Ethnic Group vs. Religious Group

Are they the same or different?

A Sticky Note Discussion

Purple: 3-4 vocabulary wordsYellow: 5+ facts/examples Blue: 2 personal connections

The standard:Explain the differences

between an ethnic group and a religious group.

Ethnic group vs. Religious group

Q: What is the difference between an ethnic group and a religious group?

DefinitionsEthnic Group An ethnic group is a group of

humans whose members identify with each other, through a common heritage that is real or assumed.

This common heritage may be based upon a common ancestry (lineage) history, kinship, religion, language, shared territory, nationality, physical appearance.

Religious Group

People who share a common belief system.

a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe

usually involving devotional and ritual observances

often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs.

More about the Ethnic Group

Some words used to refer to a group as a separate ethnic group are: tribe, clan, nation, lineage, family, society, community and heritage.

The language we speak is always an important part of our cultural/ethnic identity.

Let’s do the math…

Q: How many countries are there in the world?

A: About 200.Note: The UN recognizes 203

Q: How many languages are there in the world?

A: Between 5,000 and 6,000

Ethnic group and Language

Language often helps to define an ethnic group.

Language is also the vehicle for culture, which is particularly significant for an ethnic group

Other factors of ethnic groups

Ancestry, kinship, history- give us the common traits related to the past of the group.

Shared territory is common location and physical features shared by the group.

Physical appearance are shared characteristics concerning what you look like.

Nationality belonging to a common nation.

Religious groupsSome examples include:

Christian Islam (Shia and Sunni) Judaism Buddhism Shinto Hinduism

To help you understand each group ask questions like…What are some of the basic ideas of each of these

groups? Do they have a religious text? Do they believe in a god or many gods? Do they have a place of worship?

It can be confusing because…

By sharing a common religion, people can belong to the same ethnic group

butA religious group can include many

different ethnic groups

You may be asking HUH?, WHAT?

Some examples:The Christian religion is a religion

practiced widely throughout the world… in The United States, in South America, in Africa, and even on the little islands of the South Pacific. However would we consider a person from Venezuela the same ethnic group as a person from Fiji?

Many people practice the religion of Islam but would you consider a person from Saudi Arabia in the same ethnic group as someone from the islands of Indonesia?

Look at the following questions and decide if the question relates to an ethnicity or religion.

Karen and Sue both speak the language of French. (ethnicity-language)

On Sunday, the entire family attends a church service.(religion)

Kamal and Jedda are both nomadic herders like their father. (ethnicity- ancestry)

Two girls both have very blond hair, blue eyes and a very pale complexion.

(ethnicity– physical appearance)Sameer celebrates the colorful holiday of Holi dedicated to

the god Krishna (religion)

Try some more“I am Chinese.”

(ethnicity– nationality)Bowing in prayer toward Mecca as part of a daily

prayers ritual.(religion)

Wearing a heavy alpaca poncho because my family and I live high in the Andes mountains.

(ethnicity – shared territory)I visited Japan and saw the notes left to the

Kami spirits in the shrine. (religion)

We call ourselves Afrikaners because our forefathers came to South Africa from Europe to settle in a new land.

(ethnicity- history)

Now try to create your own…

Try to write two statements related to ethnicity

and Two statements related to religion.

Challenge others in your class to identify whether your statement relates to ethnicity or religion.

Hispanic or Latino: A person of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central or South American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race.

American Indian or Alaska Native: A person with origins in any of the original peoples of North America or who maintains cultural identifications through tribal affiliations or community recognition.

Asian: A person with origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent. These people include, for example, Asian-Indians, Chinese, Filipinos, Japanese, Koreans, and Vietnamese.

Black or African-American: A person with origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa.

Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander: A person with origins in any of the original peoples of the Pacific Islands. These people include Hawaiians, Guamanians, and Samoans.

White: A person with origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, North Africa, or the Middle East.

Hispanic or Latino? Hispanic refers primarily to people from the Iberian peninsula -

(Hispania as it was called a LONG time ago).  Hispanic refers more to the region where someone is from - not race.  Hispanic can refer to cultures that were once under Spanish rule.

People from Mexico are referred to as Hispanic. 

Hispanic is an English word and Latino/Latina are Spanish words.

Latino refers to people from South America, Central America, etc.  It can include Brazil.  It DOES NOT include people from Spain.

Latin America refers to an area where a Romance Language is spoken.  (Romance Language = based on Latin).

The two terms are almost interchangeable...