This analysis compares mechanisms of CIA MKUltra and childhood religious belief formation, suggesting parallels in structural processes.
This paper conducts a formal structural analysis comparing five core operational mechanisms of the CIA MKUltra program (1953-1973) with corresponding mechanisms in childhood religious belief formation. Using the Claverie-du Cluzel (2022) cognitive warfare framework, five structural homologies are identified: depatterning/blank-slate formation, psychic driving/liturgical reinforcement, unwitting testing/pre-consent socialization, records destruction/doctrinal suppression, and concealed funding/patronage-based epistemic control. The analysis identifies structural parallels only and does not claim moral equivalence.
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Maris Dreshmanis (2026) studied this question.
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