This article is about groups that share both an ethnic and a religious background. For religions that are closely tied to a particular ethnic group, seeethnic religion.
Anethnoreligious group (or anethno-religious group) is a group of people with a commonreligious andethnic background[1] or in some cases, a religious background exclusively.[2][3]
The elements that are defined as characteristics of an ethnoreligious group are "social character, historical experience, and theological beliefs".[6]
A closing of the community takes place through a strictendogamy, which is specifically for the community and that distinguishes an ethno-religious community, that is, as distinct from any other group.[7]
In general, ethnoreligious communities define their ethnic identity by their religious affiliation or a combination of religious affiliation and other factors, such as language, territorial origin etc. Sometimes, ethnoreligious communities can be defined as ethnic groups with close associations with a religion that can be practiced by other ethnicities, such as Irish Catholics and Swedish Lutherans.[2][3]
Some ethnoreligious groups' identities are reinforced by the experience of living within a larger community as a distinctminority. Ethnoreligious groups can be tied toethnic nationalism if the ethnoreligious group possesses a historical base in a specific region.[8] In many ethnoreligious groups emphasis is placed upon religious endogamy, and the concurrent discouragement of interfaith marriages or intercourse, as a means of preserving the stability and historical longevity of the community and culture.
Prior to theBabylonian exile in the late 7th century BC and early 6th century BC, theIsraelites had already emerged as an ethnoreligious group, probably before the time ofHosea in 8th century BC.[58] The ethno-religious character of the Jewish people in antiquity has been expounded upon by scholars such asSalo W. Baron, who spoke of "the ethnoreligious unity of [the Israelite] people",[59] andShaye J. D. Cohen, when describingJewish identity during the lateSecond Temple period.[60][61]
Since the 19th century,Reform Judaism has differed fromOrthodox Judaism on matters of theology and practice; however, toward the end of the 20th century and into the 21st century, the Reform movement has reoriented itself back toward certain traditions and practices it had previously relinquished (for example, wearing thetallit and/or thekippah; the use of Hebrew in the liturgy).[62]
In the United States, the increasing rate of mixed marriages has led to attempts to facilitate conversion of the spouse, although conversion to facilitate marriage is strongly discouraged by traditional Jewish law.[63] If a non-Jewish woman marrying a Jewish man does not convert, then although traditional interpretations of Jewish law recognize only descent along the maternal line,Reform Judaism will recognize a child born of the marriage as Jewish based on patrilineal descent if that child has "established through appropriate and timely public and formal acts of identification with the Jewish faith and people" that the child self-identifies as Jewish.[64] In actual practice, most Reform Jews affirm patrilineal descent as a valid means of Jewish identification, particularly if the individual was "raised Jewish".[65][66]
Israeli national identity is linked with Jewish identity as a result ofZionism.[67] In Israel, Jewish religious courts have authority over personal status matters, which has led to friction with secular Jews who sometimes find they must leave the country in order to marry or divorce, particularly in relation to the inherited status ofmamzer, the marriage of males from the priestly line, persons not recognized as Jewish by the rabbinate, and in cases ofagunot. The Israeli rabbinate only recognizes certain approved Orthodox rabbis as legitimate, which has led to friction with Diaspora Jews who for centuries never had an overarching authority.
