What stage of genocide is "Armenians are considered second-class citizens because they are Christian."

This is the second stage of genocide.

Explanation:

The second stage of genocide is symbolism. In this stage, the target population is attributed with certain derogatory terms, or some of their traits are portrayed as not suitable for the society or even dangerous for its future. In the case of Armenian in Turkey, one of the features that were used was their religion.

The Armenians were Christians, part of the Orthodox Armenian Church. With the government has set its sights on creating a homogenous, fully Muslim country, the Christian population was targeted to be removed or assimilated. The Armenians were not willing to change their religion, and with the propaganda that has been systematically pushed, the majority saw this as a threat in the long run. Because the government was promoting Islam as the only true religion and all others as not acceptable, the Armenians, being part of another religion, were then seen as second class citizens, not equal to the Muslim population.