Definition
Indoctrination is commonly defined as teaching beliefs in a manner that discourages questioning them — instilling a doctrine while suppressing the disposition to examine, doubt, or revise it.
The concept is harder to pin down than it first appears. Almost all education transmits beliefs and values, and young children necessarily accept much before they can evaluate it. The contested issue is where ordinary education ends and indoctrination begins.
Why it matters
How it works
A common test focuses on method rather than content: education aims to equip a learner to assess claims independently, whereas indoctrination aims to fix a conclusion and close off reassessment. By this test, the same belief could be taught either way.
Dawkins argues that labeling young children by a parent's religion, and presenting contested doctrines as settled fact, tends toward the indoctrinating end of that spectrum.