Other classical examples for ethnoreligious groups are traditionalAnabaptist groups like theOld Order Amish, theHutterites, theOld Order Mennonites and traditional groups ofPlautdietsch-speakingRussian Mennonites, like theOld Colony Mennonites. All these groups have a shared cultural background, a shared dialect as their everyday language (Pennsylvania German,Hutterisch,Plautdietsch), a shared version of their Anabaptist faith, a shared history of several hundred years and they have accepted very few outsiders into their communities in the last 250 years. They may also share commonfoods, dress, and other customs. Modern proselytizing Mennonite groups, such as theEvangelical Mennonite Conference whose members have lost their shared ancestry, their common ethnic language Plautdietsch, their traditional dress, and other typical ethnic traditions, are no longer seen as an ethnoreligious group, although members within these groups may still identify with the termMennonite as an ethnic identifier.[68][69]
InAustralian law, theAnti-Discrimination Act 1977 ofNew South Wales defines "race" to include "ethnic, ethno-religious, or national origin".[70] The reference to "ethno-religious" was added by the Anti-Discrimination (Amendment) Act 1994 (NSW).[71]John Hannaford, the NSW Attorney-General at the time, explained, "The effect of the latter amendment is to clarify that ethno-religious groups, such as Jews, Muslims, and Sikhs, have access to the racial vilification and discrimination provisions of the Act.... extensions of the Anti-Discrimination Act to ethno-religious groups will not extend to discrimination on the ground of religion".[29][30]
The definition of "race" in Anti-Discrimination Act 1998 (Tasmania) likewise includes "ethnic, ethno-religious, or national origin".[72] However, unlike the NSW Act, it also prohibits discrimination on the grounds of "religious belief or affiliation" or "religious activity".[73]
In the United Kingdom the landmark legal caseMandla v Dowell-Lee placed a legal definition on ethnic groups with religious ties, which, in turn, has paved the way for the definition of an ethnoreligious[74] group. BothJews[16][17][18] andSikhs[75][76][77] were determined to be considered ethnoreligious groups under the Anti-Discrimination (Amendment) Act 1994 (see above).
The Anti-Discrimination (Amendment) Act 1994 made reference toMandla v Dowell-Lee, which defined ethnic groups as:
a long shared history, of which the group is conscious as distinguishing it from other groups, and the memory of which it keeps alive;
a cultural tradition of its own, including family and social customs and manners, often but not necessarily associated with religious observance;
either a common geographical origin, or descent from a small number of common ancestors;
a common language, not necessarily peculiar to the group;
a common literature peculiar to the group;
a common religion different from that of neighbouring groups or from the general community surrounding it;
being a minority or being an oppressed or dominant group within a larger community. For example, a conquered people (say, the inhabitants of England shortly after theNorman Conquest) and their conquerors might both be ethnic groups.
The significance of the case was that groups like Sikhs and Jews could now be protected under theRace Relations Act 1976.[76]
According to thislegal framework, a Malay man or woman who undergoes conversion fromIslam to another religion ceases to be recognized as Malay. Consequently, the privileges accorded to so-calledBumiputra, specifically the entitlements outlined inArticle 153[79] of the Constitution,the New Economic Policy (NEP), and other related provisions, areforfeited in the event of such conversions.
^Only Malays in the federal state of Malaysia are legally defined as Muslims. The broader Malay ethnicity present in other states such as Thailand and Singapore are not legally defined as such. For the legalistic definition of Malays in Malaysia, seeArticle 160 of the Constitution of Malaysia
^abcYang and Ebaugh, p.369: "Andrew Greeley (1971) identified three types of relationships in the United States: some religious people who do not hold an ethnic identity; some people who have an ethnic identity but are not religious; and cases in which religion and ethnicity are intertwined. Phillip Hammond and Kee Warner (1993), following Harold J. Abramson (1973), further explicated the "intertwining relationships" into a typology. First is "ethnic fusion", where religion is the foundation of ethnicity, or, ethnicity equals religion, such as in the case of the Amish and Jews. The second pattern is that of "ethnic religion", where religion is one of several foundations of ethnicity. The Greek or Russian Orthodox and the Dutch Reformed are examples of this type. In this pattern, ethnic identification can be claimed without claiming the religious identification but the reverse is rare. The third form, "religious ethnicity", occurs where an ethnic group is linked to a religious tradition that is shared by other ethnic groups. The Irish, Italian, and Polish Catholics are such cases. In this pattern, religious identification can be claimed without claiming ethnic identification. Hammond and Warner also suggest that the relationship of religion and ethnicity is strongest in "ethnic fusion" and least strong in "religious ethnicity". Recently, some scholars have argued that even Jews' religion and culture (ethnicity) can be distinguished from each other and are separable (Chervyakov, Gitelman, and Shapiro 1997; Gans 1994)."
