If you are asking if the policies of the
Númenóreans mirrored those of Emperor Shi Min (石閔) who ordered the slaughter of all non-Han residents of China in AD 350, or the current CCP policy of
han minzu (汉民族) to marginalize and forcibly assimilate all non-Han citizens of the PRC (e.g., the Tibetans, or the unfortunate Uyghurs), then
no, I don’t believe they do.
The Númenóreans exhibited an extraordinary respect for
tradition (also customary in China until the 1949 Revolution and the subsequent Cultural Revolution of the 1960s; the West also lost its respect for tradition in the 20th century following two world
wars and successive Communist and Fascist revolutions, both of which are Leftist ideologies that deprecate tradition). Even the
Kings’
Men worked outside the public arena while Tar-Palantír was
king of Númenor: Gimilkhâd,
Ar-Pharazôn’s father and Tar-Palantír’s younger brother, did not
openly oppose his brother, though he worked tirelessly against him behind the scenes. By the same token, Amandil and
Elendil did not
openly oppose Ar-Pharazôn, though Amandil went so far as to attempt a personal emissary to the
Valar on behalf of
the Faithful Númenóreans. (There is no report of the fate of Amandil and his friends.)
I think respect for tradition and a sense of “nationhood” as “people-ness”, if I may use that word, is a better notion of what’s happening not only among the Númenóreans, whether good or bad, among the
Rohirrim, and even among the inhabitants of
Bree (Big and Little
united) and
the Shire.
Saruman’s ruffians also exhibit a sense of the “people-ness” of themselves while oppressing the Shire-Hobbits. This “people-ness” is a natural human instinct – “my group as opposed to your group” – but I wouldn’t call it “racism,” which is a(n intentionally) politically-loaded term more a cudgel than a proper description.
How Tolkien describes the Dúnedain does seem similar to Lǐjiào (禮教, “rites’ transmission”), though Lǐjiào is less a religion than what the Dúnedain practiced. Tolkien indicates that although the Dúnedain did not build temples to
Eru either in
Númenor or in
Middle-earth, they did recognize “sacred spaces” (the top of Meneltarma or the hallow above
Minas Tirith where
Aragorn found the sapling of
the White Tree). In their religious practice the king served as high priest, but there is no record of their sacrificing
animals to Eru or the Valar.
Sauron, however, directed the construction of a temple in Númenor, and like
Morgoth before him, demanded human sacrifice; but Tolkien considered this an aberration of
Númenórean society, one so serious that it cost them their lives and their island home. (According to Tolkien’s notes cited in
Reader’s Companion, the door along the Paths of the Dead at which Baldor died trying to gain access was an entry to an
evil temple of the
Dead Men of Dunharrow, a temple unquestionably dedicated to Sauron, whom they had worshipped.)
But if you’re asking if the Dúnedain, whether of Númenor or of Middle-earth, exhibited a sense of
superiority over others, I think that is undeniable. They lived longer than other Men, they first built (in Númenor) and later inherited (in Middle-earth) an advanced civilization while other Men did not, and they were afraid (as was the House of
Eärendil à la “Aldarion and Erendis”) that intermarriage with “lesser” folk would shorten their lifespan and lower their civilization. Castamir clearly used this sense of superiority among the Dúnedain and their fears of loss to bolster his claim to the throne.
Whether his successors in Umbar saw their kinsfolk left behind in Gondor as “lesser” than themselves is an excellent question, and one I had never before considered. I think the Dúnedain dynasty in Umbar did likely see itself as superior to that in
Minas Anor (
Osgiliath,
the old capital, was ruined during the civil war): that would be the normal human sense of, “I’m better than you.” This tendency, however normal among human beings, is much less apparent in “better” characters such as Aragorn,
Faramir, or
Éowyn, and stronger in “worse” characters such as
Denethor (not in his treatment of
Pippin by any means! but rather in his dismissing Aragorn as rightful king, “the last of a ragged house long bereft of lordship and dignity”), the Ruffians, and particularly Saruman, in whom it is most clearly demonstrated.
And yes, I do think the Hillmen in control of Rhudaur were practicing not “
Melkor worship” but “Sauron worship”, or at least something strongly akin to it. The folk of
Carn Dûm under the leadership of the
Witch-king certainly were. I
suspect, though I cannot prove it, that some of the Dúnedain of Rhudaur were also practicing dark arts, perhaps even before the Hillmen took control. Context strongly indicates that the surviving Dúnedain of Umbar and
Harad in the centuries immediately following the Downfall of Númenor also worshipped Sauron and followed his practices, and I think they naturally allied with Sauron and fought for him in the
War of the Last Alliance, probably wiping out most of their remaining warriors, whose number was already seriously depleted by the destruction of the Númenórean invasion force in the Downfall of Númenor.
The
Angmar Wars, in my opinion, had two purposes. The first, to further weaken and destroy the weaker Númenórean kingdom, was successful. The second, to obtain a
palantír, preferably the palantír of
Amon Sûl, the chief palantír of Middle-earth (the stone of Osgiliath was the chief palantír of Gondor, but that of Amon Sûl was even more powerful: that’s why Elendil kept it), failed when Arvedui and the Elven mariners who came to rescue him were caught in the ice and their ship crushed and sunk. It was not a “racial” war except in that the Witch-king (who was himself Númenórean!) wanted to kill as many of the Dúnedain as possible (excepting I suppose those that would adhere to him and to Sauron).
