A couple of the more interesting ideas, in all of the history of religion are, of course, the Jewish Conception of the Chosen People and the Hindu Conception of the Aryan Race. Now, to be fair, many religions have very ethnocentric views of the world. What I find fascinating is the contrast between these conceptions and the very idea of Egalitarianism.
One of the things I really liked to study, in School, was the history of Hinduism. I thought that was a whole lot of fun, too.