It's an interesting example, and I think I'm qualified to answer it, being first generation post-apartheid South African.Athelwulf said:
Certainly, there are some people who aren't willing to think for themselves - but that's dangerous in all areas of life, not just religion. But the reality is that most people aren't that stupid. If it was a rule, then we would all still have been British imperialists. People develop identities no matter where they start from, and they modify their perceptions as they come into contact with people who don't share their prejudices. Maybe if someone grows up in an exclusively racist community, in isolation, they would not "know" any better.
Belief in God works a little differently, because we get to know a relationship within a relationship. Parents just relay the information, but you get to grow up among people who already lives in the relationship they promote, and you get to judge them by that.
It's unfortunate that half-hearted parents try to indoctrinate their children - I'm sure that happens, and I don't support that. I have friends whose parents were staunch racists, but they sort of lost their identity when the walls came down. My own family were square centre among the traditionally conservative "official" church that was supposed to support apartheid, but I never became racist, even though I became a Christian. So if there is a causal connection somewhere, you'll have to look further than upbringing alone.
