Indoctrination

Indoctrination is the process of inculcating (teaching by repeated instruction) a person or people into an <a href="/facts/Ideology/BWooMbq7">ideology</a>, often avoiding <a href="/facts/Critical_thinking/x7j7f8W9">critical analysis</a>. It can refer to a general process of <a href="/facts/Socialization/0vv1uDNr">socialization</a>. The term often implies forms of <a href="/facts/Brainwashing/3uTspjvf">brainwashing</a> or disagreeable forms of socialization. However, it can refer to both positive and negative forms of cultural transmission, and some academics consider it an integral element of education.
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). Some distinguish indoctrination from education on the basis that the indoctrinated person is expected not to question or <a href="/facts/Critical_thinking/x7j7f8W9">critically examine</a> the doctrine they have learned. As such the term may be used <a href="/facts/Pejorative/UId8vPsx">pejoratively</a> or as a <a href="/facts/Buzz_word/umj6poF9">buzz word</a>, often in the context of <a href="/facts/Political_opinion/7Y89Bt0g">political opinions</a>, <a href="/facts/Theology/N71Fyw2M">theology</a>, religious <a href="/facts/Dogma/vl3H3Y6C">dogma</a> or <a href="/facts/Antireligion/PUCXdEj0">anti-religious</a> 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.

Indoctrination open-in-new

Indoctrination