Ethnicity and race are concepts used to categorize and describe individuals based on shared characteristics, but they differ in important ways.
- Ethnicity refers to a group of people who share common cultural traits, such as language, religion, traditions, ancestry, and sometimes geographical origin. Ethnic groups are often linked by shared cultural heritage and social experiences. For example, people of Greek, Japanese, or Zulu ethnicities may share common customs, foods, and values that define their cultural identity.
- Race, on the other hand, is typically defined in terms of physical characteristics, particularly skin color, facial features, and hair texture. Racial categories are often based on broad, social, and historical classifications, like “White,” “Black,” “Asian,” or “Native American,” which have been used, particularly in the West, to categorize people according to perceived physical differences.
The key difference is that ethnicity is more closely related to culture and heritage, while race is often associated with physical appearance. Moreover, race is a social construct that doesn’t have a precise biological foundation, while ethnicity relates more to social identity, culture, and group belonging.
In practice, these terms are sometimes used interchangeably, but they represent distinct aspects of identity.