List of religious slurs

The following is a list of religious slurs in the English language that are, or have been, used as insinuations or allegations about adherents of a given religion or to refer to them in a derogatory (critical or disrespectful), pejorative (disapproving or contemptuous), or insulting manner.

Christians

Bible beater 
a dysphemism for Christian fundamentalists[1] It is also a slang term for an evangelizing Christian fundamentalist.[2]
Bible thumper (also "bible basher") 
(mainly US) someone perceived as aggressively imposing their Christian beliefs upon others. The term derives from preachers thumping their hands down on the Bible, or thumping the Bible itself, to emphasize a point during a sermon. The term's target domain is broad and can often extend to anyone engaged in a public show of religion, fundamentalist or not. The term is most commonly used in English-speaking countries.[3]
Fundie
(US) Someone who holds to the Fundamentals of the Christian Faith (from a series of essays, called The Fundamentals, written from 1910-1915, defending basic Christian doctrines). Now used derogatively of generally. Any who believe the miraculous accounts in the Bible, and particularly, those who are evangelicals or who are active in the politics.
God botherer 
(Australia, UK, New Zealand) Predominantly tagged to a Christian, usually one who openly declares their faith,[4] even when unwelcome.

Protestants

Bible basher 
(UK, Australia & New Zealand) a Protestant, particularly one from a Pentecostal or fundamentalist denomination, who believes in the fundamentalist authority of the Bible; also commonly used universally against Christians who are perceived to go out of their way to force their faith upon others.[5]
Holy Roller 
(US) an enthusiastic Protestant prone to rolling on the floor, suffering from fits or "speaking in tongues" (Pentecostals during worship or prayer). The term holy roller, however, is applied to some Evangelical Protestants, especially charismatics, if they are vocal about their own religious views or critical of individuals who do not meet their moral standards. Similar to Bible thumper.[6]
Orangie 
(Ireland/UK) a pro-British Ulster Protestant, referring to supporters of the Orange Order.[7]
Prod, proddy dog 
(AUS Catholics (particularly school kids)) a Protestant, particularly a rival kid from a Protestant school. "Proddywhoddy" and "proddywoddy" are used in children's school rhymes in Cork.[8]
Quaker 
A member of the Religious Society of Friends. Originally derogatory, later embraced by Friends. According to George Fox, founder of the Society of Friends, British magistrate Gervase Bennet "was the first person that called us Quakers, because I bade them tremble at the word of the Lord." Fox had been brought before Bennet on a charge of Blasphemy.
Russellite 
a Jehovah's Witness, from American religious leader Charles Taze Russell.[9][10]
Soup-taker 
(Ireland) a person who has sold out their beliefs, referring to the Irish potato famine when some Catholics converted to a Protestant faith in order to gain access to a free meal.[11]
Spike 
a very High Church Anglican or Anglo-Catholic.[12]

Catholics

Left-Footer 
(Especially Ireland and Scotland) an informal phrase for a Roman Catholic.[13]
Mackerel Snapper 
a Roman Catholic; the term originated in the U.S. in the 1850s and refers to the custom of Friday abstinence.[14] The Friday abstinence from meat (red meat and poultry) distinguishes Catholics from other Christians, especially in North America.
Mick 
(Australia) a Roman Catholic, a hypcorism of Michael[15]
Papist 
(Northern Ireland and Scottish Protestants) a Roman Catholic person — usually Irish Catholic.[16]
Redneck 
A derogatory Northern English term for a Roman Catholic, nowadays somewhat dated.[17]
Taig 
(Northern Ireland Protestants) a Catholic; from tadhg, Irish for "Timothy.".[18] Used by supporters of The Rangers Football Club to describe Catholics in general.

