---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We don't properly discriminate. We never…"
description: "\"We don't properly discriminate. We never discriminate properly when we're dealing with another group and one of the big problems about religion is that..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50a/reinhold-niebuhr-1881_big-problem_we-don-t-properly-discriminate-we-never_837335.png"
---

#  We don't properly discriminate. We never discriminate…

![“We don't properly discriminate. We never discriminate properly when we're dealing with another group and one of the big problems about religion is that religious people don't know that they are probably as flagrant in these misjudgments as irreligious people.” quote by Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50a/reinhold-niebuhr-1881_big-problem_we-don-t-properly-discriminate-we-never_837335.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50a/reinhold-niebuhr-1881_big-problem_we-don-t-properly-discriminate-we-never_837335.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50a/reinhold-niebuhr-1881_big-problem_we-don-t-properly-discriminate-we-never_837335.png)

> “We don't properly discriminate. We never discriminate properly when we're dealing with another group and one of the big problems about religion is that religious people don't know that they are probably as flagrant in these misjudgments as irreligious people.”

[Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

People often fail to recognize their own biases, assuming others are more prejudiced than themselves.

**In simple terms:** We are blind to our own prejudice.

Key Takeaway

Check your assumptions about others.

Themes

bias self-awareness religion ethics

Mood

reflective critical thoughtful

Type

philosophical ethical

When to use this quote

- interfaith dialogue
- workplace diversity
- personal reflection
- media consumption

Key Concepts

cognitive bias self-deception moral relativism

Questions to Reflect On

- How might you uncover hidden biases?
- What steps can reduce prejudice in group settings?

A Different Perspective

Even when aware, bias can persist unnoticed.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Religious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious/) [Religious people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious-people/)

## Related quotes

> [When you discriminate against anyone, you discriminate against everyone. It's a display of terrible intolerance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-dershowitz/when-you-discriminate-against-anyone-you-discriminate-against/)

[Alan Dershowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-dershowitz/)

> [Discriminate, discriminate, and again discriminate! Be fastidious. Choose. Select.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-merrill-root/discriminate-discriminate-and-again-discriminate-be-fastidious-choose/)

[E. Merrill Root](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-merrill-root/)

> [I regard irreligious people as pioneers. If there had been no priesthood the world would have advanced ten thousand times better than it has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anandi-gopal-joshi/i-regard-irreligious-people-as-pioneers-if-there-had-been-no/)

Anandi Gopal Joshi

> [Police departments, since the start of the history of this country, have been used to enforce unconstitutional laws that were designed to discriminate against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lori-lightfoot/police-departments-since-the-start-of-the-history-of-this-country/)

[Lori Lightfoot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lori-lightfoot/)

> [You must discriminate between those who claim to help you and only want to manipulate you and those who are free, who never manipulate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/you-must-discriminate-between-those-who-claim-to-help-you-and-only/)

[Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/)

> [I don't like kids that are pushed into things by stage mums, but when I can see they are having a good time, they're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-cowell/i-don-t-like-kids-that-are-pushed-into-things-by-stage-mums-but-when/)

[Simon Cowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-cowell/)

> [I don't discriminate. I hate Mondays just as much as I hate any day that requires me to wake up before 10 am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-don-t-discriminate-i-hate-mondays-just-as-much-as-i-hate-any-day/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [A guided missile corrects its trajectory as it flies, homing in, say, on the heat of a jet plane's exhaust. A great improvement on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/a-guided-missile-corrects-its-trajectory-as-it-flies-homing-in-say-on/)

[Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/)

> [I used to be homophobic, but as I got older, I realized that wasn't the way to do things. I don't discriminate against anybody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asap-rocky/i-used-to-be-homophobic-but-as-i-got-older-i-realized-that-wasn-t-the/)

[ASAP Rocky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asap-rocky/)

> [For some of my friends who raise personal objections to marriage equality, they still recognize the importance of being accepting. And many of them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-fujita/for-some-of-my-friends-who-raise-personal-objections-to-marriage/)

[Scott Fujita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-fujita/)

> [Never try to discriminate a person like me. I'm a dragon, once I'm getting mad, don't dare yourself to see me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marivil-ricacho/never-try-to-discriminate-a-person-like-me-i-m-a-dragon-once-i-m/)

