The surest path to the Way of Knowing; where we must begin, is knowing ourselves.  The more comfortable we become with who we are, the more at ease we are with others.  Phobias - homo, religious, racial and otherwise, usually stem from fear of self and self-ignorance.  Fear is related to the unknown.  We will continue to be afraid of God, and others, as long as we do not know ourselves.
 
If you are at dis-ease with yourself, you tend to have a dis-eased view of others, and the world around you.  Your perception of "you" influences your perception of others.  But it is a beautiful thing to begin to see God in yourself, for that always results in your being able to see God in others.
 
Much of our desire to exclude people, and to appear as if we know it all, emanates from a lack of knowing ourselves and accepting ourselves as we are.  Exclusion is a prostituted attempt to include ourselves... to accept us.  The more comfortable we become with us, the more accepting and affirming we will be of others. Lao Tzu said it best when he said, "He who knows others is learned.  He who knows himself is wise."