How true - "racism and bigotry are a component of many religious people's lives"

Also true, "racism and bigotry are a component of many people's lives."

People are fallible, often making choices out of fear. It is human nature to organize information, to group things by similarities. Sometimes this leads people to fear people that are not in their self-recognized group. Sometimes these people are "religious" and sometimes they aren't.

If it is harmful to society to create fear of a group based on race or gender, is it not also harmful to create fear based on religious preference? I'm not denying that there are racist theists, but they don't have the market cornered.

I ...

How true - "racism and bigotry are a component of many religious people's lives"

Also true, "racism and bigotry are a component of many people's lives."

People are fallible, often making choices out of fear. It is human nature to organize information, to group things by similarities. Sometimes this leads people to fear people that are not in their self-recognized group. Sometimes these people are "religious" and sometimes they aren't.

If it is harmful to society to create fear of a group based on race or gender, is it not also harmful to create fear based on religious preference? I'm not denying that there are racist theists, but they don't have the market cornered.

I think this is an important clip. You can't fight what you don't know. If Drake is to stand behind his words, people should know he said them. It does sadden me (although I wouldn't say I was rational, haha).

The best way to counter spreading hate is to spread love.

Here's a hug, AtlLib.

Here's a hug for you too, BobbyRutan.

Oortcloud, you can have two hugs.

Also true, "racism and bigotry are a component of many people's lives."

True. Yet, I'll have to say that religion, with its inherent "us-them" mentality sadly contains a greater proportion of people that are more apt to label others as wrong or sinners for not adhering to their particular dogma. And not for a moment do I swallow the line of "hate the sin, love the sinner". I just don't see it in action in day to day interaction with people.

People are fallible, often making choices out of fear. It is human
nature to organize information, to group things by similarities.

Unfortunately, religion gives the perfect rationale for justification of just this type of ...

Also true, "racism and bigotry are a component of many people's lives."

True. Yet, I'll have to say that religion, with its inherent "us-them" mentality sadly contains a greater proportion of people that are more apt to label others as wrong or sinners for not adhering to their particular dogma. And not for a moment do I swallow the line of "hate the sin, love the sinner". I just don't see it in action in day to day interaction with people.

People are fallible, often making choices out of fear. It is human
nature to organize information, to group things by similarities.

Unfortunately, religion gives the perfect rationale for justification of just this type of thinking. And I see much more rancor amongst fundamentalists against groups they believe are different than I see them looking for common points. At least the more insular fundamentalist flavors of religion do this. Yes, I'm aware of the more "liberal" sects out. And except for my profound disagreement with their core beliefs I tend to assume a more or less live and let live philosophy towards them.

If it is harmful to society to create fear of a group based on race or
gender, is it not also harmful to create fear based on religious
preference?

Well, no. Race or gender are not chosen. Religious preference is.

And here's a hug right back at you!

Several studies have shown that altruism and religious practice are not related. There is a 1967 study, "Personal Religious Orientation and Prejudice", by G.W. Allport & J.M. Ross, Journal of Personal and Social Psychology, 5:432. Another study, from 1975, "Faith Without Works" by R.E. Smith, G. Wheeler and E. Diener, in the Journal of Applied Social Psychology, showed that when a group of randomly selected people were given questionnaire on personal information and a test on which they had the opportunity to cheat, the lowest incidence of cheating was among the people who identified themselves as atheists (the only group in which the cheaters were in the minority).

I'd say we probably al...

Several studies have shown that altruism and religious practice are not related. There is a 1967 study, "Personal Religious Orientation and Prejudice", by G.W. Allport & J.M. Ross, Journal of Personal and Social Psychology, 5:432. Another study, from 1975, "Faith Without Works" by R.E. Smith, G. Wheeler and E. Diener, in the Journal of Applied Social Psychology, showed that when a group of randomly selected people were given questionnaire on personal information and a test on which they had the opportunity to cheat, the lowest incidence of cheating was among the people who identified themselves as atheists (the only group in which the cheaters were in the minority).

I'd say we probably all have our bigotries and prejudices to a greater or lesser degree. The real difference is the degree to which we allow those attitudes to be expressed in our public personae.