Study Links Religion and Racism

[Joanne98]

In the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus warned religious listeners against what today would be called “ingroup prejudice”: the tendency to think less of outsiders, especially those of another race.

The Samaritan, a member of a group despised by Israelites of that time, proves himself more charitable to an injured traveler than two members of the Jewish clergy.

Devout listeners startled by the Samaritan’s charity would have had to confront a difficult message: Piety and prejudice keep close company.

It appears not much has changed.

A meta-analysis of 55 independent studies carried out in the United States with more than 20,000 mostly Christian participants has found that members of religious congregations tend to harbor prejudiced views of other races.

In general, the more devout the community, the greater the racism, according to the authors of the analysis, led by Wendy Wood, Provost Professor of Psychology and Business at USC College and the USC Marshall School of Business. The study appears in the February issue of Personality and Social Psychology Review.

Continued>>>>
http://www.opednews.com/populum/linkframe.php?linkid=107713

[pleah]

1. Not surprised. n/t

[DavidDvorkin]

2. No surprise at all

Oh, wait. I bet those aren't true Christians!

[Soylent Brice]

11. lol

[d_r]

3. I wonder if there is some confounding variable

some third variable, like a personality type, rural location, impact of parenting practices, conservative ideology, etc., that could contribute to both religiosity and racism?

[roguevalley]

13. racists use patriotism as well as religion to justify themselves. its

not the fault of either that they do this.

[sui generis]

4. study links religion and superstition

how is saying a prayer different from chanting a spell?

How is stepping through ritual in a church different from stepping through ritual in a coven?

Religion breeds paranoia. It may have served to unite people into viewing cause and effect through the filter of some irate sentience, making fear the primary reason not to be different or stand out or defy authority, and probably to reject "outsiders" as well.

Different language, skin color, culture, behavior, appearance? Must be bad, or at least, inferior.

[dmallind]

5. To be honest I suspect these are correlated but not causally

I am not exactly organized religion's biggest fan but even I see very few denominations in mainstream religions encouraging racism. A few fringe groups sure. What I suspect is going on here is the appeal of both organized religion, especially the ones that preach a salvific reward available only to the select group of true followers, and racism to people whose minds are strongly inclined to parochial "us vs. them" thinking. When people like you are going to paradise and people not like you are going to torment, it's not exactly rocket science to see that your mindset will accept a distinction in value and worth between classes of people on other criteria too.

[Bluenorthwest]

6. The subject is 'in group prejudice' of which racism is a part

but not by any means the whole. Mainstream religions encourage all manner of bigotry. In this and other Christian nations, that bigotry is often most focused on GLBT minorities. The President himself says he is opposed to basic equality because he is a Christian. Says it out loud. In other nations, the mainstream religions teach that same hate, with the historically beloved addition of antisemitism.
It seems you are seeing prejudice as being only a black/white thing. I do not agree, and I see mainstream religion of all kinds teaching all manner of bigotry in an active and often legislative way.
I do not have equal rights to my Christian neighbors. So tell me again how that is not prejudice.

[dmallind]

7. Nope I agree with you - OP used racism as an example so so did I, that's all.

It's all an us vs. them issue at the heart of it. Just different groups have different versions of identifying "them". Even as far as religious denominations go, some are more willing than others to embrace gays or minorities etc - but usually as long as those gays or minorities are part of the "us" group of religious affiliation.

[ThomCat]

8. Of course,

The more a religion says that "we are saved, and the rest of you are damned," the more it is going to breed hate.

In fact, the more the "true" believers are saying "I don't even believe that the rest of you are even really Christians, because you're not like US," it's even breaking down Christians and causing hated between their own. It seems that they can't even use shared faith to unite.

Christianity, more and more, seems to be all about barriers.

[Unvanguard]

9. No reason to believe this is causal. Education could easily be a common cause. n/t

[Soylent Brice]

10. K&R

[raccoon]

12. IME, conservative Xians are often racist. nt

[Zoeisright]

14. No shit.

The first thing 'Christians' are taught is to hate.

[Mopar151]

17. There is a spectrum...

Some denominations - Methodist, UU's - are deliberately very inclusive, perhaps as they see themselves as "outsiders". On the other end of the scale, "Christian Identity" and radical Muslims are full of spit-spewing hatred for anyone not exactly like them - In fact, some of their most potent vitrol is reserved for those who are only a little bit different.

[TexasObserver]

15. Yes, most Christians miss the whole point of the Good Samaritan.

It's about the concept of being a neighbor, and how that concept is based upon one's own heart, not the relationship one has to the person in need of help. The piety and prejudice connection is one Jesus made repeatedly, in so many ways. The irony of his words and lessons is that he warned about all those who would do things claiming to do them in his name. All the pompous, arrogant, pride filled jerks who wrap themselves in the burial cloth of Jesus were predicted by Jesus.

[RedRoses323]

16. Kudos

O8)