Marivil Ricacho

> [Race is not the stumbling block to progress it once was, in large part because the Civil Rights Act of 1964 made it illegal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norah-vincent/race-is-not-the-stumbling-block-to-progress-it-once-was-in-large-part/)

[Norah Vincent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norah-vincent/)

> [The ability to discriminate between that which is true and that which is false is one of the last attainments of the human mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-f-cooper/the-ability-to-discriminate-between-that-which-is-true-and-that-which/)

[James F. Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-f-cooper/)

> [I don't see any reason to discriminate against homosexuals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yitzhak-rabin/i-don-t-see-any-reason-to-discriminate-against-homosexuals/)

[Yitzhak Rabin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yitzhak-rabin/)

> [The United States cannot and should not discriminate on the basis of religion. The free exercise of religion is at the very heart of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-pence/the-united-states-cannot-and-should-not-discriminate-on-the-basis-of/)

[Mike Pence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-pence/)

## More by Reinhold Niebuhr

> [There are evidently limits to the achievements of science; and there are irresolvable contradictions both between prosperity and virtue, and between happiness and ''the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/there-are-evidently-limits-to-the-achievements-of-science-and-there/)

[Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/)

> [Perhapsthemost sublimeinsights oftheJewishprophets and the Christian gospel is the knowledge that since perfection is love, the apprehension of perfection is at once the means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/perhapsthemost-sublimeinsights-ofthejewishprophets-and-the-christian/)

[Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/)

> [The essence of man is his freedom. Sin is committed in that freedom. Sin can therefore not be attributed to a defect in his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/the-essence-of-man-is-his-freedom-sin-is-committed-in-that-freedom/)

[Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/)

> [Liberalism makes this mistake in regard to private property and Marxism makes it in regard to socialized property... The Marxist illusion is partly derived…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/liberalism-makes-this-mistake-in-regard-to-private-property-and/)

[Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/)

> [Human beings are endowed by nature with both selfish and unselfish impulses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/human-beings-are-endowed-by-nature-with-both-selfish-and-unselfish/)

[Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/)

> [There are historic situations in which refusal to defend the inheritance of a civilization, however imperfect, against tyranny and aggression may result in consequences…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/there-are-historic-situations-in-which-refusal-to-defend-the/)

[Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/)

> [God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/god-grant-me-the-serenity-to-accept-the-things-i-cannot-change/)

[Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/)

> [Freedom is necessary for two reasons. It's necessary for the individual, because the individual, no matter how good the society is, every individual has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/freedom-is-necessary-for-two-reasons-it-s-necessary-for-the/)

[Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/)

> [The pretensions of final truth are always partlyan effort to obscure a darkly felt consciousness of the limits of human knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/the-pretensions-of-final-truth-are-always-partlyan-effort-to-obscure/)

[Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/)

> [All social cooperation on a larger scale than the most intimate social group requires a measure of coercion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/all-social-cooperation-on-a-larger-scale-than-the-most-intimate/)

[Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/)

> [Man is always worse than most people suspect, but also generally better than most people dream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/man-is-always-worse-than-most-people-suspect-but-also-generally/)

[Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/)

> [When a church reaches up beyond its group and tries to enforce its standards upon a society that doesn't accept these standards, and perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/when-a-church-reaches-up-beyond-its-group-and-tries-to-enforce-its/)

[Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/)

> [...(I)ndividual selfhood is expressed in the self's capacity for self-transcendence and not in its rational capacity for conceptual and analytic procedures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/i-ndividual-selfhood-is-expressed-in-the-self-s-capacity-for-self/)

[Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/)

> [The whole art of politics consists in directing rationally the irrationalities of men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/the-whole-art-of-politics-consists-in-directing-rationally-the/)

[Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/)

> [Religion is so frequently a source of confusion in political life, and so frequently dangerous to democracy, precisely because it introduces absolutes into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/religion-is-so-frequently-a-source-of-confusion-in-political-life-and/)

[Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/)

[Explore all 200 Reinhold Niebuhr quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/)

## More Big problem quotes

> [My mom had very low expectations for me, and she really had a point. I was a big problem at seventeen. If I had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/my-mom-had-very-low-expectations-for-me-and-she-really-had-a-point-i/)

[Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/)

