Belief in God makes you more racist
February 19, 2010 2:34 pm
Perhaps it can be said that at one particular time (although I’m unaware of exactly when), Religion offered a way for individuals to feel some degree of community with others that did not share any direct family lineage. Whatever advantage that religion conferred to our ancient ancestors, the inevitable tendency for religionists to favor only those with precisely the same belief as then has fostered some of the most genocidal racism and xenophobia. For proof of this, look no further than the Old Testament, which proudly boasts the genocide of the Canaanites and other small tribes unfortunate enough to live in the land of the “chosen” people.
A new study recently found that a person’s religiosity is often a very good indicator of their racism. Both conservatives and fundamentalists tend to share the same degree of prejudice, although the orthodox are usually far better at trying to mask it.
All this is nothing new for the rest of us rational enough to have long ago abandoned the divisive clutches of religion. The fact that this same study found that those with no religious affiliation tended to be less racist does not surprise us, for we know full well the acidic rhetoric of the faithful. How hollow is the accusation of the moral failure on the parts of atheists? Shallow and uninformed indeed!
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9 Comments
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February 20, 2010
Perhaps an even better example is the Moabites. The Moabites supposedly seduced a bunch of the Isrealites into sex and worshiping Baal, as a result God kills 24,000 Isrealites and all of the Moabites.
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February 20, 2010
No wonder the south and midwest is so racist
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February 20, 2010
lol about 100% of people in Japan are religious in one way or another…. make sense if you follow MMA
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February 20, 2010
Well, is Shintoism a religion? I say no. If you agree, Japan is very non religious.
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February 20, 2010
Shinto is an animist set of beliefs, very supernatural and spiritual.
It’s usually considered a minor religion.
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February 20, 2010
The article and study makes sense. I wasn’t able to find the questions they had asked the survey respondents…any idea if they are posted online?
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February 20, 2010
well most are both Shinto and Buddhist
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February 21, 2010
From what I understand, Japanese people don’t take the supernatural very seriously, but i dunno for sure, if anyone has a study, that would be some good info.
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February 21, 2010
This makes sense, as one of the dangers of religion is that it convinces people that their way is the right way, the best way, and they are a special group.
Occasionally (perhaps often) this mindset makes people respect their religious law over civil law (easy examples: the Baptists in Haiti and Scientolgists in every country). There is a danger in believing your group is better than other groups.
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