A number of alternative terms have been used instead ofethnic religion. Another term that is often used isfolk religion. Whileethnic religion andfolk religion have overlapping uses, the latter term implies "the appropriation of religious beliefs and practices at a popular level."[4] The termfolk religion can therefore be used to speak of certainChinese andAfrican religions, but can also refer to popular expressions of more multi-national and institutionalized religions such asFolk Christianity orFolk Islam.[5][6]
In Western contexts, a variety of terms are also employed. In the United States and Canada, a popular alternative term has beennature religion.[7] Some neopagan movements, especially in Europe, have adoptedethnic religion as their preferred term, aligning themselves withethnology. This notably includes theEuropean Congress of Ethnic Religions,[8] which chose its name after a day-long discussion in 1998, where most participants expressed thatpagan contained too many negative connotations andethnic better described the root of their traditions in particular nations. In the English-language popular and scholarly discoursePaganism, with a capital P, has become an accepted term.[9]
Ethnic religions are defined as religions which are related to a particular ethnic group, and often seen as a defining part of that ethnicity's culture, language, and customs.Diasporic groups often maintain ethnic religions as a means of maintaining a distinct ethnic identity such as the role ofAfrican traditional religion andAfrican diaspora religions among theAfrican diaspora in the Americas.[10]
Some ancient ethnic religions, such as those historically found in pre-modern Europe, have found new vitality inneopaganism.[11] Moreover, non-ethnic religions, such asChristianity, have been known to assume ethnic traits to an extent that they serve a role as an important ethnic identity marker;[12] a notable example of this is the Serbian "Saint-Savianism" of theSerbian Orthodox Church,[13] and the religious and cultural heritage ofSyriac Christianity branch of theAssyrian people.[14][15][16]
^Lewis, James R. (2004).The Oxford Handbook of New Religious Movements. New York: Oxford University Press.ISBN978-0-195-36964-9.
^Chong, Kelly H. (1997). "What It Means to Be Christian: The Role of Religion in the Construction of Ethnic Identity and Boundary Among Second- Generation Korean Americans".Sociology of Religion.59 (3):259–286.doi:10.2307/3711911.JSTOR3711911.
^Pierre Ameer, John (2008).Assyrians in Yonkers: Reminiscences of a Community: Harvard College Library Assyrian collection. University of Michigan Press. p. 125.ISBN9781593337452.
^Minahan, James (2002).Encyclopedia of the Stateless Nations: A-C. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 206.ISBN9780313321092.
^L. Danver, Steven (2002).Native Peoples of the World: An Encyclopedia of Groups, Cultures and Contemporary Issues. Routledge. p. 517.ISBN9781317464006.