> [The big problem for comic art is you don't want to overwork it. If a drawing is overworked it isn't funny. It's the spontaneity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-sorel/the-big-problem-for-comic-art-is-you-don-t-want-to-overwork-it-if-a/)

[Edward Sorel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-sorel/)

> [“For me -- for pretty much every writer -- the big problem isn't piracy, it's obscurity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-doctorow/for-me-for-pretty-much-every-writer-the-big-problem-isn-t-piracy-it-s/)

[Cory Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-doctorow/)

> [Nerves are always a big problem for me, which is why I loved doing American sitcoms. Because you know when you do the take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cleese/nerves-are-always-a-big-problem-for-me-which-is-why-i-loved-doing/)

[John Cleese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cleese/)

> [Don't be pretentious is my first advice to young writers. This is the big problem - just because you're getting an MFA doesn't mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-shteyngart/don-t-be-pretentious-is-my-first-advice-to-young-writers-this-is-the/)

[Gary Shteyngart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-shteyngart/)

> [The big problem retailers are facing is the world is moving to mobile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-schulman/the-big-problem-retailers-are-facing-is-the-world-is-moving-to-mobile/)

[Dan Schulman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-schulman/)

> [It was lonely on the hill, and cold. And all you could do was keep going. You could scream, cry, and stamp your feet,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/it-was-lonely-on-the-hill-and-cold-and-all-you-could-do-was-keep/)

[Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/)

> [Its a big problem for American movies that all their movies are produced to be global.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/its-a-big-problem-for-american-movies-that-all-their-movies-are/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“answer. Donald’s dysfunctional belief was related to Janine’s, but he’d held on to it for much longer—a life of responsible and successful work should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-burnett/answer-donald-s-dysfunctional-belief-was-related-to-janine-s-but-he-d/)

[Bill Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-burnett/)

> [The big problem is just this kind of gigantic piece, of kids reading less and liking it less and so getting worse at it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-scieszka/the-big-problem-is-just-this-kind-of-gigantic-piece-of-kids-reading/)

[Jon Scieszka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-scieszka/)

> [I do have a very, very big problem with someone who saw me coming and exploited me as a mascot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stella-vine/i-do-have-a-very-very-big-problem-with-someone-who-saw-me-coming-and/)

[Stella Vine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stella-vine/)

> [Don't tell GOD that u have a Big Problem,Tell your Problem that u have a Big GOD.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/don-t-tell-god-that-u-have-a-big-problem-tell-your-problem-that-u/)

[Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/)

> [We're facing growing climate change, more floods, more droughts, more crisis on a planetary level, and the systems we put in place in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/we-re-facing-growing-climate-change-more-floods-more-droughts-more/)

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

> [“That's my big problem. That's it! Before the Arrival,guys like Evan Walker never looked twice at me, much less shot wild game for me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-yancey/that-s-my-big-problem-that-s-it-before-the-arrival-guys-like-evan/)

[Rick Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-yancey/)

> [Well, capitalism is a big problem, because with capitalism you're just going to keep buying and selling things until there's nothing else to buy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/well-capitalism-is-a-big-problem-because-with-capitalism-you-re-just/)

[Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/)

Browse all 430 Big problem quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "We don't properly discriminate. We never discriminate properly when we're dealing with another group and one of the big problems about religion is that religious people don't know that they are probably as flagrant in these misjudgments as irreligious people.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Reinhold Niebuhr"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/we-don-t-properly-discriminate-we-never-discriminate-properly-when-we/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Big problem"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/we-don-t-properly-discriminate-we-never-discriminate-properly-when-we/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50a/reinhold-niebuhr-1881_big-problem_we-don-t-properly-discriminate-we-never_837335.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50a/reinhold-niebuhr-1881_big-problem_we-don-t-properly-discriminate-we-never_837335.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50a/reinhold-niebuhr-1881_big-problem_we-don-t-properly-discriminate-we-never_837335.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“We don't properly discriminate. We never discriminate properly when we're dealing with another group and one…” — Reinhold Niebuhr",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Reinhold Niebuhr",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "We don't properly discriminate. We never...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/we-don-t-properly-discriminate-we-never-discriminate-properly-when-we/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/we-don-t-properly-discriminate-we-never-discriminate-properly-when-we/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
