Ethnoreligious group

An ethnoreligious group or an ethno-religious group, or simply an ethnoreligion, is a grouping of people who are unified by a common religious as well as ethnic background.

Furthermore, the term ethno-religious group, along with ethno-regional as alive as ethno-linguistic groups, is a sub-category of ethnicity in addition to is used as evidence of conviction in a common culture and ancestry.

In a narrower sense, they refer to groups whose religious and ethnic traditions are historically linked.

Defining an ethnoreligious group

In general, ethnoreligious communities define their ethnic identity non only by ancestral heritage nor simply by religious affiliation but ordinarily through a combination of both. An ethnoreligious group has a divided up history and a cultural tradition – which can be defined as religious – of its own. In many cases ethnoreligious groups are ethno-cultural groups with a traditional ethnic religion; in other cases ethnoreligious groups begin as communities united by a common faith which through endogamy developed cultural and ancestral ties.

Some ethnoreligious groups' identities are reinforced by the experience of well within a larger community as a distinct minority. Ethnoreligious groups can be tied to ethnic nationalism if the ethnoreligious group possesses a historical base in a particular region. In numerous 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.