it's really hard for me to get upset at a lot of what cullen said after broken circle and stuff because of how traumatized he was. but, i still didn't like him doing all that crap even still. what really takes the cake is that you can pretty much tell that the circle isn't all that great to the templars either. it's like they don't want the templars to see that mages ARE human. that's just one of the many things against the circle and how both are treated..
Right after the broken circle quest is kinda understable as he was very deeply traumatized and still under the shock, it just always rubs me the very wrong way when characters wish harm to mages, but I’m mostly pissed at what he says (and does) in DA2 honestly
But yeah. A lot of templars also never met a mage during their training and are first in contact with them when assigned to the Circle. Mages up until then are pretty much that weird creature that they study and therefore they know nothing of them but what the Chantry taugh them: they are dangerous abominations-to-be.
And templars are indeed mistreated by the Chantry: If you are thrown out of the templar order, you are pretty much fucked, as the Chantry is the only legal source of lyrium and that smugglers would make you pay a high price that you cannot really afford for it. (Just look at what state Samson was in when you meet him in da2.) The effects of lyrium withdrawal being pretty extreme (just remember that one guy in a cell that you can find when trying to find and kill Arl Howe) so being thrown out of the templars would pretty much result in death. A lot of them actually sign up with good intentions and end up being corrupt (Cullen.) and the ones that are a bit too sympathetic are thrown out (Samson)
The Chantry is the one that teaches people to fear and despise mages. The Chantry is the one that most benefits of the Circles. That’s why when I complain about the oppression of mages, I make sure to mention the Chantry, and not only the Templars.











