Quote Originally Posted by Loki View Post
The problem isn't that it's skin-deep. It's that Christianity has long been used to explicitly justify terrible behaviors (including slavery). There are parts of this country where churches still teach that whites are superior to blacks.
That's certainly true--although Catholicism's relationship with slavery has been a complicated one--but there are also many who believe those things are contrary to their religion as they understand it (and, I suspect, how most westerners understand it). Both in the US and elsewhere, many churches have taken it upon themselves to help refugees, asylum seekers and assorted vulnerable migrants. Just a couple of months ago, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops overwhelmingly endorsed a pastoral letter focused on working against racism, including structural racism and its consequences, as well as xenophobia. It's easier to reconcile such activities with the ideal conception of Christianity than it is to reconcile atrocities with the same.