Jewish

Abbie, Abe, and Abie
(North America) a Jewish male. From the proper name Abraham. Originated before the 1950s.[19]
Heeb, Hebe
(U.S.) offensive term for a Jew, derived from the word "Hebrew".[20][21]
Hymie
A Jew, from the Hebrew Chaim ("life"). Also used in the term "Hymie-town," a reference to New York, and in particular, Brooklyn.[22]
Ikey, ike, ik
a Jew [from Isaac][23]
Ikey-mo, ikeymo
a Jew [from Isaac and Moses][23]
Kike
The Yiddish word for "circle" is kikel (pronounced KY-kul)—Illiterate Jews who entered the United States at Ellis Island signed their names with a circle instead of a cross because they associated the cross with Christianity.[24][25] An alternate theory is that the "circle" refers to the Jewish immigrant bread the Bagel.
Mocky,[26] moky, moxy, mockey, mockie, mocky
(U.S.) a Jew. First used in the 1930s, possibly from the Yiddish word makeh meaning "plague".[27]
Mock, moch
(U.S.) a Jew [first used in the 1960s as an abbreviated form of mocky (q.v.)][23]
Sheeny
From Yiddish "shaine" or German "schön" meaning "beautiful."[28]
Shylock
Comes from Shakespeare's play "Merchant of Venice".[29]
Yid
Yiddish word for Jew.[30]

Muslim

Muzzie
Corruption of the word "Muslim".
Quran thumper 
An excessively zealous Muslim[31]
Raghead 
Arabs, Indian Sikhs and some other Indian peoples, for wearing traditional headdress such as turbans or keffiyehs. Sometimes used generically for all Islamic nations. Muslim men however do not wear headdresses and this stereotype is often quoted through ignorance. Muslim women wear headdresses that cover the complete head, different in style to Sikhs and Indians.
Towel head 
A person who wears a turban. Often refers specifically to an Arab or Indian on their cultural tradition of wearing head dresses.

Scientologist

Clam, clamhead
a Scientologist, referring to a passage about clam engrams in L. Ron Hubbard's 1952 book, What To Audit, later renamed The History Of Man.[32]

Generally religious

Fundie or fundy 
An abbreviation for fundamentalist.

