…or get over our own sanctimony…
Dear G-d, if only…..

Well, yeah. You can also be religious and be an adulterer, or a murderer, or a child abuser. That’s called sin, and religious people are not exempt from it.

In the pre Civil War days here in the US, preachers annd religious leaders were making a strong case for the abolition of slavery. Blacks were viewed as property, as pre saved souls. The stronger a religious case was made for abolition, the more dissonant support of slavery became in what was essentially a very religious section of the country. Hence the birth of the Doctrine of White Supremacy, which argued that abolition was not necessary because not only were slaves removed from their Human rights as property, but in a Calvinist world view, since they were slaves were obviously not fully human to begin with.

I think I read somewhere in the Books of Law (the Torah) to love they neighbor as thyself and to be kind to strangers for you once ere strangers in a strange land.
That leave no room for bigotry.

Unfortunately, certain beliefs in some religous systems can actually exacerbate bigotry. The idea that there is only “One Way” and “One Truth” can create the attitude that since those who do not follow that “One Way” are dammed, we need not treat them well here on earth, either.
I also suspect that religons that demand absolute faith and do not allow for natural human doubt tend to be less tolerant of other views simply because they raise doubt. Ideas that raise doubt are dangerous, since doubt may endanger the True Believer’s immortal soul.
Of course, most people want their religous beliefs to jibe with the ideas that they hold dear. A bigot will always feel that his religon supports that attitude and will find some way to prove that he is right. We tend to interpret things in ways that suit us.

I find it hard to fathom how some people can claim to be religious but yet be bigoted towards other races. I have know a few faithful church-going types in my day who, although they claimed to love Jesus, hated Blacks, Hispanics and Gays. It made no send to me. Jesus was all about loving everyone so you can’t claim to follow Jesus and be bigoted towards some people at the same time. No one who is bigoted can be a true follower of Jesus.
This is not confined to Christianity either. There are Jewish bigots, Hindu bigots, Muslim bigots, etc. But I truly believe that they are all going against the teachings of their religions too.

The bible,the Koran and the Torah all teach devision and hate.
(Water found on Mars and a Saturn moon.)
Where there is water there is life.

I seem to remember a bit of the idea that an indentured person (read slave) in Jewish culture must be freed after 7 years (hence the old seven-year-contract in Hollywood?), and that said person must be cared for in a humane fashion. I don’t remember hate being taught. I do remember being told that the righteous of all nations go to heaven, and that we are all G-d’s children. Being ‘chosen’ does not mean being superior, just being more responsible for the knowledge we received and in dealing fairly with all.
Without wanting to sound anti-Christian or anti- anyone else, the issues of bigotry, at least in European history, arose on the Christian side. The problems of usury, exclusion, otherness, the blood libel, et al, came out of the haters of the new faith against the old, and the so-called superiority of the new. Funny that they didn’t realize that if ours was bad, and theirs came from ours, theirs must be pretty bad too. Or, was that rationale the impetus for the hate; focus on others’ faults that you are without sin?
That, said, we now live in an enlightened age (I hope) and the rationale for hate is far behind us. I can hope, can’t I?
Let’s just learn to live together in peace and mutual respect and support.

Yes, racial prejudice and religious intolerance exist throughout the world. Many, many people who call themselves religous are prjeudicial and bigoted. I wish it were not so but this is really how much of the world es. When that prejudice and bigotry become extreme we see the
results in fanaticism and religous extremeism.
The two greatest commandments are these: Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. And the second is to Love thy neighbor as thyself.
In a recent sermon by my pastor, he stated that the most segregated hour in the week is on Sunday morning when folks are in church. I hadn’t given it much thought before then but he was right.
Romans 2:11 states For there is no respect of persons with God. If we are truly to be more like God then we must learn to set aside our prejudices bigotry.

One of the “Jewish” sitcoms. Curb Your Enthusiasism, portrays a very politically-correct (and Jewish?) idea of “who” is racist. Larry David, creator of the show, correctly becomes upset and irrate when African-Americans are mistreated. One episode centered upon the use of the hated n- word.) However, in another episode.an African-American rapper, known as Krazy-eyes, recited a rap using bitch, whore, nigga, etc. It was intended to be funny and even slightly serious.
Racism works both ways. I feel shame and anger when African-Americans refer to themselves as “n-”. I also feel disrespected when I hear jokes about “white people” who are somehow unhip, just don’t get it, or who can’t jump or dance. I feel insulted that somehow feelings are so sensitive that African-Americans and whites cannot even have a responsible dialogue regarding Affirmative Action, etc.– both good and bad. It builds a strong African-American middle class, but dilutes scholarship. There are good reasons why African-Americans are resentful, but there are also good reasons why middle and upper-class whites don’t elect to send their children to inner-city schools.
But no one speaks the truth. These dream movies that portray the white star’s best friend as African-American are, for the most part, fantasies.
You can say that laughter and lightness are soothing salve, but somehow someone’s joke is another man’s insult.

B”H
And how is an observant Jew supposed to feel when he’s greeted with “Heil Hitler,” “F** the Jews,” “Jewboy,” “Israel is racist,” etc. ad nauseum on the subway and on the streets, by African-Americans in Brooklyn New York, the supposed-liberal, open-minded captial of the USA, where we’re supposed to be able to worship in freedom?
A “few bad apples,” you can excuse, but constant such barrages by so many…how are we supposed to keep our minds open?
After a while, you just get tired of all the hate.