--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Religion doesn't make people bigots…" description: "\"Religion doesn't make people bigots. People are bigots and they use religion to justify their ideology.\" — Reza Aslan" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b8/reza-aslan-2665_bigots_religion-doesn-t-make-people-bigots-peop_91237.png" --- # Religion doesn't make people bigots. People are bigots and… ![“Religion doesn't make people bigots. People are bigots and they use religion to justify their ideology.” quote by Reza Aslan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b8/reza-aslan-2665_bigots_religion-doesn-t-make-people-bigots-peop_91237.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b8/reza-aslan-2665_bigots_religion-doesn-t-make-people-bigots-peop_91237.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b8/reza-aslan-2665_bigots_religion-doesn-t-make-people-bigots-peop_91237.png) > “Religion doesn't make people bigots. People are bigots and they use religion to justify their ideology.” [Reza Aslan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reza-aslan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. It separates the tool (religion) from the user (people), noting that intolerance stems from human bias, not doctrine itself. **In simple terms:** Religion is a neutral tool; people add bias Key Takeaway Bias, not belief, fuels bigotry Themes religion bias prejudice human nature ideology Mood analytical concerned objective Type social commentary observation When to use this quote - political discourse - interfaith dialogue - media analysis Key Concepts bigotry justification social psychology Practical Applications - public policy advising - education curricula Questions to Reflect On - What evidence shows belief can be tolerant? - How can institutions curb misuse of religion? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bigots](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bigots/) [Ideology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideology/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) ## Related quotes > [“In some cases, I am able to respect what so many call bigots. Such people have a more solid foundation for drawing their lines…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/in-some-cases-i-am-able-to-respect-what-so-many-call-bigots-such/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [People are using religion to justify horrific bias and hatred and the worship of money and what it's done to our society and our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-grossman/people-are-using-religion-to-justify-horrific-bias-and-hatred-and-the/) [Leslie Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-grossman/) > [Only religion could justify killing an adult with a family because he carried out abortions of unwanted or unhealthy fetuses that don't even have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-alan-harvey/only-religion-could-justify-killing-an-adult-with-a-family-because-he/) [David Alan Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-alan-harvey/) > [There are very good Christians who are compassionate and caring. And there are very bad Christians. You can say that about Islam, about Hinduism,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/there-are-very-good-christians-who-are-compassionate-and-caring-and/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [People will use their religion to justify virtually anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/people-will-use-their-religion-to-justify-virtually-anything/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [“There are a whole lot of religious people in America, including the majority of Democrats. When we abandon the field of religious discourse—when we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/there-are-a-whole-lot-of-religious-people-in-america-including-the/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [God doesn't make you a bigot. You're just a bigot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reza-aslan/god-doesn-t-make-you-a-bigot-you-re-just-a-bigot/) [Reza Aslan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reza-aslan/) > [Show me a religion that doesn't care about compassion. Show me a religion that doesn't care about stewardship of the environment. Show me a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eboo-patel/show-me-a-religion-that-doesn-t-care-about-compassion-show-me-a/) [Eboo Patel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eboo-patel/) > [Just like race doesn't define who you are as person... religion doesn't define your character.it's what inside your heart that shows who you truly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zakaria/just-like-race-doesn-t-define-who-you-are-as-person-religion-doesn-t/) [Zakaria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zakaria/) > [The invention of the scientific method and science is, I'm sure we'll all agree, the most powerful intellectual idea, the most powerful framework for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/the-invention-of-the-scientific-method-and-science-is-i-m-sure-we-ll/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [That's the funny thing about religion: it doesn't matter what you say, you're going to upset someone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-black/that-s-the-funny-thing-about-religion-it-doesn-t-matter-what-you-say/) [Lewis Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-black/) > [Religion