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An ethnic religion is a religion that is closely tied to a particular ethnic group.[1] Adherents of an ethnic religion may constitute an ethnoreligious group.
The term ethnic religion is often applied to a religion in a particular place, rather than to a religion in general. For example, Hinduism in the Caribbean has been considered an ethnic religion by some scholars, because Hindus in Trinidad, Guyana, and Suriname consider themselves a distinct ethnic group.[2] Korean Christian churches in the United States have been described as an ethnic religion, because they are closely associated with the ethnic identity of immigrant Korean Americans.[3]
Some scholars classify entire religions as either universal religions that seek worldwide acceptance and actively look for new converts, or ethnic religions that are identified with a particular ethnic group and do not seek converts.[1]
Many scholars reject the term "ethnic religion", pointing out that all religious practices, no matter their philosophical origin, are ethnic and culturally bound in nature.[4][5][6]
See also
References
- ^ a b Hinnells, John R. (2005). The Routledge companion to the study of religion. Routledge. pp. 439-440. ISBN 0415333113. http://books.google.com/books?id=IGspjXKxIf8C. Retrieved 2009-09-17.
- ^ van der Veer, Peter; Steven Vertovec (April 1991). "Brahmanism Abroad: On Caribbean Hinduism as an Ethnic Religion". Ethnology 30 (2): 149–166. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3773407. Retrieved 2009-09-17.
- ^ 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. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3711911. Retrieved 2009-09-17.
- ^ Timothy Fitzgerald. The Ideology of Religious Studies. New York: Oxford University Press USA, 2000.
- ^ Craig R. Prentiss. Religion and the Creation of Race and Ethnicity. New York: NYU Press, 2003. ISBN 081476701X
- ^ Tomoko Masuzawa. The Invention of World Religions, or, How European Universalism Was Preserved in the Language of Pluralism. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2005. ISBN 0226509885
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