I don't really agree with this. Everyone is in a sense a tabula rasa, who is written on by society. But we have certain innate tendencies -- including universal mental maladaptions like agency inference and confirmation bias. These biases and preference for disordered, dysfunctional thinking make us vulnerable to ideologies like religion -- one could even fairly say, push us toward them. It's a mistake to think there's no impetus or predeliction for things like religion.

The job of society is to generate compensating mechanisms for these mental and emotional weaknesses -- not just counter-influences, but positive alternatives. To educate children from a young age in critical thinking, and an understanding of logical fallacies, and respect for and understanding of the scientific method. To provide equal access to quality education for all. These are the basic mechanisms that will allow religion to self-dilute and eventually consign itself to irrelevance.

I always thought that brainwashing and indoctrination were the same thing.

I like to define myself as normal.
Not 'average', the religious have greater numbers, even though they technically are atheists in regards to every god they were not raised with.

But normal for the same reason we consider animals whom do not waste time talking to their imaginary friends, to be normal.

What a cool way to look at it. I think you are 100% right!