Religious and ethnic prejudice are not historically distinct categories

Evidence

The fact that prejudice is pervasive does not mean it takes the same form everywhere. The fact that prejudice can be described as a ‘fact of life’ (Dixon and Levine, 2012 , p. 3), very much in line with Allport’s conception of prejudice, is arguably not enough to understand its societal anchorage, distinctiveness and uniqueness in certain societies and conditions. — Cristian Tileagă, The Nature of Prejudice, 100 (#complicates, via linked claim)

Perhaps believers, who may avoid expressing negative attitudes toward other ethnic or racial outgroups, have less concern when it comes to atheists. Anti-atheist prejudice, unlike prejudice against racial or religious minorities, could be a socially accepted prejudice in America. But that would push the question further back—why would this prejudice be socially acceptable? Moreover, these polls predict voting behavior with a reasonably high degree of accuracy. Voters in the United States have never elected an openly atheist president. Judging from the rarity of self-declared atheists holding political office in America, the polls might, if anything, underestimate how widespread the rejection of atheists is. Finally, in our own experimental research, we find that believers in the United States and Canada distrust atheists even when we use subtle and indirect measures of distrust and prejudice that sidestep some of the problems of survey research. — Norenzayan, Ara, Big gods - how religion transformed…, 232 (#complicates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Pervasive prejudice still takes distinct forms across different societies — Cristian Tileagă, The Nature of Prejudice: Society,…, 100; Anti-Arab prejudice is ethnic while anti-Muslim prejudice is religious — Ivan Davidson Kalmar, Derek Penslar, Orientalism and the Jews, 866; Anti-atheist prejudice is socially accepted while racial prejudice is not — Norenzayan, Ara, Big gods - how religion transformed…, 232

Broader Connections

• Pervasive prejudice still takes distinct forms across different societies #complicates (0.80) — Cristian Tileagă, The Nature of Prejudice, 100
• Anti-atheist prejudice is socially accepted while racial prejudice is not #complicates (0.72) — Norenzayan, Ara, Big gods - how religion transformed…, 232