Meet the Sanctibigot: The Hypocrite Who Hates in the Name of Virtue

They preach tolerance, but their words drip with hate. They condemn bigotry, but practice it in the same breath. This is the paradox of the Sanctibigot, the self-righteous bigot cloaked in virtue. Read the full article to see why giving this hypocrisy a name matters.

You’ve met them before. Maybe on Twitter, maybe at a protest. Maybe even at Thanksgiving dinner.

They rail against intolerance with a voice that drips with… well, intolerance. They preach tolerance, but only if you agree with them. They call out “bigots” while spewing the very prejudice they claim to despise.

That person has a name now: the Sanctibigot.

What Is a Sanctibigot?

A Sanctibigot is someone who condemns bigotry while practicing it themselves, usually under the banner of moral superiority.

They don’t just oppose hatred. They become the very thing they claim to be fighting—blindly or willfully.

The word comes from a blend of sanctimonious (self-righteous, holier-than-thou) and bigot (intolerant toward differing opinions). Together, it nails a very modern kind of hypocrisy, hating in the name of love.

How to Spot a Sanctibigot

Here’s how they show up in the wild:

• The Political Arena: A politician condemns prejudice… then stereotypes entire groups as ignorant or evil. That’s Sanctibigotry in a suit.

  
  

• Social Media Warriors: Someone tweets “We need tolerance for all voices”… then calls anyone who disagrees a Nazi. Sanctibigot with a hashtag.

  
  

• The Dinner Table Debater: Your Aunt says, “We can’t judge people based on beliefs!” …and then spends the next hour judging everyone who doesn’t share theirs. Family Sanctibigot unlocked.

Why It Resonates

The power of Sanctibigot is that it describes what people already see every day. It gives language to a contradiction that’s been hard to name. When you hear it, you don’t need a dictionary. You just nod. Because you’ve seen the sermon of tolerance delivered with clenched fists. You’ve seen the “anti-hate” crowd dripping with venom. You’ve seen the bigot hiding under the halo.

The Mirror Test

We live in an age where calling someone a bigot is easy. But the real test isn’t who you can accuse. It’s whether you can look in the mirror and ask:

“Am I fighting hate — or feeding it?”

That’s the line a Sanctibigot can’t see. And the reason the word matters is because now, the rest of us can.