Roof, religion is the cause of racism. OP/ED

[Brian37]

Now to my well intended liberal friends, before you read this, please don't use "not all religious people are racist", no one is claiming that our should claim that. The following is about the evolutionary psychology behind what religion is as a concept. It is an excuse to group as a way of creating social order. The problem is in doing such it sets up tribalism and in group vs out group. Religion is the cause of racism.

I think one thing completely ignored by humans in acts like that of Roof, is the claim that it had nothing to do with religion. When you look at what Roof soaked up online that lead him to this horrible act, one would be stupid to claim that the KKK was not founded as a religious organization. Racism is a direct result of religion, regardless of any empathy liberals of faith or atheists want to claim can be separated. Religion itself, regardless of label, in our species history sets up tribalism. It is why white Tea Party Baptists, and black southern Baptists, can share the same label, but be radically different polar opposites on politics and economics. 

And even outside this country, I was called "racist" by a Hindu from India after I told them their religion was not special. That was even after I pointed out atheists groups on facebook started by citizens of India who were born in Hindu families but simply left the religion. Even with Palestine and Israel, religion produces the racism BOTH can and do rightfully point to about the other. It is the same after the Hebdo attacks in France, and both Jews and Muslims would be RIGHT in saying they suffer discrimination. Racism is a product of religion, and is what religion hides behind both left and right, to avoid scrutiny of religion. 

I do not say this in some sort of delusional call to force religion out of existence, as if one could on a planet of 7 billion. But a call for my fellow species, which ultimately stems from the same DNA going back far enough in evolution. To understand that the concept of religion, has to be treated for what it really is, simply a reflection of local, social norms, and should not be put on a pedestal. If there had been no god of Abraham invented, there would be no KKK. If there had been no god of Abraham invented, there would be no fighting between Sunnis and Shiites. If there had been no god of Abraham invented, there would be no fighting between Jews and Palestinians. If there had been no god of Abraham there would have been no black slavery.  If there had been no god of Abraham invented, Hitler, regardless of his personal beliefs, would not have been able to convince Germans that they were God's chosen people. 

Religion causes racism, it causes human divisions, there simply is no good way to be polite about what the history of this concept has done to our species in our history. If we bravely face this, we can and will manage our differences to a much greater civil degree.  Although I agree, without a religion Hitler couldn't have convinced people they were god's chosen people, but he could have just manipulated them some other way.  

Racism is mainly a product of human behaviour, religion has been responsible for promoting and preventing racism depending on the circumstances.
I'd say slavery, including black slavery, would almost certainly still exist with or without an Abrahamic god. It existed in the tribes of Africa before they even knew about an Abrahamic god.
And people like Hitler have existed in countries that know nothing of any Abrahamic god.  Although I'd agree with the statement you made, Hitler couldn't have convinced people they were God's chosen people without religion, but I believe he would just manipulate people some other way.
 In any society with or without God people split into groups and try and beat each other, without an Abrahamic god these groups would most likely just have different names and different rhetoric.

No, religion IS the cause of racism because of humans refusal to see what you rightfully said "Racism is mainly a product of human behavior" I AGREE, but because humans seek patterns on superstitious grounds and form groups based on those falsehoods we cant see what is going on. We allow Santa to rule us rather than see "naughty and nice" are not a product of a cosmic fiction, but in our evolution. As long as we give cover to superstition that ignorance will produce racism.

Hitler believed that divinity gave him the right to claim that Germans were the master race and were "God's Chosen People".

If we instead view reality in natural evolutionary terms, we know that our species stems from the same past. Religion is our refusal to accept we are the same species. 

And of course humans would divide even without the Abrahamic gods, we always have. That is still not an excuse to give religion a pass. I also warn atheists not to try to set up moral code lists either. "Atheist" is not a religion right now, but even now there are groups calling themselves "atheist churches", seems harmless to those involved now, but it can most certainly be turned into a religion, I hope it never does.

Secular law covers everyone, or the idea should. Humans have rights, but claims by themselves do not deserve a pedestal. 

And to say religion does good, does not make the religion itself the cause of the good, our evolutionary empathy as a species is doing that. Our morality as a species is in our evolution, not our labels. Labels don't automatically make an individual good or bad.