General non-believers

Kafir 
Arabic: كافر kāfir, plural كفّار kuffār, an Arabic term for a non-Muslim or infidel, often considered deeply offensive and contains violent connotations. The term is associated with the justification of terrorism, slavery and genocide.
Murtad 
an Arabic term for an apostate or one who leaves Islam. A person born to a Muslim parent who later rejects Islam is called a murtad fitri while someone who converts to Islam and then rejects it is a murtad milli. This term is offensive and violent because many Islamic countries impose the death penalty on apostates.
Musharik/Mušrikūn 
an Arabic term referring to those who commit polytheism or idol worship. It is a pejorative term primarily used to insult, persecute and kill Hindus, Buddhists, Yazidis and those who practice traditional African religions.
Dhimmi 
an Arabic term referring to non-Muslims living in an Islamic state. This was usually applied to followers of other monotheist religions such as Christianity and Judaism who are considered "people of the book". Dhimmis had limited rights and were forced to pay a tax/extortion known as jizya. They were treated as second-class citizens and frequently persecuted.
Goy 
a Jewish term for a Gentile.
Infidel 
a term used by Christians/Muslims for a non-Christian/Muslim.
Jack Mormon 
(Western U.S.) either a non-faithful LDS person or a non-Mormon altogether. Jack Mormon is a slur usually used by non-Mormons to describe Mormons that don't follow the Word of Wisdom (dietary and health practices that exclude the use of tobacco or alcohol) and by Mormons to describe members that do not sufficiently follow practices. It is also used by Mormons to describe those who were Mormon but remain friendly to the Church. It may be applied to ex-Mormons who have repudiated the Church and its teachings but that is a rare usage.[33]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Garner's Modern American Usage (3rd ed. ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press, USA. 2009. p. 286. ISBN 0199888779. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
  2. ↑ Eble, Connie (1996). Slang & sociability in-group language among college students. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. p. 157. ISBN 1469610574. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
  3. ↑ Gilbert, Robert E. (October 1, 2008). "Ronald Reagan's Presidency: The Impact of an Alcoholic Parent". Political Psychology 29 (5): 737–765. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9221.2008.00662.x.
  4. ↑ Green, Jonathon (2005). Cassel Dictionary of Slang. Sterling Publishing Company, Inc. p. 614. ISBN 978-0-304-36636-1. Retrieved 28 March 2013.
  5. ↑ Dalzell, Tom (2007). The Concise New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English. London: Routledge. p. 51.
  6. ↑ "roller, n1", definition 17b, The Oxford English Dictionary (account required for online access). See also the sermon "Why I Am a Holy-Roller" by William Marrion Branham, August 1953.
  7. ↑ Share, op. cit. p. 231.
  8. ↑ Share, op. cit. p. 253.
  9. ↑ "Russellite - Academic Dictionaries and Encyclopedias". enacademic.com. Retrieved 12 February 2015. Russellite /rus"euh luyt'/, n. Offensive. a member of the Jehovah's Witnesses. [1875-80, Amer.; after C. T. Russell; see -ITE1]
  10. ↑ "russellite - Useful English Dictionary". enacademic.com. Retrieved 12 February 2015. russellite \\ˈrəsəˌlīt\ noun (-s) Usage: usually capitalized Etymology: Charles Taze Russell died 1916 American religious leader + English -ite : one of the Jehovah's Witnesses — often taken to be offensive
  11. ↑ Hughes, "Ireland" p. 78
  12. ↑ The Chambers Dictionary, Edinburgh 1993, p. 1662
  13. ↑ http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/left-footer
  14. ↑ The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English p. 1250 (2005 Taylor & Francis)
  15. ↑ Dalzell, Tom; Victor, Terry (2014). The Concise New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English. Routledge. p. 514. ISBN 9781317625124. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  16. ↑ Simpson, "papist" op. cit.; Share, op. cit. p. 237.
  17. ↑ The All England Law Reports Reprint: Being a Selection from the Law Times Reports, 1843-1935, retrieved 16 December 2013, At the meeting the appellant called Roman Catholics "rednecks," a name most insulting to them, and challenged them to get up.
  18. ↑ Simpson, "teague"
  19. ↑ Spears, p. 1.
  20. ↑ Madresh, Marjorie (2004-05-28). "Founder of 'Hip to be Heeb' magazine speaks to students". The Triangle Online. Retrieved 2007-02-14.
  21. ↑ "Merriam-Webster Online definition of hebe". Retrieved 2007-02-14.
  22. ↑ Hymie, Eric Wolarsky, Rhetoric of Race Dictionary Project, College of New Jersey. Retrieved 2007-11-06.
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 23.2 John A. Simpson, Oxford Dictionary Of Modern Slang ISBN 0-19-861052-1. "ikey", "ikeymo", "mock"
  24. ↑ Encyclopedia of Swearing: Social History of Oaths, Profanity, Foul Language, and Ethnic Slurs in the English Speaking World/ Geoffrey Hughes. Armonk, N.Y. : M.E. Sharpe, c2006
  25. ↑ Leo Rosten: The Joys of Yiddish, cited in Kim Pearson's Rhetoric of Race by Eric Wolarsky. The College of New Jersey.
  26. ↑ "English contemporary dictionary - Mocky". enacademic.com. Retrieved 12 February 2015. mocky adj. (Offensive slang) Jewish, of or pertaining to the Jewish religion or race in a derogatory manner
  27. ↑ Stevenson, Angus (2010). Oxford Dictionary of English. Oxford University Press. p. 1137. ISBN 9780199571123. Retrieved 12 February 2015. ORIGIN 1930S: perhaps from Yiddish makeh, 'a plague'.
  28. ↑ Rockaway, Robert A. (2000), But He Was Good to His Mother: The Lives and Crimes of Jewish Gangsters, Gefen Publishing House Ltd., p. 95, ISBN 965-229-249-4
  29. ↑ "When Did 'Shylock' Become a Slur?". time.com. TIME Magazine. Retrieved 11 February 2015. The word "shylock," [...] is an eponym from a Jewish character in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice. [...] Today, "shylock" is considered an antisemitic slur.
  30. ↑ Online Etymological Dictionary: Yid
  31. ↑ 2008, Alum Bati, Harem Secrets, page 130
  32. ↑ Operation Clambake clam FAQ
  33. ↑ Spears (2001), "Jack"

References