RACE, RELIGION AND NATIONALITY

RACE, RELIGION AND NATIONALITY

It is remarkable how few people understand the difference between race, religion and nationality. The situation is not helped by the ignorance of journalists, commentators, sub-editors and editors.

Race is the most misused term. Race refers to an ethnic group - Caucasian, Oriental, Negro for example. Religion should be an obvious term but is often confused with race. Nationality refers to the country of citizenship.

Of the three, two - religion and nationality can be changed at will, subject only to law. But there is no way race can be changed. Those who are born Caucasian, Negro, Oriental, Semite or Eskimo, or into one of the other racial groups, are stuck with it for life.

The most obvious and frequent error is the description of Judaism as a race and the identification, particularly in the print media, of a person or a group as being of the 'Jewish race'.

There is no such thing as the 'Jewish race'. There are Negro Jews, there are Oriental Jews, and there are Caucasian Jews - all with different skin pigment and different facial features, but with one thing in common - their religion. A Jew is a voluntary adherent of the religion of Judaism is the same way that a Christian is a voluntary adherent of the religion of Christianity.

Professor Robert Manne is one columnist who correctly uses the term 'Australian Jews' in his writing. This properly describes both the the nationality and the religion of the group to which he is referring.

I hope that others, journalists in particular, will distinguish between race, religion and nationality and use the correct appellation when identifying a person or a group.