ETHNICITY AND RELIGION

CONCEPT/THEORY DEFINITION PROPONENT (IF EXAMPLES STRENGTHS WEAKNESS/

THERE IS ANY) CRITICISM
1. Ethnicity It is the term that • None • Arabs • Society Cohesion • Language
describes shared • Jewish • Cultural Resource Barriers
culture the • Irish • Economic • Social Tension
practices, values, • Han Chinese Development • Civic
and beliefs of a • French Disengagement
group. This might • Italian • Workplace
include shared • Russian Issues
language, religion, • Dutch • Consumerism
and traditions, • Swedish
among other • Korean
commonalities. • Japanese
• Greeks
• Caribbean
• African
 Culture, Race & Ethnicity
As a sociology student, Janice has become very interested in the different factors
influencing people’s identities and behaviors over time. Lately, Janice has been
thinking about culture, race and ethnicity. She realizes that these three concepts
have areas of overlap as well as areas of divergence. Janice comes to understand
that culture has to do with the language, religion, and customs that characterize a
particular group’s way of life. She learns that ethnicity usually refers to the
national background with which a person identifies. For instance, Janice identifies
herself as ethnically part Jewish, part Italian, and part Mexican. Finally, Janice
understands that race is a social construct that is often associated with skin color
and other physical features but sometimes overlaps with identity. Racially, Janice
identifies as white because that is how most people perceive her, but she knows
that some people assume she is Latina, too.