Are religions mind control?

[Pekka]

It's 1:1 from what I've read about propaganda, social control, deception, power etc.

If you consider how "rational" religions are, the chances of them being nothing but mind control? 5 to 1?

[Vesayen]

No. However parents forcing their children to go to religious services when they are young, may turn them into resentful rebellious teenages who say they hate all religion as a result.

[Pekka]

So religions are real then?

It's mind control if there is no God, I mean religions that have God(s). It's as simple as that. One religion HAS to be right, or else they are all mind control.

[Shrapnel12]

Not so. In order to be mind control, the individual has to be incapable of juding the situation and making a decision for himself. Almost all religious people have changed their beliefs based on personal expierence to some extent or another.

[Pekka]

So all the mass suicides etc never happened? You don't have to become a robot to label it mind control. People go to churches, they pray, they do all kinds of things. If God doesn't exist, that looks awfully silly. It's the same thing if they think they want to do those things. It's more effective that way. If your emotions, decision making etc can be based on a lie, something that was manufactured and made up by men, I would call it mind control, absolutely. People martyr themselves, kill others, themselves, all kinds of things, but it doesn't mean it has to be violent in order to be mind control. Indoctrination is what religions are all about. So if they are false........ it makes no difference if people want to do things. Because they're all based on a lie. Propaganda.

[Shrapnel12]

Are you talking about religion in general or specific religions? Sure there are cults that brainwash people, but brainwashing is not restricted to religion. Take communism and nazism for example.

[Japher]

I'll ask my Pastor and a philozohee teacher and get back to you

[Pekka]

All religions, so I guess religion in general. But I might leave out the more.. philosophical ones. THe ones with stricter rules, God or Gods, stories that are considered as real, something that really did happen.

[Pekka]

Japher, Perfect answer

[BeBMan]

They are not Ming control.

[Impaler[WrG]]

Religions (and many other parts of society such as schools and the military) are built upon Indoctrination, they OPENLY proclaim that the purpose of which is to ALTER A PERSONS BEHAVIOR. Its simply a matter of degree when we use words like Mind Control, which evokes a comical level of total control in opposition to ones will. Its plainly obvious that Indoctrination is being used and arguably cowertion and other more aggressive practices. The truth or falsehood of the existence of god has no bearing on what we call these means, the ends do not CHANGE the means and many would say they cant JUSTIFY them either.

[Proteus_MST]

Religions/holy scriptures IMHO are mere tools. It depends on the religious leaders how they´re used.
Just like a knife can be used to do constructive work as well as to murder someone, religions can lead to an open society (if the religious leaders don´t promote mindless believing into the literal truth of the scriptures and preaches tolerance) or it can lead to an intolerant warlike society where members of other societies (or people who don´t adhere to some views of the religionists) are actively pursued.

[Pekka]

Impaler, right right, that's my point, your identity and everything forms with the religion should you be exposed to it and you accept it as the truth. Now, if that is a lie, none of the things never happened, then they were still written by someone, manufactured, so even if today everyone in religious leadership etc believes these things are real and not made up... by this I mean there is no conspiracy like some dudes who know the truth and stuff. There's no person who uses mind control on everyone and gains from it, so no tin foils out just yet.

But IF religions are all false, the ones that aren't merely just philosophies but the truth, I'd call it mind control. Indoctrination? Absolutely.

Now away from semantics. Do note that I'm talking about all religions and I really do mean it.

This wouldn't even rule out the existence of some higher being, even a creator that was passive and never just contacted us anyway. This could still be a go, and all religions would still be false.

[Shrapnel12]

How is teaching or spreading a religion, what you want to call indoctrination, any different from anything else? Atheists try to indoctrinate people. Governments of all types try to indoctrinate people to believe in that governments polotics. Individuals indoctrinate their children into adopting their own moral set. I'm sorry, but what's your point? Are you guys just bitter because your life is cr@p, so you need to take it out on religion?

[Pekka]

What do you mean what I want to call indoctrination? It IS indoctrination, to the very definition of it. It's not a question of perspective or view, it is indoctrination.

I thought you had a point though, now I realize you're upset about me questioning if religions are mind control or what the likelyhood of that is. You see how your indoctrination is hindering you already? Emotions have been triggered and you can say all you want it isn't about that, it's about me being a jerk, it's about something else, but we can look at your wording over and over again and you just owned yourself.

oh and ps. who said I'm an atheist? I just happen to question things and think. That's all.