My mind is not that fickle and doubt anyone’s mind is that fickle.

 Indoctrinate children into Christianity and it will become part of their life; something they will continue with even into adulthood. There is no choice for them. They just believe what they are taught and will continue to believe. They will lead the way; singing the praises of the bible and Jesus. Then they will indoctrinate their own children, most likely not giving them choices either.

Reason 3: The bible encourages child abuse

Reason 5: The religion you end up in is most likely the result of the country you live in