List of religious slurs
The following is a list of religious slurs or religious insults 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, pejorative, or insulting manner.
Christians
Non-denominational
;Bible beater : A dysphemism for people who believe in the fundamentalist authority of the Bible, particularly those from a Pentecostal or fundamentalist denomination. It is also a slang term for an evangelising Christian. Commonly used universally against Christians who are perceived to go out of their way to energetically preach their faith to others.; :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.
; Cafeteria Christian: used by some Christians, and others, to accuse other Christian individuals or denominations of selecting which Christian doctrines they will follow, and which they will not.
; Fundie :Shortening of fundamentalist. Usually used to mean a Christian fundamentalist.
; : Predominantly tagged to a Christian, usually one who openly declares their faith, especially when unwelcome.
; Rice Christian : Someone who has formally declared himself/herself a Christian for material benefits rather than for religious reasons.
Protestants
; Campbellite: a follower of the Churches of Christ, from American Restoration Movement leaders Thomas Campbell and Alexander Campbell, the latter being one of two key people considered the founders of the movement.; Holy Roller :an enthusiastic Protestant prone to rolling on the floor, suffering from fits or "speaking in tongues". 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.
;Jaffa : a Protestant ; named after a common orange-flavoured cake/biscuit in the ROI and UK.
; Orangie :a pro-British Ulster Protestant, referring to supporters of the Orange Order.
; Prod, proddy dog :a Protestant, particularly a rival child from a Protestant school. "Proddywhoddy" and "proddywoddy" are used in children's school rhymes in Cork.
; Russellite: a Jehovah's Witness, from American religious leader Charles Taze Russell.
; Shaker :a member of the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing. Originated as "Shaking Quakers", in reference to their similarity to Quakers as well as their charismatic worship practices, which involved dancing, shouting, and speaking in tongues. The term was originally derogatory, but very early on was embraced and used by the Shakers themselves.
; Soup-taker :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.
; Spike: a very High Church Anglican or Anglo-Catholic.
Catholics
; Left-Footer :an informal phrase for a Roman Catholic particularly amongst the armed forces in the UK.; Fenian :a term used to refer to the Fenian Brotherhood and Irish Republican Brotherhood who supported a united Ireland and now used as a sectarian slur by Protestants especially in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Australia.
; Mackerel Snapper: a Roman Catholic; the term originated in the U.S. in the 1850s and refers to the custom of Friday abstinence. The Friday abstinence from meat distinguishes Catholics from other Christians, especially in North America.
; Mick :a Roman Catholic — usually Irish Catholic
; Papist :a Roman Catholic person — usually Irish Catholic.
; Redneck : a Roman Catholic person, nowadays somewhat dated.
; Roman Catholic:a term brought into use by adherents of the Church of England in regard to Branch Theory as well as distaste to the Catholic Church’s association with the term.
; Shaveling :Usually disparaging: a tonsured clergyman, priest.
; Taig :a Catholic; from tadhg, Irish for "Timothy".
Latter Day Saint movement
; Mormon: a term for a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints which was coined by early opposition and put into use by newspapers in Missouri and Illinois who didn't want to refer to the Latter-day Saints as Christians or Saints, and so used a word from one of their books of scripture, The Book of Mormon. Early leaders spoke out against this use of the term due to revelation given about the Church's name, but because of broad use in the press and by locals who opposed the Church, it remained in colloquial use. To this day, many refer to the Church as the "Mormon Church," though leaders have been asking to be referred to by their proper name since 1838. However, the term has been used in the sect’s television advertising. There has been a new effort starting in 2018 to avoid the use of the epithet. There is some disagreement within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day saints if the term is offensive, or just less preferred. Mormon remains the appropriate term in most historical and demographic contexts, as Mormons are not exclusively members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. There are many other sects to which the term is not offensive and may be preferred.; Molly Mormon: a term for the stereotype of a "perfect" female member of LDS Church.
; Jack Mormon :a non-faithful LDS person or a non-Mormon altogether. Jack Mormon is usually used by non-Mormons to describe Mormons that do not follow the Word of Wisdom 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.
Jews
; Abbie, Abe, and Abie :a Jewish male. From the proper name Abraham. Originated before the 1950s.; Heeb, Hebe : a Jew, derived from the word "Hebrew".
; Hymie: a Jew, from the Hebrew Chaim. Also used in the term Hymietown, a nickname for Brooklyn, New York, and as a first name.
; Ikey, ike, ik: a Jew
; Ikey-mo, ikeymo: a Jew
; Jewboy: a young Jewish male, originally young Jewish boys who sold counterfeit coins in 18th century London.
; Kike: the Yiddish word for "circle" is kikel —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.
; Mocky, moky, moxy, mockey, mockie, mocky :a Jew. First used in the 1930s, possibly from the Yiddish word makeh meaning "plague".
; Moch :a Jew
; Red Sea pedestrian :a Jew, from the story of Moses leading the Jewish people out of Egypt.
; Sheeny: from Yiddish or German schön meaning 'beautiful'.
; Shylock: Jewish people as shrewd and money-loving; named after the famous character from Shakespeare's play "Merchant of Venice".
;Yakubian : Jewish people; it is often mistaken as describing white people, as the Nation of Islam believes all white people are descended from Yakub, the biblical Jacob. Therefore white people and Jewish people are considered one and the same.
; Yid: Yiddish word for Jew.
; Zhyd, zhid, zhydovka, zhidovka: from Russian and other Slavic languages, originally neutral, but became pejorative during debate over the Jewish question in the 1800s. Its use was banned by the Soviet authorities in the 1930s.
Muslims
; Mussie:Corruption of the word "Muslim".; Quran thumper :an excessively zealous Muslim.
; Hajji, Haji or Hodgie: Originated as military slang, now commonly used by non-military personnel to refer to Muslims or Middle Easterners in general. Originating from the word Hajji, an honorific title for Muslims who successfully completed the Hajj to Mecca.
; Mohammedan: a term once frequently used in English in a non-pejorative sense, but nowadays considered by Muslims to be offensive because of the suggestion that they worship Mohammed rather than Allah.
; Raghead, Towelhead:from Islamic wearing of turbans.
; Osama: from Osama bin Laden.
Sikhs
; Towelhead, Raghead:in reference to Sikh headgear, often used in the mistaken belief that Sikhs are connected to Islamic terrorism. Also used against anyone wearing turbans or keffiyehs.Scientologists
; Clam: a Scientologist, referring to a passage about clam engrams in L. Ron Hubbard's 1952 book, What To Audit, later renamed .General non-believers
; Infidel : a term used generally for non-believers.; Heathen:a person who does not belong to a widely held religion as regarded by those who do.
;Pagan: a person who holds religious beliefs that differ from main world religions. Synonymous with heathen.