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Religion, Practice and Science of Non-Violence
according to rigid laws which no longer permit the intervention of spirits or magic. But these are cultural, not racial, differences. When the same Negro grows up in a technical environment, he may well become a scientist like George Washington Carver, or a leader like Booker T. Washington.
The net result of all the research that has been conducted in this field is to the effect that innate racial differences in intelligence have not been domonstrated; that the obtained differences in test results are best explained in terms of the social and educational environment, that as the environment opportunities of different racial or ethnic groups become more alike, the observed differences in test results also tend to disappear. The evidence is overwhelmingly against the view that race is a factor which determines level of intelligence.
Religious Prejudice: For centuries, Hindus have called Muslims mlechhas (impure), the Muslims have called Hindus infidels, and this has led to riots, killings etc. The Jews have been persecuted for their religion since ages. The crusades of the Middle Ages are another example.
While a religion unites co-religionists, it creates prejudice against those belonging to other religions. In practice, however, the creed of universalistic brotherhood does not work. People who adhere to different absolutes are not likely to find themselves in agreement.
Manifestations of Prejudice: What people actually do in relation to groups they are prejudiced against is not however, always directly related to what they think or feel about them. Two Hindu employers, for example, may dislike members of a minority community to an equal degree. One may keep his feelings to himself and may hire one on the same basis as any worker, perhaps because he wants to gain goodwill for his factory or store in the minority community. The other may translate his dislike into his employment policy and refuse to hire one. Both men are prejudiced, but only one of them practices discrimination.
Most people who have prejudices talk about them. With like-minded friends, occasionally with strangers, they may express their antagonism freely. But many people go beyond this mild degree of antipathetic action.
If the prejudice is more intense, it leads the individuals to
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