doesn't help me at all. But the relationship between me and God and Jesus, that changed my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phan-thi-kim-phuc/religion-doesn-t-help-me-at-all-but-the-relationship-between-me-and/) [Phan Thi Kim Phuc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phan-thi-kim-phuc/) > [“Having a religion doesn’t make a person love or not love others. It doesn’t make a person accept or not accept others. It doesn’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-pearce/having-a-religion-doesn-t-make-a-person-love-or-not-love-others-it/) [Dan Pearce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-pearce/) > [If your religion doesn't respect the rights of other religions, it is lacking something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ebert/if-your-religion-doesn-t-respect-the-rights-of-other-religions-it-is/) [Roger Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ebert/) > [I love the idea of the teachings of Jesus Christ and the beautiful stories about it, which I loved in Sunday school and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elton-john/i-love-the-idea-of-the-teachings-of-jesus-christ-and-the-beautiful/) [Elton John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elton-john/) ## More by Reza Aslan > [“Despite two millennia of Christian apologetics, the fact is that belief in a dying and rising messiah simply did not exist in Judaism. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reza-aslan/despite-two-millennia-of-christian-apologetics-the-fact-is-that/) [Reza Aslan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reza-aslan/) > [Should I act violently in defense of my religion, absolutely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reza-aslan/should-i-act-violently-in-defense-of-my-religion-absolutely/) [Reza Aslan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reza-aslan/) > [“Scattered across the Roman Empire, it was only natural for the gospel writers to distance themselves from the Jewish independence movement by erasing, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reza-aslan/scattered-across-the-roman-empire-it-was-only-natural-for-the-gospel/) [Reza Aslan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reza-aslan/) > [“There is a term for this phenomenon—politicomorphism, or “the divinization of earthly politics”—and it is, to this day, one of the central features of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reza-aslan/there-is-a-term-for-this-phenomenon-politicomorphism-or-the/) [Reza Aslan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reza-aslan/) > [Obama has been the single worst president in modern American history in dealing with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reza-aslan/obama-has-been-the-single-worst-president-in-modern-american-history/) [Reza Aslan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reza-aslan/) > [There's no question that homophobia is rampant among the world's 1.5 billion Muslims - but that doesn't negate the fact that there are huge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reza-aslan/there-s-no-question-that-homophobia-is-rampant-among-the-world-s-1-5/) [Reza Aslan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reza-aslan/) > [Well, to be clear, I am a scholar of religions with four degrees, including one in the New Testament and fluency in Biblical Greek…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reza-aslan/well-to-be-clear-i-am-a-scholar-of-religions-with-four-degrees/) [Reza Aslan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reza-aslan/) > [“There would be no more record of who was rich and who was poor. Everyone in this new and divinely inspired world order would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reza-aslan/there-would-be-no-more-record-of-who-was-rich-and-who-was-poor/) [Reza Aslan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reza-aslan/) > [My biography of Jesus is probably the first popular biography that does not use the New Testament as its primary source material.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reza-aslan/my-biography-of-jesus-is-probably-the-first-popular-biography-that/) [Reza Aslan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reza-aslan/) > [The Islamic Reformation is already here. We are all living in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reza-aslan/the-islamic-reformation-is-already-here-we-are-all-living-in-it/) [Reza Aslan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reza-aslan/) > [“Pilate, as the histories reveal, was not one for trials. In his ten years as governor of Jerusalem, he had sent thousands upon thousands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reza-aslan/pilate-as-the-histories-reveal-was-not-one-for-trials-in-his-ten/) [Reza Aslan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reza-aslan/) > [Is it possible that Jesus, unlike 98 percent of his fellow Jews, was literate and educated? Yes, it's possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reza-aslan/is-it-possible-that-jesus-unlike-98-percent-of-his-fellow-jews-was/) [Reza Aslan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reza-aslan/) > [“The choice between James’s vision of a Jewish religion anchored in the Law of Moses and derived from a Jewish nationalist who fought against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reza-aslan/the-choice-between-james-s-vision-of-a-jewish-religion-anchored-in/) [Reza Aslan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reza-aslan/) > [“Paul's