Indoctrination

Hitler Youth members performing the Nazi salute at a rally at the Lustgarten in Berlin, 1933
Girl holding Chairman Mao's quotes (1968)
American schoolchildren performing the Pledge of Allegiance (1973)

Indoctrination is the process of inculcating (teaching by repeated instruction) a person or people into an ideology uncritically.[1][page needed] Broadly speaking, indoctrination can refer to a general process of socialization.[2] In common discourse, the term often has a pejorative valence to refer to forms of brainwashing or for disagreeable forms of socialization.[2] However, it can refer to both positive and negative forms of cultural transmission, and is evidently an integral element of educatory practice.[3]

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).[2][4] 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.[5] As such the term may be used pejoratively or as a buzz word, often in the context of political opinions, theology, religious dogma or anti-religious convictions.

Common vectors of indoctrination include the state, educational institutions, 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.[2]

  1. ^ 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).
  2. ^ a b c d Neundorf, Anja; Nazrullaeva, Eugenia; Northmore-Ball, Ksenia; Tertytchnaya, Katerina; Kim, Wooseok (2024). "Varieties of Indoctrination: The Politicization of Education and the Media around the World". Perspectives on Politics. 22 (3): 771–798. doi:10.1017/S1537592723002967. ISSN 1537-5927.
  3. ^ Allison, Safwaan Zamakda (2024-06-28). "Socialisation and character education in the Muslim world: exploring the role, impact, and necessity of indoctrination". IJoReSH: Indonesian Journal of Religion, Spirituality, and Humanity. 3 (1): 76–100. doi:10.18326/ijoresh.v3i1.76-100. ISSN 2962-665X.
  4. ^ Douglas Harper, "indoctrinate (v.)", Online Etymology Dictionary, accessed April 20, 2019.
  5. ^ Wilson, J., 1964. "Education and indoctrination", in T.H.B. Hollins, ed. Aims in Education: the philosophic approach (Manchester University Press).