In most scholarly discussions of ethnic communities, immigrants, and aliens, and in most treatments of relationships between minorities and majorities, little if any attention has been devoted to diasporas. In the most widely read books on nationalism and ethnonationalism. the phenomenon is not considered worthy of discussion, let alone index entries. This omission is not surprising, for through the ages, the Diaspora had a very specific meaning: the exile of the Jews from their historic homeland and their dispersion throughout many lands, signifying as well the oppression and moral degradation implied by that dispersion. But a unique phenomenon is not very useful for social scientists attempting to make generalizations. Today, “diaspora” and, more specifically, “diaspora community” seem increasingly to be used as metaphoric designations for several categories of people—expatriates, expellees, political refugees, alien residents, immigrants, and ethnic and racial minorities tout court—in much the same way that “ghetto” has come to designate all kinds of crowded, constricted, and disprivileged urban environments, and “holocaust” has come to be applied to all kinds of mass murder.
Among the markers of ethnonational identity, language and religion have figured with equal prominence. In many cases, religion has been the bedrock of nation-building; and even today, it is difficult to separate a number of national identities from their religious matrices. Religious identity is based on, and perpetuated in, narratives expressed in a specific language. Language and religion are related; in our secular age, however, that relationship is no longer consistent. The two may feed upon one another; language may substitute for religion; or religion may trump language. This article explores the varying relationships between language and religion.Neither religion nor language is coextensive with an ethnonation. A religion and a language may spread over more than one ethnic group; conversely, members of an ethnic group may adhere to more than one religion or contain more than one language community. Yet among the markers of ethnonational identity, language and religion have been of equal importance. They are not merely used to instrumentalise more 'rational' demands; they are not always the determining factors in ethnic behavior and ethnic political demands; and not all communities based on a religion or a particular language wish to attain 'nationhood'. Nevertheless, the nexus between religion and language is important enough not to be dismissed.Language and religion are related; both have deep structures and both are regarded as constitutive aspects of 'primordialism' in the sense that individuals are born into one, the other, or (in most instances) both. The relationships between religion and language have varied with time and place, and the causal direction between the two has been complex. Religion and language may be clearly associated and feed upon each other; language may be a substitute for religion; or religion may trump language.Historically, religions have preceded the nation-state; have served as the basis of the collective consciousness of the nation and the foundation of sovereignty; and have been major institutional supports of the state. Examples are numerous and are not confined to 'established' religions. Religious identity is based on, and perpetuated in, narratives expressed in a specific language. The Old Testament served as the depository of Jewish nationhood
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