ATLANTA -- At a gathering hosted by the New Baptist Covenant, former President Jimmy Carter described "some degree of embarrassment" about the ongoing presidential campaign between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.

The comments came a day after he said the United States' political environment is at a low point comparable to the Civil War but that it "is bound to get better" after the November elections.

Speaking in Atlanta on Thursday, Carter, 91, said Americans' multiple races, ethnicities and religions form "a beautiful mosaic" and said the country has been "resilient" after other periods of deep division.

"I think there will be a positive reaction after this election," Carter said. "I pray it will come out a certain way, but I think there will be a lot of lessons learned. And I think the average person in America now will be looking at how to do better things, how to have a superb American policy on peace and human rights and other aspects of life. I think we'll raise our standards as a public and I believe our next president will accommodate that inclination."

Carter said 22 members of his family are registered to vote, adding: "We'll all vote the same way."

"They have inherited some genes or something that causes them to look with favor on the New Baptist Covenant and on one of the parties," Carter said with a smile, drawing laughter from the audience.

Carter also told the gathering that the U.S. is experiencing a "resurgence of racism," calling on Baptist faith leaders to foster change in their churches and communities.

Carter said some white Americans stay quiet when they see discrimination or segregation, fearful of losing a "privileged" position in society. He said that amounts to acceptance of "discrimination and animosity and hatred and division."

Before Carter spoke Thursday, leaders of two Baptist churches in Macon, Ga., less than a block apart but split by race, discussed their congregations' partnership. Carter called such relationships "a very powerful potential weapon to set an example not just among Baptists, not just among churches, but in communities."

Carter, a lifelong Baptist, often spoke about his faith during his political career. Now, he continues to teach Sunday school several times a month at a church in his hometown of Plains, Ga. He convened the New Baptist Covenant in 2007 to unite Baptists of different races, ethnicities and theologies.

On Wednesday, Carter fielded questions from freshmen students for about an hour at Emory University in Atlanta, at the 35th annual town hall he's led. Carter is a distinguished professor at the university, and the human-rights organization he founded after leaving the White House is an affiliate of the school.

Asked how the November election will shape American politics, Carter responded: "I think it's bound to get better."

"I think as far as political affairs in America are concerned we are at, maybe, one of the all-time lows in our history," Carter said. "Maybe just with the exception of the Civil War era when Americans were divided deeply in combat."

Carter responded to more than a dozen questions submitted on paper or via Twitter, including queries on immigrants' role in America, the presidential election and how much he slept while president. Students also asked what advice he'd give himself at 18 (stay out of politics, he responded cheekily) and the best advice he's ever received (tell the truth).

When a student asked what advice he can give to first-time voters this fall, Carter jokingly said he considered responding "abstain." But ultimately, he advised those who "want to be like me" to vote for Democrats.

"And if you want to be different from me, vote Republican," he said, prompting applause.

Carter said he remains worried about the influence of wealthy political donors on campaigns and government and repeated his frequent criticism of the Supreme Court's decision permitting unlimited spending by corporations.

He also expressed concern about deep divisions in the country but said history shows those can be healed.

"We just have to remember that our country is resilient," Carter said. "As I said earlier, we have always had down through history the ability when we make serious mistakes -- like slavery or segregation years or refusing to let women have the right to vote -- we've always had the ability to correct our mistakes."

A Section on 09/16/2016