Some minds tend to jump to the "Racist!" accusation every time they hear a disparaging comment about a group of people, regardless of what those people have in common.

I wasn't implying that it was a sensible feeling -- I was just describing a sort of internal flinch.

ETA: Here in California, it is to some extent a race issue. We have a large and growing Hispanic population, who are very strongly catholic. If that population continues to grow, without moderation of their religious leanings, it could significantly impact the politics of the state.

The very fact that you're denying that it's racist is EVEN MORE RACIST!

P.S. I make no apologies for my recent trend in comment quality...