Ethnoreligious

Ethnoreligious refers to social groups whose membership is defined by the intertwining of ethnicity and religious identity, such that religion and ethnic belonging reinforce each other in everyday life and social organization. In ethnoreligious communities, religious tradition is often inseparable from shared ancestry, culture, and territory.

Core characteristics typically include a shared origin story or ancestry, common religious beliefs and practices, and social norms that mark and preserve group boundaries. Endogamy or preferred marriage within the group is common, as are communal rites, language or dialect usage, dietary or ritual laws, and collective institutions such as schools, congregations, or councils that govern membership and behavior.

Scholars point to various examples where religion is closely linked to ethnicity, such as Judaism in many communities, and other groups often described as ethnoreligious, including Druze, Parsis, Armenians, and certain Sikh and Hindu communities. In these cases, conversion, intermarriage, or assimilation can be strongly influenced by communal norms, and political identities may be tied to both religious and ethnic status.

The term is debated and not universally accepted. Critics argue that it can oversimplify internal diversity, overlook secular or plural identities, and reify boundaries. Proponents use it to analyze how religion and ethnicity shape social cohesion, rights claims, nationalism, and minority status in both diaspora and homeland settings.

Related concepts include ethnonationalism, religious nationalism, and diaspora studies.