Why are religions stereotyped because on the individual?

I think it has to do with one's experience. For instance, taking the Muslim question, if most of the Muslims you know are nice people, you will think that the Muslims who are terrorists are not really terrorists or are the exception. If for instance, you were at 911 and barely escaped with your life, was a soldier in the Middle East, you would know that some Muslims are terrorists and also if you not know that the non terrorist Muslims were afraid to speak out against them because the terrorists would have carried out their threats to kill the families of those good Muslims, you would have assumed there are a lot of terrorist Muslims and the other Muslims were in cahoots with them by being silent. Also you have to consider if the Muslims who are terrorists consider themselves good Muslims or the opposite. I heard that it has to do with what part of the Koran they read, that those who read the first part are the good Muslims who do not want to do violence against non-Muslims and if they read the last part and obey it, then they want to make everyone on earth Muslim at any cost. I do know it is opposite what the Bible teaches, in that if you only read the Old Testament, there are stories of wiping out people who are not Jewish because of their offensive sins. And in the New Testament, Jesus said to love your enemies and pray for them. Now as for Christianity and I guess you were talking about Roman Catholicism. The danger with Roman Catholicism is they go to the priests to forgive their sins when they should go to God, and they give Mary preeminence. And from there, those other wrong things happened like indulgences, etc. When Christianity became so that indulges were offered, it was no longer true Christianity. And when man chooses God, rather then God choosing man, when man thinks he can get into heaven by good works and that is more important then faith that is not true Christianity. I am rather wary of the good works because I always failed in doing that and envied those who were so good at it. But people are more likely to turn from their wrong ideas, by living the truth rather then by saying, "all Roman Catholics worship images," because there may be someone attending the Catholic Church who does not go to the priest for confession or does not bow down before the statue of the Virgin Mary because he feels that it is wrong and is waiting for someone who will show him the Way. Now for good examples. When Paul and Silas were threatened for proclaiming the truth of the gospel to the people of Ephesus, the judges told the people who were rioting, that the apostles did not insult their god by saying Diana is a fake, or the people are so stupid that believe that a fully formed image would drop from heaven when it is obviously one of those rocks. So I think one should wait for the other person to examine his own beliefs to see whether they are right or wrong. It does not mean the person is stupid for saying that a religion is bad, it is just that there is a reason why he said it and that reason has to do with one's experiences.

People stereo type different people for tons of reasons including religion. It's something we are kind of trained to do. Set people aside in different groups based on our perception of them. It is something society has let people get away with forever. It is wrong, but almost everyone does it in some sort of way. People have stereotyped African american people like this in the past. This is like a bad habit that wears off on you. We can't change everyone but we can spread the word of accepting others. I am an atheist, I would hope no one would stereotype me because of it. But people may think just because I say that I am evil, or even worship Satan or something. People are quick to condemn ideas that they do not understand.