portrayal of Jesus as Christ may sound familiar to contemporary Christians—it has since become the standard doctrine of the church—but it would have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reza-aslan/paul-s-portrayal-of-jesus-as-christ-may-sound-familiar-to/) [Reza Aslan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reza-aslan/) > [If the resistance is going to bring Trump down, it will require Democrats to follow the people, not the other way around. My hope…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reza-aslan/if-the-resistance-is-going-to-bring-trump-down-it-will-require/) [Reza Aslan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reza-aslan/) [Explore all 154 Reza Aslan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reza-aslan/) ## More Bigots quotes > [I found from working on the film that I am a bigot, at times. And that I am also a coward, at times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terrence-howard/i-found-from-working-on-the-film-that-i-am-a-bigot-at-times-and-that/) [Terrence Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terrence-howard/) > [These days I am a teetotal, mean-spirited, right-wing, narrow-minded, conservative Christian bigot, but not a racist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-russell/these-days-i-am-a-teetotal-mean-spirited-right-wing-narrow-minded/) [Jane Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-russell/) > [“But the bigots always see those whom they hate as morally corrupt, as if they confuse their own aesthetics of disgust and fear with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-duncan/but-the-bigots-always-see-those-whom-they-hate-as-morally-corrupt-as/) [Hal Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-duncan/) > [“Don’t become bigoted about bigots.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-ross/don-t-become-bigoted-about-bigots/) Scott Ross > [“Apes throw tantrum when they are insecure, pursuit of delusion soothes the vegetated.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/apes-throw-tantrum-when-they-are-insecure-pursuit-of-delusion-soothes/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [“Bigots often like to say they're the ones being hurt as they oppress and hurt others. Never fall for the 'pity the privileged' routine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dashanne-stokes/bigots-often-like-to-say-they-re-the-ones-being-hurt-as-they-oppress/) [DaShanne Stokes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dashanne-stokes/) > [We should not allow the fundamentalists and the bigots to take over and speak for the great faiths any more than we should let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/we-should-not-allow-the-fundamentalists-and-the-bigots-to-take-over/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [What concerns me most is the horrible degradation our notions of truth, civility, and decency have undergone. Also the way that language has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/what-concerns-me-most-is-the-horrible-degradation-our-notions-of/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“• They travel in tight circles of likeminded people. • Their thinking is more likely based on what authorities have told them rather than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-w-dean/they-travel-in-tight-circles-of-likeminded-people-their-thinking-is/) [John W. Dean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-w-dean/) > [Being no bigot myself, I am disposed to indulge the professors of Christianity in the church that road to heaven which to them shall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/being-no-bigot-myself-i-am-disposed-to-indulge-the-professors-of/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [“First, they came for the bigots, and I said nothing, because I didn’t believe I was a bigot, then…it was really nice, it turned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-ince/first-they-came-for-the-bigots-and-i-said-nothing-because-i-didn-t/) [Robin Ince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-ince/) > [“No travel can broaden a bigoted mind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/no-travel-can-broaden-a-bigoted-mind/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [“There will always be another war, Gillia.” He allowed his cynicism to seep through. “Do you know why? Because there will always be bigots…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-carnes/there-will-always-be-another-war-gillia-he-allowed-his-cynicism-to/) [V.S. Carnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-carnes/) > [I never sensed really bad blood between Microsoft and Apple. A lot of Macintosh users feel badly about PCs and do have some bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-wozniak/i-never-sensed-really-bad-blood-between-microsoft-and-apple-a-lot-of/) [Steve Wozniak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-wozniak/) > [We don't lump people by groups or special interests. And let me add, in the party of Lincoln there is no room for intolerance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/we-don-t-lump-people-by-groups-or-special-interests-and-let-me-add-in/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) [Browse all 157 Bigots quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bigots/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Religion doesn't make people bigots. 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