The Argument that Intelligent Catholics were Indoctrinated

[devonsams]

Hello, one of the arguments against Intelligent Catholics (and also with Intelligent Christians and religious persons in general) is that they are intelligent and did not lose their faith because they were indoctrinated as a child to be religious, and they were indoctrinated in such a way that they cannot loose this grip through the adulthood.

Countering this argument I say that many intelligent people who were Catholic in the childhood were not necessarily Catholics throug the whole life, like Roger Ebert and some saints of the Catholic Church were not always catholics like Edith Stein (Who was an Atheist) and Sigrid Undset Nobel Prize of Literature (whose fathers were atheists).

Anyone could help me name some more people in the Church who had no contact or even an hostile attitude toward christianity and changed his mind?

 

[Mystophilus]

Hello, one of the arguments against Intelligent Catholics (and also with Intelligent Christians and religious persons in general) is that they are intelligent and did not lose their faith because they were indoctrinated as a child to be religious, and they were indoctrinated in such a way that they cannot loose this grip through the adulthood.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_converts_to_Catholicism (although, since it is Wikipedia, it should be checked)

However, the argument itself is weak, because it presumes that human consciousness is completely conditioned and totally unreflective, a claim which is not generally supported by psychologists. People do normally change their belief patterns over time, especially people who are intelligent enough to grasp their own fallibility.

 

[triumphguy]

Hello, one of the arguments against Intelligent Catholics (and also with Intelligent Christians and religious persons in general) is that they are intelligent and did not lose their faith because they were indoctrinated as a child to be religious, and they were indoctrinated in such a way that they cannot loose this grip through the adulthood.

Countering this argument I say that many intelligent people who were Catholic in the childhood were not necessarily Catholics throug the whole life, like Roger Ebert and some saints of the Catholic Church were not always catholics like Edith Stein (Who was an Atheist) and Sigrid Undset Nobel Prize of Literature (whose fathers were atheists).

Anyone could help me name some more people in the Church who had no contact or even an hostile attitude toward christianity and changed his mind?

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_converts_to_Catholicism

 

[Auntie_A]

This indoctrination argument gives no regard for someone indoctrinated into the secular life who has intelligently found it lacking, so they returned to the Church to explore what they had left, and found it more true.

Indoctrination is not altogether a bad thing if it leads a bright person to the truth.

     "You came back to Catholicism because you were indoctrinated as a child."

       "Thank God. That indoctrination against the Church was getting weak...."

That was my story. And believe me, I was out there reading every other religion’s indoctrination and every bit of secular indoctrination. I was stuffed to the gills with indoctrination.

 

[sw85]

Hello, one of the arguments against Intelligent Catholics (and also with Intelligent Christians and religious persons in general) is that they are intelligent and did not lose their faith because they were indoctrinated as a child to be religious, and they were indoctrinated in such a way that they cannot loose this grip through the adulthood.

Countering this argument I say that many intelligent people who were Catholic in the childhood were not necessarily Catholics throug the whole life, like Roger Ebert and some saints of the Catholic Church were not always catholics like Edith Stein (Who was an Atheist) and Sigrid Undset Nobel Prize of Literature (whose fathers were atheists).

Anyone could help me name some more people in the Church who had no contact or even an hostile attitude toward christianity and changed his mind?

It’s just not a serious argument. That I was taught X doesn’t mean that X was false. I was taught calculus, after all. Even if it were true that all Catholics everywhere were, without exception, brainwashed to believe that Catholicism is true (and that’s nonsense), it would have no bearing on the question of whether or not Catholicism is true.

 

[balto]

As others have said, this is a sloppy, ad hominem argument that does nothing to establish whether Catholicism is true. It’s just a cheap debating trick to avoid having to address the actual arguments. You may as well argue that the secularist is being indoctrinated by worldly values. That sword cuts both ways.

 

[JonNC]

As others have said, this is a sloppy, ad hominem argument that does nothing to establish whether Catholicism is true. It’s just a cheap debating trick to avoid having to address the actual arguments. You may as well argue that the secularist is being indoctrinated by worldly values. That sword cuts both ways.

You could, and you would be accurate. Just look at American government schools, K-12 and colleges. I’'m an elementary teacher, and while secular progressive indoctrination isn’t a big problem yet in elementary settings, it will be, as the secular progressives that infest the Federal Dept of Education gain more and more power over the schools.

Jon

 

[balto]

You could, and you would be accurate. Just look at American government schools, K-12 and colleges. I’'m an elementary teacher, and while secular progressive indoctrination isn’t a big problem yet in elementary settings, it will be, as the secular progressives that infest the Federal Dept of Education gain more and more power over the schools.

Jon

Yeah, I am aware of that. My sister started high school this week and her science teacher sounds like he’s going to be on my mother’s list. A couple of years ago she had an anti-Catholic bigoted geography teacher. Why his views on religion were relevant to teaching geography I’ll never know. The secularist influence at universities is still something I have to deal with all the time.

 

[Evan]

St Paul was pretty anti-catholic. So was Scott Hahn catholiceducation.org/articles/apologetics/ap0088.html, in fact, you could look at this web site whyimcatholic.com/index.php dedicated to stories of people who become catholic.

 

[adawgj]

Sounds like a weak argument.

Indoctrination in almost anything is inevitable when growing up.