9.3: Religion

In some parts of the world, religion is the primary marker of ethnic identity. In the United States, religion is rarely used as a marker of identity. Jews and Muslims are the two major groups in the US that sometimes self-identify by religion rather than some other marker of identity, but it is otherwise uncommon. The US government collects almost no data on religious affiliation because to do so would infringe upon the separation of church and state. In other countries where racial or linguistic differences are insignificant, religion sometimes becomes the primary marker of ethnic identity. Ongoing conflicts in India between Hindus and Muslims, or in Iraq between Sunni and Shia Muslims is a good example of how religion can divide an otherwise homogeneous population.

Figure 9-9: Once Brothers is a documentary film by ESPN detailing the emotional toll on former Yugoslav teammates who saw their former country and friendships torn apart by ethnic strife. http://vimeo.com/36827025

Yugoslavia

The most tragic example of how religion-as-ethnicity can divide a people is found in the violent dissolution of the country of Yugoslavia. From 1918 - 1991, Yugoslavia was held together by a common language, a strong leader, and numerous common cultural practices. Translated literally, “Yugoslavia” means literally “Land of the South Slavs”, indicating that there was a linguistic bond that formed the basis of a single national identity that held for several generations during the 20^th century.

However, after the death of their leader, Marshall Tito in 1980, religious differences among the Yugoslavians proved increasingly unmanageable. The country broke up quite violently in the early 1990s, largely along lines established by religious identification. The Bosniaks (Bosnian Muslims) now inhabit a part of the former Yugoslavia now called Bosnia-Herzegovina. The Slovenes and Croats (Croatians) are largely Roman Catholic, and they now occupy the countries of Slovenia and Croatia. The Montenegrins, Macedonians, and Serbs (Serbians) are Eastern Orthodox Christians, and they now live in Montenegro, Macedonia, and Serbia respectively. Many observers considered the cultural differences between these groups insignificant, and certainly not worth the civil war that broke up the country. Critics of Yugoslavia’s dissolution have argued that the actions of a few power-hungry politicians were responsible for whipping up nearly forgotten rivalries among neighbors who had been living together peacefully for generations. Some politicians created or exaggerated claims about historical wrongs done by one group against another. Today, each of the break-away countries has taken steps to create official languages based on the various regional dialects of the common Serbo-Croatian language they all speak in an attempt to manufacture multiple unique identities from an identity that was once shared by all for generations.