Reply to Why do only children believe goblins and Santa, but adults believe in God?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I have recently begun researching the psychology of religion, indoctrination, and cults.  It is becoming a more relevant field every day as religious trauma is also becoming more relevant and acknowledged for what it is and what it does to human beings.
Indoctrination is a powerful tool.  Does any child REALLY question something their parents teach them, for example?  You can "teach" a child anything and they will believe it.  
Couple that fact with the psychological necessity it both creates and fulfills, and you have the recipe for how and why religion is still around.
I could invent a new religion today, and if I had the power and ability to force every adult to teach it to their children (even if they, themselves didn't believe it), [b]within ONE generation, the entire world would believe my new religion[/b].  
That is the power of indoctrination.

[/quote]

Or at least the entire world would say that they believed your new invented religion.  It's my impression, just hearing from people here and IRL, that for some, religious indoctrination doesn't work.  For example, I've heard about people who were chastised, punished or kicked out of Sunday school for asking what turned out to be an impertinent question, like "how do you know?" or for just saying what they were thinking, like "I don't believe that."[/quote]

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