Goldsmiths University of London
Lewisham Way, New Cross, London SE14 6NW
UK
To non-believers, belief in young-Earth creationism can seem incomprehensible. It is sometimes argued that believers have been indoctrinated or even brainwashed, but these are often labels of last resort rather than terms with explanatory power. What does it mean to say that someone has been indoctrinated, and how is this achieved?
This paper examines the techniques used by Accelerated Christian Education schools, which claim they are “designed for programming the mind”. It is argued that in some cases, indoctrination is achieved through a combination of isolation, misinformation, conditioning, loaded language, and authority and social pressures.
Jonny Scaramanga is a PhD candidate at the Institute of Education. He has written about Accelerated Christian Education for the Guardian, New Statesman, and the Times Education Supplement, and discussed it on Newsnight and the Jeremy Vine Show.
This talk is part of the Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit Invited Speaker Series, 2014/15.