Is it possible not to be brainwashed toward the religion you grew up with? Why are most people the religion of their birth?
I think you can only avoid the brainwashing by reading widely. This is not (I understand) encouraged in fundamentalist families.
I actually was kind of brainwashed when I was a kid. I believed god existed and I believed everything my teachers taught me. My atheism more came about through convenience of not wanting the same stuff shoved down my throat all the time. It wasn’t until later when I learned to look at religious teachings with a critical eye that I realized that an option for “nothing” existed.
Tell us about your brainwashed experience.
Nobody sits you down and says "These are all the religions. Take your pick." You just do what your parents do, and so that's all you know for quite a while. Most people want to fit in with their "tribe", and it takes a while to break away from that.
Of course! Most atheists I know were brought up religious and then de-converted. We are apostates.
Or resisted conversion in the first place.