I found three definitions of brainwashing:
- (aka thought control, mind control, coercive persuasion). A
non-violent method that uses mind control techniques to convince a
person to abandon some of their basic beliefs and adopt the beliefs
of the indoctrinator. The anti-cult movement teaches that many
small religious groups, which they call cults, engage in
brainwashing. Sociologists and mental health researchers who are
not involved in the anti-cult movement generally reject the
concept.
- forcible indoctrination into a new set of attitudes and
beliefs
- Brainwashing or thought reform is the application of coercive
techniques to change the beliefs or behavior of one or more people
for political purposes.
I'm sure you can see why brainwashing is bad. It's bad by
definition. The key words here are 'mind control', 'thought
control', coercive, forcible'. You are basically deceiving or
manipulating people into changing their beliefs.
For example, let's say you don't believe in UFOs but I wanted to
convince you that UFO's existed. I stage an elaborate kidnapping
where I surround your car with bright lights. I knock you out with
a gas and when you wake up, you see what looks like aliens around
you. I knock you out again and when you wake up, I leave you what
appears to be evidence that you were abducted by aliens.
Now suppose I did all that because I really believe there are UFOs
and alien abductions and I really need you to believe as well. I
might justify it to myself that there's nothing wrong with staging
the hoax. Alien abductions, after all, do occur. I'm just helping
you realise it sooner rather than later.
This is a troubling justification. There are some religious people
who believe that when it comes to religion, the end justifies the
means. Winning souls for Christ, for example, is the most important
goal and as long as that objective is achieved, anything is
justified. They might say "sure we realise that we do a lot of
things to place our audience in what seems to be a suggestible
state. But you mischaracterize it. We just create an environment
that makes is easier for people to perceive and receive god. They
don't understand why it's almost never justified to use falsehood
or trickery to convince people of the truth.
In the documentary Jesus Camp, a young girl is show saying she
wants to open a manicure shop one day and specialise in nail art.
She then explains that she's not really all that interested in nail
art, but she feels that it's a great opportunity to evangelize. She
plans to play soft christian music in the background and create an
atmosphere that would be 'perfect' for spreading the gospel to her
customer. Now what's wrong with this? When she sets up her shop,
she will have to disguise her true intent because if she advertises
that she is an evangelical nail art shop, only the converted would
go to the shop. That defeats the purpose. If she hides the fact
that her purpose is to evangelize, she is being deceptive and
unfair to all her customers who just want their nails done without
being preached at.