^abcdHammond and Warner, p.59: "1. Religion is the major foundation of ethnicity, examples include the Amish, Hutterites, Jews, and Mormons. Ethnicity in this pattern, so to speak, equals religion, and if the religious identity is denied, so is the ethnic identity. [Footnote: In actuality, of course, there can be exceptions, as the labels "Jack Mormon", "banned Amish", or "cultural Jew" suggest.] Let us call this pattern "ethnic fusion." 2. Religion may be one of several foundations of ethnicity, the others commonly being language and territorial origin; examples are the Greek or Russian Orthodox and the Dutch Reformed. Ethnicity in this pattern extends beyond religion in the sense that ethnic identification can be claimed without claiming the religious identification, but the reverse is rare. Let us call this pattern "ethnic religion." 3. An ethnic group may be linked to a religious tradition, but other ethnic groups will be linked to it, too. Examples include Irish, Italian, and Polish Catholics; Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish Lutherans. Religion in this pattern extends beyond ethnicity, reversing the previous pattern, and religious identification can be claimed without claiming the ethnic identification. Let us call this pattern "religious ethnicity""
^Reyes, Adelaida (2014).Music and Minorities from Around the World: Research, Documentation and Interdisciplinary Study. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. p. 45.ISBN9781443870948.The Maronites are an ethnoreligious group in the Levant.
^Dekmejian, R. Hrair (1994). "Reviewed Work: Revolution and Genocide: On the Origins of the Armenian Genocide and the Holocaust by Robert F. Melson".The International History Review.16 (2): 377.JSTOR40107201....both victimized groups [Armenians & Jews] were ethno-religious minorities...
Steven L. Danver, Native Peoples of the World: An Encyclopedia of Groups, Cultures and Contemporary Issues, p. 517
^R. Williams, Victoria (2020).Indigenous Peoples: An Encyclopedia of Culture, History, and Threats to Survival [4 volumes]. ABC-CLIO. p. 110.ISBN9781440861185.The Assyrians are a Middle Eastern ethnoreligious group also known as the Syriacs, Chaldeans, or Arameans.
^H. Becker, Adam (2015).Revival and Awakening: American Evangelical Missionaries in Iran and the Origins of Assyrian Nationalism.University of Chicago Press. p. 8.ISBN9780226145310.
^abcMarty, Martin E. (1997).Religion, Ethnicity, and Self-Identity: Nations in Turmoil. University Press of New England.ISBN0-87451-815-6.[...] the three ethnoreligious groups that have played the roles of the protagonists in the bloody tragedy that has unfolded in the former Yugoslavia: the Christian Orthodox Serbs, the Roman Catholic Croats, and the Muslim Slavs of Bosnia.
^"UNPO: East Turkestan: Strict Control of China's Uighur Muslims Continues". Unrepresented Nations & Peoples Organization. 16 August 2006. Retrieved12 March 2020.However, the authorities' control over Dungan mosques is less strict than over mosques used by Uighurs, a Turkic people mainly found in Xinjiang but also in Central Asian states. (The Dungans are a Chinese Muslim people also found in Central Asian states.)
^Evans, Jocelyn; Tonge, Jonathan (2013). "Catholic, Irish and Nationalist: evaluating the importance of ethno-national and ethno-religious variables in determining nationalist political allegiance in Northern Ireland".Nations and Nationalism.19 (2):357–375.doi:10.1111/nana.12005.
^J. Pulera, Dominic (2002).Visible Differences: Why Race Will Matter to Americans in the Twenty-First Century.Bloomsbury Publishing USA. p. 49.ISBN9781441170897.
^John H. Redekop:A People Apart: Ethnicity and the Mennonite Brethren, 1987.
^Royden Loewen:The Poetics of Peoplehood: Ethnicity and Religion among Canada's Mennonites in Paul Bramadat, David Seljak: Christianity and Ethnicity in Canada, 2008.
Lycourinos, Damon Z. (August 2017). Sutherland, Liam T. (ed.). "Modern Greek Ethno-Religious Nationalism: An Ideological and Spatio-Temporal Relocation of Selfhood".Implicit Religion: Journal for the Critical Study of Religion.20 (1:Nationalism and Religious Studies - Critical Perspectives).London:Equinox Publishing:23–41.doi:10.1558/imre.34128.ISSN1743-1697.S2CID149134963.
Thomas, Martin (October 2006). "Crisis management in colonial states: Intelligence and counter-insurgency in Morocco and Syria after the First World War".Intelligence & National Security.21 (5):697–716.doi:10.1080/02684520600957662.S2CID153922797.
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